Santa Clara County Preliminary Notice Form

Last validated April 27, 2026 by our Forms Development Team

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 4/23/2026
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 4/22/2026
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 4/27/2026

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:
  • Double-check legal descriptions match your existing deed
  • Request a receipt showing your recording numbers
  • Both spouses typically need to sign if property is jointly owned

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 the applicable formatting requirements used for recording in Santa Clara 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 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 are guaranteed to meet or exceed the applicable Santa Clara 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 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 - ( 4698 Reviews )

Catherine M.

October 22nd, 2025

Easy to use, loved the format, will use again

Reply from Staff

Thank you, Catherine! We’re so glad you found the process easy and liked the format. We appreciate your support and look forward to helping you again soon!

Donnajean L.

October 9th, 2024

The site is user friendly and uncomplicated.

Reply from Staff

Thank you!

Lora N.

April 11th, 2023

Excellent, easy to use! Awesome system. Loved it.

Reply from Staff

Thank you!

Christopher B.

November 26th, 2019

Record retrieval by staff is very prompt!!! Great customer service for sure!

Reply from Staff

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

DeBe W.

January 27th, 2024

Thanks for the quick response. That really helps when you're under a time deadline.

Reply from Staff

Your feedback is greatly appreciated. Thank you for taking the time to share your experience!

Penny S.

February 15th, 2026

Easy to access information needed.

Reply from Staff

We’re always here to help. Thank you for your feedback.

Deborah G.

June 4th, 2019

Great website and very easy to use

Reply from Staff

Thank you for your feedback Deborah, we really appreciate it. Have a great day!

Wesley R T.

December 9th, 2020

Great service and easy use

Reply from Staff

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

DUINA F.

June 17th, 2025

Fast and Easy

Reply from Staff

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

jerry k.

May 27th, 2021

very easy to download, works great

Reply from Staff

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

Karen J.

December 20th, 2018

Excellent and easy to download and use. Love the example page and was so easy to fill out and use immediately. Thank you

Reply from Staff

Thank you for your feedback Karen. We really appreciate it. Enjoy your day!

Roger G.

March 23rd, 2023

was difficult to find the location on the website to actually download the form I needed. Initially was directed only to information pages related to the form I needed

Reply from Staff

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

Joshua W.

May 9th, 2021

Very efficient and easy to use, worth the price.

Reply from Staff

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

Norma G.

May 9th, 2019

Thank you! This is very helpful

Reply from Staff

Thank you!

Wilma D.

August 7th, 2020

The certification of trust looks fine to me. I printed it and filled it out and had it notarized today. I have not sent it to the company that wants it yet so that will be the test. They are very picky. If they have any comment I will let you know.

Reply from Staff

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