Template: California preliminary notice (20-day notice) with proof of service
In one paragraph
A fill-in California preliminary notice for the electrical subcontractor working under a general contractor, with every item Civil Code 8102 and 8202 require, the NOTICE TO PROPERTY OWNER statement in the statute's words, a proof of notice declaration that matches Civil Code 8118, and a service log for the three people who must receive it. Beside it, the notice from the Phase 3 case of the unpaid kitchen remodel, served on day 6 instead of never. The notice is not a lien and does not accuse anyone of anything; it preserves the right to record one.
The rule
Before recording a mechanics lien, giving a stop payment notice or claiming on a payment bond, a subcontractor must give preliminary notice to the owner, the direct contractor and the construction lender, if any, not later than 20 days after first furnishing work (Civil Code 8200(a), 8204(a)); a late notice protects only the work of the 20 days before it. The notice must contain the Civil Code 8102 information, a general description of the work, an estimate of the total price and the boldface NOTICE TO PROPERTY OWNER (8202(a)), and be given by personal delivery or by registered or certified mail, express mail or overnight carrier (8106, 8110), with proof kept as an 8118 declaration.
Why it matters
The preliminary notice is the one piece of paper that stands between a subcontractor and an unsecured debt when the GC does not pay. It costs a stamp and ten minutes, it has to go out in the first 20 days of every job you do for someone other than the owner, and no one will remind you. Contractors who serve it on every job stop losing the ones that go bad.