San Mateo County Preliminary Notice Form (California)

All San Mateo County specific forms and documents listed below are included in your immediate download package:

Preliminary Notice Form

San Mateo County Preliminary Notice Form

Fill in the blank Preliminary Notice form formatted to comply with all California recording and content requirements.
Included San Mateo County compliant document last validated/updated 7/9/2025

Preliminary Notice Guide

San Mateo County Preliminary Notice Guide

Line by line guide explaining every blank on the form.
Included San Mateo County compliant document last validated/updated 6/3/2025

Completed Example of the Preliminary Notice Document

San Mateo County Completed Example of the Preliminary Notice Document

Example of a properly completed form for reference.
Included San Mateo County compliant document last validated/updated 5/22/2025

When using these Preliminary Notice forms, the subject real estate must be physically located in San Mateo County. The executed documents should then be recorded in the following office:

San Mateo County Recorder

555 County Center, 1st floor, Redwood City, California 94063-1665

Hours: Monday through Friday 8:00am to 5:00pm

Phone: (650) 363-4500

Local jurisdictions located in San Mateo County include:

  • Atherton
  • Belmont
  • Brisbane
  • Burlingame
  • Daly City
  • El Granada
  • Half Moon Bay
  • La Honda
  • Loma Mar
  • Menlo Park
  • Millbrae
  • Montara
  • Moss Beach
  • Pacifica
  • Pescadero
  • Portola Valley
  • Redwood City
  • San Bruno
  • San Carlos
  • San Francisco
  • San Gregorio
  • San Mateo
  • South San Francisco

How long does it take to get my forms?

Forms are available immediately after submitting payment.

How do I get my forms, are they emailed?

Immediately after you submit payment, the San Mateo County forms you order will be available for download directly from your account. You can then download the forms to your computer. If you do not already have an account, one will be created for you as part of the order process, and your login details will be provided to you. If you encounter any issues accessing your forms, please reach out to our support team for assistance. Forms are NOT emailed to you.

What does "validated/updated" mean?

This indicates the most recent date when at least one of the following occurred:

  • Updated: The document was updated or changed to remain compliant.
  • Validated: The document was examined by an attorney or staff, or it was successfully recorded in San Mateo County using our eRecording service.
Are these forms guaranteed to be recordable in San Mateo County?

Yes. Our form blanks are guaranteed to meet or exceed all formatting requirements set forth by San Mateo County including margin requirements, content requirements, font and font size requirements.

Can the Preliminary Notice forms be re-used?

Yes. You can re-use the forms for your personal use. For example, if you have more than one property in San Mateo County that you need to transfer you would only need to order our forms once for all of your properties in San Mateo County.

What are supplemental forms?

Often when a deed is recorded, additional documents are required by California or San Mateo County. These could be tax related, informational, or even as simple as a coversheet. Supplemental forms are provided for free with your order where available.

What type of files are the forms?

All of our San Mateo County Preliminary Notice forms are PDFs. You will need to have or get Adobe Reader to use our forms. Adobe Reader is free software that most computers already have installed.

Do I need any special software to use these forms?

You will need to have Adobe Reader installed on your computer to use our forms. Adobe Reader is free software that most computers already have installed.

Do I have to enter all of my property information online?

No. The blank forms are downloaded to your computer and you fill them out there, at your convenience.

Can I save the completed form, email it to someone?

Yes, you can save your deed form at any point with your information in it. The forms can also be emailed, blank or complete, as attachments.

Are there any recurring fees involved?

No. Nothing to cancel, no memberships, no recurring fees.

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.

Our Promise

The documents you receive here will meet, or exceed, the San Mateo County recording requirements for formatting. If there's an issue caused by our formatting, we'll make it right and refund your payment.

Save Time and Money

Get your San Mateo 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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