Merced County Preliminary Notice Form (California)

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

Preliminary Notice Form

Merced County Preliminary Notice Form

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

Preliminary Notice Guide

Merced County Preliminary Notice Guide

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

Completed Example of the Preliminary Notice Document

Merced County Completed Example of the Preliminary Notice Document

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

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

Merced County Recorder

2222 M St, main floor, Merced, California 95340-3729

Hours: M-F 8:00am - 4:30pm / Recording until 3:30pm

Phone: (209) 385-7627

Local jurisdictions located in Merced County include:

  • Atwater
  • Ballico
  • Cressey
  • Delhi
  • Dos Palos
  • El Nido
  • Gustine
  • Hilmar
  • Le Grand
  • Livingston
  • Los Banos
  • Merced
  • Planada
  • Santa Rita Park
  • Snelling
  • South Dos Palos
  • Stevinson
  • Winton

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

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

What are supplemental forms?

Often when a deed is recorded, additional documents are required by California or Merced 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 Merced 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 Merced 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 Merced 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.

Jimmy P.

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.

Reply from Staff

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

Marilyn W.

April 25th, 2022

The Mineral Deed transfer form was pretty good. Could have used more info in the guide about where to find legal property descriptions and source of title. Also more space on the pdf for entering return addresses - there was room for only one; I needed three. I will be sending the form to the County Courthouse soon. I hope it works.

Reply from Staff

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

Vonnie F.

January 26th, 2021

This service is very user-friendly and efficient.

Reply from Staff

Thank you!

Pamela B.

May 29th, 2021

The process was not difficult but I don't think that it suited my needs.
There were several fields that were not applicable to me but I had to enter something to proceed.
I also filled out the other form and mailed it in with some documentation that the electronic service did not ask for.
Questions of my attempt are still unanswered. I hope I didn't waste time with this process. We shall see.
Thank you.

Reply from Staff

Thank you!

Betty H. S.

February 11th, 2019

I have no complaints thank you.

Reply from Staff

Thanks Betty, Have a great day!

Hanne R.

November 17th, 2020

excellent

Reply from Staff

Thank you!

Xochitl B.

November 30th, 2021

Excellent website, thanks so much.

Reply from Staff

Thank you!

James H.

December 7th, 2020

Clear and easy instructions. Prompt processing and confirmation. I am still in the middle of submitting my document for recording, but I am confident that the Deeds.com service will deliver as promised. Definitely a valuable tool with important legal doucments.

Reply from Staff

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

edward m.

February 27th, 2019

I would rate it 5 stars also. Eddie M.

Reply from Staff

Thank you!

Sheryl B.

March 2nd, 2019

Great forms. Just what I needed.

Reply from Staff

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

Patricia J.

September 17th, 2020

Easy quick process to download at a reasonable price. Some good info provided.

Reply from Staff

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

Kristen H.

August 29th, 2019

This was such a money saver. I was told by someone at the courthouse that I had to have a lawyer prepare the paper work for my mom. They stated that family members couldn't prepare the papers. I was hopeful when I found that I could prepare the survivorship affidavit on Deeds. I was able to prepare everything myself and had no issues today when at the courthouse for all the changes. Thank you!

Reply from Staff

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

daniel b.

April 15th, 2019

nice & easy, site needs to have notification as to security of credit card info. who and how?

Reply from Staff

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