California property deeds

Deeds California recognizes

California does not recognize lady bird deeds, so recording one here may not do what you want.

How a deed has to be signed in California

California requires the grantor's signature to be acknowledged before a notary public. No witnesses are required.

California document formatting rules

A safe layout for California is 8.5 × 11 inch paper with a 2.5-inch clear space at the top of the first page for the county recorder's stamp, 0.5-inch margins elsewhere, and no type smaller than 10 point. That is the profile Deedly formats every California document to. Writing into the recorder's stamp area is the most common formatting rejection there is.

• California reserves the top 2.5 inches of the first page for recording information, with the left 3.5 inches of that space used for the party requesting recording and the return name and address; the vertical sides carry half-inch margins (Cal. Gov. Code § 27361.6). Deedly places the return block in that space. A noncomplying first page must instead carry an attached cover page.
• Paper must be 8.5 × 11 inches; other sizes incur a per-page penalty fee.
• Print must stay legible when the recorder images it (Cal. Gov. Code § 27361.6). Printing denser than nine lines or 22 characters per inch costs $1 extra per page (Cal. Gov. Code § 27361(a)(1)). Deedly uses 10-point type or larger.

California transfer tax and recording fees

California's documentary transfer tax is $0.55 per $500 of consideration in a county that imposes it, plus any city tax ($1.10 per $1,000 at the county rate). California has no state transfer tax. Counties and city-and-counties impose this tax by ordinance, and a city inside a county that imposes it may impose half that amount, credited against the county tax (Cal. Rev. & Tax. Code § 11911). Charter cities set their own rates, and the rates in Los Angeles, San Francisco, Oakland and Berkeley are substantially higher; ask your county recorder what applies to your property. The tax is owed by whoever makes, signs or issues the deed, or for whose use or benefit it is made, so either party can be liable (§ 11912). The gift and living trust exemptions come from Rev. & Tax. Code § 11930, the divorce exemption from § 11927. Transfers between spouses are also excluded from property tax reassessment (Rev. & Tax. Code § 63), which is a separate rule from this tax.

Common exemptions: gifts for which the grantor receives nothing in return, transfers into or out of a living trust, and transfers between spouses that divide their property under a divorce or legal separation judgment or a written agreement made for one (the deed must carry a signed recital).

Recording fees run about $15 for the first page and roughly $3 per additional page. Recording fees vary by county, and the $15 figure is Los Angeles County's base fee for the first page, not a statewide fee. San Luis Obispo County lists $14 and $3 for each additional page. Each county adds charges that depend on the document: Los Angeles lists a $2 restrictive covenant fee and a $7 fraud notification fee, among others, so its total for a one-page deed is higher. Add the $75 SB2 fee (Cal. Gov. Code § 27388.1) per document, capped at $225 per transaction per parcel, unless an exemption is stated on the face of the document: the transfer is subject to documentary transfer tax, or it transfers a residential dwelling to an owner-occupier. Ask your county recorder for the total for your deed.

See how California's transfer tax and recording fee compare with other states.

How to hold title in California

• Sole ownership. One person owns everything.
• Tenancy in common. Separate, divisible shares with no survivorship. A deceased owner's share goes to their heirs.
• Joint tenancy with right of survivorship. Equal shares; the survivor takes the whole property automatically.
• Community property. Property acquired during marriage belongs to both spouses equally.
• Community property with right of survivorship, usually the best choice for married couples here: probate avoidance plus a full step-up in basis on the whole property at the first death. Both spouses sign the acceptance Deedly prints on the deed (Cal. Civ. Code § 682.1(a)).

Where to record a deed in California

Deeds are recorded with the County Recorder (Clerk-Recorder) in the county where the property is located. California has 58 counties. California counties e-record only through authorized submitters under contract with the county, such as title companies, lenders, government agencies and other approved submitters (Cal. Gov. Code § 27390 et seq.). If you prepare your own deed, plan to record it in person or by mail, or ask a title or escrow company to submit it for a fee.

Los Angeles · San Diego · Orange · Riverside · San Bernardino · Santa Clara · Alameda · Sacramento · Contra Costa · Fresno · Kern · Ventura · San Francisco · San Mateo. all California recording offices

Why deeds get rejected in California

• California's grant deed, not a general warranty deed, is the standard sale instrument. It carries two implied covenants under Civ. Code § 1113.
• A California transfer on death deed must be recorded within 60 days of the date it is notarized. Miss that window and the deed is void, even if it is otherwise perfect.
• A California TOD deed has needed TWO witnesses as well as a notary since January 1, 2022. No ordinary California deed requires witnesses, so this requirement is easy to miss, and a TOD deed without two witnesses has no effect (Prob. Code § 5624). Do not use a beneficiary as one of the witnesses.
• California's TOD deed statute is currently set to expire on January 1, 2032. A deed signed before that date stays valid.
• The TOD deed works only for a parcel improved with one to four residential units, or a residential unit in a condominium, planned development, stock cooperative or other common interest development (Prob. Code § 5610). It cannot be used for bare land, commercial property, or agricultural land over 40 acres.
• File a Preliminary Change of Ownership Report (BOE-502-A, signed by the new owner) with a deed that conveys ownership now. It is not a condition of recording: without it the recorder adds a $20 fee (Rev. & Tax. Code § 480.3), and the assessor sends a change-in-ownership statement that must be returned within 90 days to avoid a penalty (§ 480). A transfer on death deed needs no report when it is recorded.
• Keep the top 2.5 inches of page one clear except for the requester and return-address block in its left 3.5 inches (Gov. Code § 27361.6). If page one doesn't comply, the recorder requires an added cover page and charges for the extra page.
• Appear before the notary in person. California notaries cannot notarize remotely until the Secretary of State's online system is ready, by January 1, 2030 at the latest. If you sign outside California, the notary there completes their own state's acknowledgment certificate, which California accepts (Civ. Code § 1189(b)); ask your recorder before relying on a remote notarization from another state.
• A transfer to your child can reset the property tax. Proposition 19 avoids that only for a parent's principal residence that becomes the child's principal residence within one year, with the homeowners' exemption filed within a year, and only for up to $1,000,000 of value above the current taxable value. The child must file the claim (BOE-19-P) with the county assessor, generally within three years (Rev. & Tax. Code § 63.2). This is a property tax rule, not a transfer tax exemption.