Contra Costa County Preliminary Notice Form (California)

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

Preliminary Notice Form

Contra Costa County Preliminary Notice Form

Fill in the blank Preliminary Notice form formatted to comply with all California recording and content requirements.
Included Contra Costa County compliant document last validated/updated 10/4/2024

Preliminary Notice Guide

Contra Costa County Preliminary Notice Guide

Line by line guide explaining every blank on the form.
Included Contra Costa County compliant document last validated/updated 10/3/2024

Completed Example of the Preliminary Notice Document

Contra Costa County Completed Example of the Preliminary Notice Document

Example of a properly completed form for reference.
Included Contra Costa County compliant document last validated/updated 7/26/2024

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

Contra Costa Clerk-Recorder

555 Escobar St / PO Box 350 , Martinez, California 94553

Hours: 8:00 AM to 4:00 PM Monday through Friday

Phone: (925) 335-7910

Local jurisdictions located in Contra Costa County include:

  • Alamo
  • Antioch
  • Bethel Island
  • Brentwood
  • Byron
  • Canyon
  • Clayton
  • Concord
  • Crockett
  • Danville
  • Diablo
  • Discovery Bay
  • El Cerrito
  • El Sobrante
  • Hercules
  • Knightsen
  • Lafayette
  • Martinez
  • Moraga
  • Oakley
  • Orinda
  • Pinole
  • Pittsburg
  • Pleasant Hill
  • Port Costa
  • Richmond
  • Rodeo
  • San Pablo
  • San Ramon
  • Walnut Creek

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 Contra Costa 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 Contra Costa County using our eRecording service.
Are these forms guaranteed to be recordable in Contra Costa County?

Yes. Our form blanks are guaranteed to meet or exceed all formatting requirements set forth by Contra Costa 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 Contra Costa County that you need to transfer you would only need to order our forms once for all of your properties in Contra Costa County.

What are supplemental forms?

Often when a deed is recorded, additional documents are required by California or Contra Costa 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 Contra Costa 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 Contra Costa 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 Contra Costa 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 - ( 4434 Reviews )

James S.

November 21st, 2024

Forms used, created quitclaim deed that the county accepted without a second look (turns out they see deeds.com forms regularly via erecording and in person). Will be back for any real estate related forms I need and they carry. Will always be my first stop. Also, will use erecording next time, mad I didn't see it this time.

Reply from Staff

Thanks for the kind words James, glad we could help. Look forward to seeing you again.

Thomas G.

November 21st, 2024

Wasn’t what I expected

Reply from Staff

Sorry to hear that your expectations were missed. Your order has been canceled. We do hope that you find something more suitable to your expectations elsewhere. Do keep in mind that purchasing legal forms should not be an exploratory endeavor.

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November 20th, 2024

They sent me everything I would need to do this. Easy purchase -Easy download. Great!! I'll be back here for all my document needs.

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June 14th, 2022

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February 24th, 2022

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September 25th, 2020

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Reply from Staff

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October 31st, 2019

I was very pleased with the end results regarding Quitclaim deeds.

Reply from Staff

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July 26th, 2023

The web site is alright, not the easiest to navigate and the wording on the papers could be simpler to understand.

Reply from Staff

Thank you for your feedback! We appreciate your input regarding the website's navigation and the wording on our documents. We'll definitely take your suggestions into account to improve the user experience and make the content more accessible and easier to understand. Your insights are valuable to us as we strive to enhance our services. If you have any further suggestions or concerns, please feel free to share them with us. Thank you again for your feedback!

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March 29th, 2019

Thank You!

Reply from Staff

Thank you Angie.

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July 17th, 2019

It was easy to download the form I wanted BUT there were 2 other options listed for "open/download." I didn't want to risk more charges for something I couldn't determine I needed so I passed them up. There were a few others listed with the option to "view" so I did that, without down-loading, and there were no additional charges. I would've liked that opportunity for 2 others that didn't offer "view" so maybe deeds.com missed a sale?

Reply from Staff

Thank you for your feedback Linda. All the documents available for download in your account are included with your payment, no additional charges.

Fred D.

August 31st, 2022

At first glance, explanations and guidance to fill out the grant deed seems quite direct and no too difficult. I did not see any reference to a mortgagee which I believe needs to be incorporated in a boundary line adjustment (BLA), though not sure
I'll do the actual filling out the form in the next couple of weeks and will be in a better position for a more complete review.

Reply from Staff

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November 7th, 2023

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Reply from Staff

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June 5th, 2020

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February 7th, 2022

The Executor's Guide needs more info about what to put for grantee (estate of deceased or my name as executor?) and the price (something nominal like $10?) before there is a buyer. The guide seems to use only one example.

Reply from Staff

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September 3rd, 2021

Just what I was looking for

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