Orange County Preliminary Notice Form
Last validated June 18, 2026 by our Forms Development Team
Orange County Preliminary Notice Form
Fill in the blank Preliminary Notice form formatted to comply with all California recording and content requirements.

Orange County Preliminary Notice Guide
Line by line guide explaining every blank on the form.

Orange County Completed Example of the Preliminary Notice Document
Example of a properly completed form for reference.
All 3 documents above included • One-time purchase • No recurring fees
Immediate Download • Secure Checkout
Additional California and Orange County documents included at no extra charge:
Where to Record Your Documents
County Administration South
Santa Ana, California 92701
Hours: 8 a.m. - 4:30 p.m. Monday - Friday
Phone: (714) 834-2500
Old Orange County Courthouse
Santa Ana, California 92701
Hours: Hours: 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday - Friday
Phone: (714) 834-2500
South County Branch Office
Santa Ana, California 92653
Hours: Monday through Friday 9:00 am to 4:30 pm / Recording until 4:00pm
Phone: (714) 834-2500
North County Branch Office
Fullerton , California 92832
Hours: Monday through Friday 9:00 am to 4:00 pm
Phone: (714) 834-2500
Recording Tips for Orange County:
- Bring extra funds - fees can vary by document type and page count
- Leave recording info boxes blank - the office fills these
- Recording fees may differ from what's posted online - verify current rates
Cities and Jurisdictions in Orange County
Properties in any of these areas use Orange County forms:
- Aliso Viejo
- Anaheim
- Atwood
- Brea
- Buena Park
- Capistrano Beach
- Corona Del Mar
- Costa Mesa
- Cypress
- Dana Point
- East Irvine
- El Toro
- Foothill Ranch
- Fountain Valley
- Fullerton
- Garden Grove
- Huntington Beach
- Irvine
- La Habra
- La Palma
- Ladera Ranch
- Laguna Beach
- Laguna Hills
- Laguna Niguel
- Laguna Woods
- Lake Forest
- Los Alamitos
- Midway City
- Mission Viejo
- Newport Beach
- Newport Coast
- Orange
- Placentia
- Rancho Santa Margarita
- San Clemente
- San Juan Capistrano
- Santa Ana
- Seal Beach
- Silverado
- Stanton
- Sunset Beach
- Surfside
- Trabuco Canyon
- Tustin
- Villa Park
- Westminster
- Yorba Linda
Hours, fees, requirements, and more for Orange County
How do I get my forms?
Forms are available for immediate download after payment. The Orange County forms will be in your account ready to download to your computer. An account is created for you during checkout if you don't have one. Forms are NOT emailed.
Are these forms guaranteed to be recordable in Orange County?
Yes. Our form blanks are guaranteed to meet or exceed the applicable formatting requirements used for recording in Orange County, including margin requirements, font requirements, and other layout standards. This guarantee applies to formatting, not to the legal sufficiency of information entered by the user or the suitability of a form for a particular transaction.
Can I reuse these forms?
Yes. You can reuse the forms for your personal use. For example, if you have multiple properties in Orange County you only need to order once.
What do I need to use these forms?
The forms are PDFs that you fill out on your computer. You'll need Adobe Reader (free software that most computers already have). You do NOT enter your property information online - you download the blank forms and complete them privately on your own computer.
Are there any recurring fees?
No. This is a one-time purchase. Nothing to cancel, no memberships, no recurring fees.
How much does it cost to record in Orange County?
Recording fees in Orange County vary. Contact the recorder's office at (714) 834-2500 for current fees.
Questions answered? Let's get started!
A claimant other than a laborer or direct contractor must serve preliminary notice under Civ. Code 8200 in order reserve the right to to claim a future mechanic's lien on a property. The notice must be served to the owner, direct contractor, and construction lender, if any.
California law requires notice to be served within 20 days of first furnishing labor, materials, services, or equipment in a work of improvement. A claimant may give late notice, but this limits the claimant's lien to only work performed within 20 days prior to giving the late notice, and work from that point forward (Civ. Code 8204).
Notices in relation to mechanic's liens must follow requirements under Civ. Code 8102, which include the names and addresses of the owners, direct contractor, and construction lender, if any, a description of the job site and job site address, and the name, address, and relationship to the parties of the claimant providing notice.
In addition to these requirements, the preliminary notice under Civ. Code 8200 requires a general description of the work provided by the potential claimant, an estimate of the total price of the work, and a verbatim notice to the property owner established by statute. If a preliminary notice is given by a subcontractor who has not paid all compensation due to a laborer, the notice also requires the name and address of all laborers to whom payment is due (Civ. Code 8202).
Pursuant to Civ. Code 8106, notice can be served by personal delivery, mail (as provided by Civ. Code 8110), or leaving a notice and mailing a copy according to the Code of Civil Procedure for service of summons in a civil action.
While this notice is typically not recorded, it may be filed with the county recorder for the limited purpose of facilitating the recorder's mailing of notices. When recorded, the preliminary notice does not constitute a recorded document and is maintained in a separate index. It does not function to provide constructive notice to third parties (Cal Civ. Code 8214).
Consult a lawyer with questions about preliminary notices, mechanic's lien laws, or any other issues related to real property in the State of California.
Important: Your property must be located in Orange County to use these forms. Documents should be recorded at the office below.
This Preliminary Notice meets all recording requirements specific to Orange County.
Our Promise
The documents you receive here are guaranteed to meet or exceed the applicable Orange County recording format requirements. If there is a rejection caused by our formatting, we will correct the issue or refund your payment. This guarantee applies to document formatting only and does not extend to information entered by the user, the selection of the form, or the legal effect of the completed document.
Save Time and Money
Get your Orange County Preliminary Notice form done right the first time with Deeds.com Uniform Conveyancing Blanks. At Deeds.com, we understand that your time and money are valuable resources, and we don't want you to face a penalty fee or rejection imposed by a county recorder for submitting nonstandard documents. We constantly review and update our forms to meet rapidly changing state and county recording requirements for roughly 3,500 counties and local jurisdictions.
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Debbie M.
August 21st, 2019
Everything that I needed was included. I appreciate that there was a sample as well as the step-by-step directions included in the download. I would definitely recommend this site to anyone that needs it.
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May 21st, 2021
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January 3rd, 2024
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January 4th, 2021
very satisfied, useful, and of great assistance
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Brian S.
March 2nd, 2026
PDF fields change font sizes leading to an unprofessional-appearing printed page. The examples for "Convey to" section don't include how to specify just one person instead of a married couple. Maybe that is simple but it would help to spell it out in an example. Haven't submitted to County Recorder yet, so will find out if it is acceptable.
Thank you for the feedback Brian.
The font issue is caused by using a PDF viewer other than Adobe Acrobat Reader. Our form fields are set to a uniform 12-point font, but non-Adobe viewers often render form fields inconsistently. Opening and printing the form with the free Adobe Acrobat Reader will resolve that.
Regarding the examples, that's a fair point, we'll look at expanding them.
Lawrence R.
February 4th, 2020
Forms do not allow enough space for fields and cutoff. Need to expand the fields to allow for more writing. I ended up re-typing to be able to include full property description. Would be nice if available in Word format rather than only PDF format.
Thank you for your feedback. We really appreciate it. Have a great day!
Jose G. C.
October 2nd, 2020
It was OK but unfortunately useless. The jurisdictions are now requesting that documents such as Notices of Commencement not only be recorded at their offices, but also certified. This last service is not provided by Deeds, or at least I could not find it in your website and did not receive a response when I asked if you did. Thus, we are going back to traditional means of recording/certifying
Thank you for your feedback Jose. We do hope that you find something more suitable to your needs elsewhere. Have a wonderful day.
Charles W.
December 26th, 2022
in one of the reviews, the person said they wished that there was more room allowed for use in the grantor section. the reply was that they were sorry but there was only enough room for what was there considering margins, etc. that is not true. on the forms i downloaded there was plenty of extra room at the top of the page (about 2 inches) that was not being used.
Thank you!
Shanna B.
March 26th, 2026
So quick and easy
We’re glad you had a positive experience. Thank you.
Dawn L.
May 26th, 2022
Not totally satisfied as unable to edit as needed on signature page of the deed. I want to be able to date the document and don't want the verbage "signed, sealed and delivered in the presence of" to appear and cannot remove it. The notary will make his or her own statement below as to the date executed.
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Celeste G.
January 23rd, 2019
Very helpful!!! Thanks again.
Thank you Celeste.
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January 11th, 2023
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August 17th, 2020
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Lois S.
June 8th, 2020
This website made it easy to quickly research what was recorded/released on the title of my home.
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Kathryn M.
May 1st, 2019
Never know an online service was available for recording county documents. It was so easy and simple and FAST! Within a matter of a couple hours it's done. I would definitely recommend Deeds.com to anyone.
Thank you Kathryn, we really appreciate that.