Talkov Law's real estate litigators provide a free checklist of requirements to file a lis pendens (notice of pending action). First, you can only file a lis pendens if you have a pending lawsuit with the circuit court.There must be an active lawsuit in order to file a Lis Pendens—meaning, you cannot file a Lis Pendens on its own. The property must be located in Santa Clara County. To file and record a lis pendens against real estate, the claimant must have made a "real property claim" in the underlying litigation. The form lis pendens below provides an example of a notice of pending action sent for recording with the county recorder. If you have an attorney, the attorney is the only one that needs to sign. If you click on the form number in the first column you must print it to fill it out. There are other legal requirements.