A preliminary notice on a private construction project must be served on:

Explanation

§8200(a) names three recipients: the owner or reputed owner, the direct contractor to which the claimant provides work, and the construction lender if there is one. §8200(c) and (d) make that service a prerequisite to a valid lien claim, stop payment notice, or claim against a payment bond. The real exceptions run the other way from these distractors: §8200(e) excuses a laborer entirely and requires a claimant who does have a direct contract with the owner to notify only the construction lender. (b) drops the owner, whose property the lien attaches to; (c) adds the building department, which has no role in the lien scheme; and (d) confuses the preliminary notice with recording the claim of lien itself at the recorder's office.