California Forms

Santa Clara County Preliminary Notice Form

Santa Clara County Preliminary Notice Form

Santa Clara County Preliminary Notice Form

Fill in the blank Preliminary Notice form formatted to comply with all California recording and content requirements.

Document Last Validated 7/9/2025
Santa Clara County Preliminary Notice Guide

Santa Clara County Preliminary Notice Guide

Line by line guide explaining every blank on the form.

Document Last Validated 6/3/2025
Santa Clara County Completed Example of the Preliminary Notice Document

Santa Clara County Completed Example of the Preliminary Notice Document

Example of a properly completed form for reference.

Document Last Validated 5/22/2025

All 3 documents above included • One-time purchase • No recurring fees

Immediate Download • Secure Checkout

Important: Your property must be located in Santa Clara County to use these forms. Documents should be recorded at the office below.

Where to Record Your Documents

County Clerk-Recorder
Address:
110 West Tasman Drive (ATTN: Recording-First floor)
San Jose, California 95134

Hours: 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m

Phone: (408) 299-5688

Recording Tips for Santa Clara County:
  • White-out or correction fluid may cause rejection
  • Double-check legal descriptions match your existing deed
  • Leave recording info boxes blank - the office fills these
  • Request a receipt showing your recording numbers

Cities and Jurisdictions in Santa Clara County

Properties in any of these areas use Santa Clara County forms:

  • Alviso
  • Campbell
  • Coyote
  • Cupertino
  • Gilroy
  • Holy City
  • Los Altos
  • Los Gatos
  • Milpitas
  • Morgan Hill
  • Mount Hamilton
  • Mountain View
  • New Almaden
  • Palo Alto
  • Redwood Estates
  • San Jose
  • San Martin
  • Santa Clara
  • Saratoga
  • Stanford
  • Sunnyvale

View Complete Recorder Office Guide

Hours, fees, requirements, and more for Santa Clara County

How do I get my forms?

Forms are available for immediate download after payment. The Santa Clara 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 Santa Clara County?

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

Can I reuse these forms?

Yes. You can reuse the forms for your personal use. For example, if you have multiple properties in Santa Clara 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 Santa Clara County?

Recording fees in Santa Clara County vary. Contact the recorder's office at (408) 299-5688 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 Santa Clara County to use these forms. Documents should be recorded at the office below.

This Preliminary Notice meets all recording requirements specific to Santa Clara County.

Our Promise

The documents you receive here will meet, or exceed, the Santa Clara 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 Santa Clara 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.

4.8 out of 5 - ( 4573 Reviews )

Patricia H.

October 15th, 2020

The process was so easy and result was excellent and expedient. I will definitely recommend your company for future recording needs.

Reply from Staff

Thank you!

Sara M.

March 30th, 2022

Love these docs, and so does the recorder's office. Recording always goes so smooth, no issues ever. THANKS!!!

Reply from Staff

Awesome! Thanks for the kind words Sara.

Mark W.

May 9th, 2019

Easy, simple and fast. I am familiar with deeds in my state and these looked correct. The common missed document of TRANSFER OF REAL ESTATE VALUE document was also included. Kudos on being complete.

Reply from Staff

Thanks Mark, we really appreciate your feedback.

Sherri P.

May 6th, 2020

I thought it was easy, but I wish it were faster. I uploaded my document Monday night (after 5pm) and got my invoice the next morning Tuesday paid it right away. and my document was not sent to me as recorded until Wednesday morning even though it was recorded the day earlier at 8:30am. So there was a delay of almost 24 hours letting me know that my document was recorded. So if they could speed that up so that we knew exactly when it got recorded immediately I would give it a million stars

Reply from Staff

Thank you!

Rachel C.

November 29th, 2019

Excellent information, and form source.

Reply from Staff

Thank you!

James W.

June 10th, 2019

It turned out that I was able to search for what I needed on the local county website, which is what your site suggested be tried. I was impressed with your honesty and practical instructions for searches your site gave. I'm pretty sure I'll be back.

Reply from Staff

Thank you for your feedback James. Glad to hear we were able to steer you in the right direction.

michael k.

February 24th, 2023

fast and easy to fill out forms.

Reply from Staff

Thank you!

Emili C.

October 14th, 2020

Thank you! I received my forms promptly and they are easy to follow along for filling out. The examples gave me confidence that they were done correctly.

Reply from Staff

Thank you for your feedback. We really appreciate it. Have a great day!

Anita B.

April 15th, 2020

Service was fast and complete. Would use again.

Reply from Staff

Thank you!

Michael S.

September 28th, 2019

So far so good! Easy site to navigate for old farts like me

Reply from Staff

We appreciate your business and value your feedback. Thank you. Have a wonderful day!

Daniel V.

April 11th, 2023

Awesome service Recorded a deed within 24hrs and saved my self a 14hr+ journey

Reply from Staff

Thank you for your feedback. We really appreciate it. Have a great day!

Julie K.

September 4th, 2023

The process for obtaining document itself was easy, and the included guide and example are great! I do have an issue with the format itself, though. The form has pre-defined text boxes, which cannot be altered without partially rebuilding the entire document. For the 'property description' field on the Mineral Deed form, the text box is not large enough for the rather lengthy legal description entered on my original plat. Fortunately, I have a copy of Adobe Pro, so I have been able to re-build the doc to accommodate this short-coming.

Reply from Staff

Thank you for taking the time to provide feedback on our legal form. We're pleased to hear that you found the process for obtaining the document and the included guide beneficial.

We understand and appreciate your concern regarding the formatting and size limitations of certain fields, especially the 'property description' field. Our forms are designed to adhere to specific formatting requirements that are often mandated for legal compliance. Making direct alterations to the document can result in them becoming non-conforming, which is why we advise customers to use an exhibit page when their legal description is extensive or does not fit.

Marvita J.

September 26th, 2020

Deeds.com was fast and easy and I got everything I needed in one stop!

Reply from Staff

Thank you for your feedback. We really appreciate it. Have a great day!

Joel B.

August 10th, 2022

I would have liked more room in the text fields for describing the potential claim. had to use Exhibit A. Could not delete Exhibit B. Alo would like to have a custom footer - not deeds.com. Unprofessional.

Reply from Staff

Thank you for your feedback. We really appreciate it. Have a great day!

Ann M.

February 11th, 2022

I was extremely pleased with how easy this process was, and how quickly my document was recorded. I will definitely use this again!

Reply from Staff

We appreciate your business and value your feedback. Thank you. Have a wonderful day!