The California Declaration of Default Payments (also known as a Notice of Default) is a legal document filed by a mortgage lender or loan service with the county recorder's office to alert borrowers that they are behind on payments and that the lender is beginning the foreclosure process. This document is often the first step of the foreclosure process and requires borrowers to pay the past-due amount, plus any applicable late fees and penalties, within a certain timeframe. Failure to do so can result in the lender taking further action, such as beginning the foreclosure proceedings. There are two types of California Declaration of Default Payments — an Acceleration Notice of Default and a Non-Acceleration Notice of Default. An Acceleration Notice of Default is used when the entire loan balance is due and payable, while a Non-Acceleration Notice of Default is used when only past due payments are due.