California 20-Day Preliminary Notice Form

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Get help filing your California Preliminary Notice

The California 20-day preliminary notice is required by all parties on a construction project. This form download was created by construction lawyers to meet the requirements set forth in California Civil Code.

In order to preserve their right to file a mechanics lien in California, contractors, material suppliers and design professionals must send a preliminary notice (also known in California as a 20 Day Preliminary Notice).

The notice must be sent within 20 days of first providing work or materials to a construction or renovation project. If you are past the 20 day period, you can still send notice, but it will only preserve lien rights for the work or materials delivered after the notice is served, and for the 20 days preceding the service of the notice.

Fill out the form on the right to download your free California 20 Day Preliminary Notice Form template that can be filled out with a PDF editor, or by hand after printing. Use this template to protect your lien rights on a job in the state of California.

Rules and regulations for sending a California Preliminary Notice

Deadline for Property Owner / Public Entity General Contractor Lender to send the California Preliminary Notice

In CA, all parties other than wage laborers must send a 20-Day Preliminary Notice within 20 days from first furnishing materials or labor to a project. For parties other than a direct contractor this notice must be sent to the direct contractor, the property owner and the construction lender (if any), direct contractors only must send the notice to the construction lender (if any).

Under the new California mechanics lien laws, those who contract directly with the owner must still deliver a preliminary notice if there is a construction lender on the project, or if they performed work initiated by the tenant. This notice must be sent within 20 days of first furnishing labor or materials to the project.

Please provide the actual total contract amount for this project or your best estimate of value of the labor or materials to be furnished.

In CA, preliminary notices sent by subcontractors that have not paid all compensation due to a laborer/Employee Trust Fund, must include the name and address of the laborer or Employee Trust Fund to which payments are due. If the following applies, please enter the name and address of the laborer and/or Employee Trust Fund here.

This is the first date you were on the project working or the first date you delivered material to the project.

This is the last date you were on the project working or the last date you delivered material to the project.

Describe your contribution to the project as if you’re speaking to someone who isn’t in the construction industry. For examples, go to levelset.com/description-of-labor

After completing the California 20-Day Preliminary Notice Form, you must deliver it to the appropriate parties required by statute. Notices are typically served on the property owner and, for sub-tier parties, the general contractor. However, depending on the type of notice, it can be helpful to send notices to anyone else who is in charge of your payment, like a lender or surety company on the project.

Others are asking about California Preliminary Notice

I have not been paid and didnt file the 20 day due 9 months ago

Most likely your best course of action at this point would be a demand letter and potentially a breach of contract action against the GC who has not paid you. If there is a payment bond on the project your may still have time to make a claim against this bond. But otherwise, because you did not send preliminary notice, you would not have lien rights.

HOW DO I GET PRELIM INFO

Generally you would get it from your contract or your customer. Levelset can assist in researching the project to get this information as well. This is more important when there may be a lender and you are not sure who the owner is. You also should be able to get owner/lender information from the county recorder and/or a title company.

Can the prelim have a different name from the lien?

I forgot to add another important point. We currently have 2 different entities set up in Levelset; entity "A" and entity "X". The dba "B" will be created under entity "A" and we intend to use this dba for both entities going forward.