California Preliminary Notice
California Civil Code section 8200 requires a preliminary notice to the owner, the direct contractor and any construction lender, served within 20 days of first furnishing work. Attorney review available.
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Introduction
Civil Code section 8200 names three people who have to receive a California preliminary notice, and most notices that fail in this state fail because only one of them got a copy. The three are the owner or reputed owner, the direct contractor or reputed direct contractor through whom the claimant was hired, and the construction lender or reputed construction lender if there is one. California then makes the notice a gatekeeper rather than a formality: the statute says in terms that compliance with section 8200 is a necessary prerequisite to the validity of a lien claim or a stop payment notice, and a necessary prerequisite to a payment bond claim as well. Two groups are let off. A laborer does not have to give preliminary notice at all. A claimant who holds a direct contractual relationship with the owner has to notify only the construction lender, if there is one, which is why a general contractor on a cash job often has nothing to serve. Everyone else on the job, from the framing subcontractor to the lumber yard to the crane lessor, is squarely inside the requirement. Section 8204 sets the clock at 20 days from the date the claimant first furnished work on the work of improvement, and a claimant who missed that window may still serve, but may then reach only the work performed in the 20 days before service and afterward. Section 8202 sets out what the notice must say, including a boldface NOTICE TO PROPERTY OWNER statement in the statute's own words. Sections 8106 and 8110 decide how it travels, and section 8118 decides how you prove it did. DocDraft builds your California preliminary notice from your facts, with attorney review available before you serve it.
Key Things to Know
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Civil Code section 8200 requires the California preliminary notice to go to three parties, not one: the owner or reputed owner, the direct contractor through whom the claimant provides work, and the construction lender or reputed construction lender if the job has one.
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California treats the notice as a gatekeeper. Section 8200 states that compliance is a necessary prerequisite to the validity of a lien claim or a stop payment notice, and compliance with section 8200 or section 8612 is a necessary prerequisite to a claim against a payment bond.
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A California laborer is not required to give preliminary notice, and a claimant with a direct contractual relationship with the owner is required to notify only the construction lender, if any. That is the exemption a general contractor on an unfinanced job relies on.
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The California window is 20 days from the day the claimant first furnished work on the work of improvement. A claimant who serves late is not precluded from serving, but may then record a lien, give a stop payment notice or assert a bond claim only for work performed within the 20 days before service, and anything after.
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Section 8202 requires a boldface statement headed NOTICE TO PROPERTY OWNER, telling the owner that a lien may be placed on the property even though the owner has paid the contractor in full, and suggesting the owner require a signed release before paying. Use the statute's own wording.
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Mail service in California means registered or certified mail, express mail, or overnight delivery by an express service carrier (section 8110). Personal delivery and substituted service under Code of Civil Procedure section 415.20 are the alternatives section 8106 allows.
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Where a licensed subcontractor's contract on the job provides for payment of more than four hundred dollars, section 8216 makes failing to give the notice grounds for disciplinary action under the Contractors' State License Law, on top of losing the lien.
Key decisions before you file
Before you file a Preliminary Notice in California, a few decisions shape the document: which option to choose and what each one means. The Preliminary Notice guide walks through them.
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California Requirements for Preliminary Notice
Three Recipients Under Civil Code Section 8200
The owner or reputed owner, the direct contractor or reputed direct contractor to which the claimant provides work either directly or through one or more subcontractors, and the construction lender or reputed construction lender if any. All three, not the owner alone. Section 8200 makes compliance a necessary prerequisite to the validity of a lien claim or stop payment notice.
Twenty Days From First Furnishing Work
Civil Code section 8204 requires the preliminary notice to be given not later than 20 days after the claimant has first furnished work on the work of improvement. A design professional who gives notice within 20 days after the work of improvement has commenced is treated as having complied with section 8200 for those design services. Attorney review available on this section, whose text is corroborated from two published copies because the state's own page is behind a bot wall.
Late Service Limits the Claim to the Prior Twenty Days
A claimant who did not give a preliminary notice is not precluded from giving one later, but may then record a lien, give a stop payment notice and assert a claim against a payment bond only for work performed within the 20 days prior to service of the notice, and at any time thereafter (section 8204).
Laborer and Direct Contractor Exemptions
Section 8200(e) exempts a laborer from giving preliminary notice entirely, and requires a claimant with a direct contractual relationship with an owner or reputed owner to give notice only to the construction lender or reputed construction lender, if any. A direct contractor on a job with no construction loan therefore has nothing to serve.
The Boldface NOTICE TO PROPERTY OWNER Statement
Section 8202 requires a statement in boldface type headed NOTICE TO PROPERTY OWNER, warning that even though the owner has paid the contractor in full a lien may be placed on the property if the person giving the notice is not paid, that foreclosure may lead to loss of all or part of the property, and that the owner may require a signed release before paying. Reproduce the statute's words.
Service by Registered or Certified Mail, Express Mail or Overnight Carrier
Section 8106 allows personal delivery, mail in the manner section 8110 provides, or leaving the notice and mailing a copy as Code of Civil Procedure section 415.20 provides. Section 8110 restricts the mail option to registered or certified mail, express mail, or overnight delivery by an express service carrier, so ordinary first class mail is not service in California.
Proof of Notice Declaration Under Section 8118
Proof is made by a proof of notice declaration stating the type of notice, the date, place and manner of notice with facts showing it was given as the statute requires, and the name, address and capacity of each person notified. A mailed notice also needs Postal Service or carrier documentation of payment, or a return receipt, delivery confirmation, signature confirmation, tracking record or the returned envelope.
One Notice Per Person, and License Discipline for Skipping It
Section 8206 lets one notice cover all the claimant's work on a work of improvement, but requires a separate notice for work under each contract where the claimant supplies through more than one subcontractor. Section 8216 makes failure to give the notice grounds for disciplinary action under the Contractors' State License Law where a licensed subcontractor's contract on the job exceeds four hundred dollars. Section 8202(c) lets a qualifying invoice or certified payroll serve as the notice.