California Quitclaim Deed

A California quitclaim deed made by one grantor moves whatever interest that grantor holds, and nothing more, with a single signature line and a single notary certificate. This form prepares the individual grantor version of the California quitclaim deed: one owner conveying to the grantee or grantees named in the deed, without any warranty of title.

What a Quitclaim Conveys in California

California never wrote a statutory quitclaim form. The instrument, often searched as a quit claim deed, works through the general conveyance statutes: a written document, subscribed by the grantor, that takes effect on delivery. What separates a quitclaim from California's statutory grant deed is one word. A deed that uses the word grant carries two implied covenants under Civil Code Section 1113; a quitclaim omits that word, so no covenant of title is implied. The California Supreme Court has described a quitclaim as fully effective to transfer whatever title the grantor has, including fee simple title, but without warranties. Title the grantor acquires later does not pass under it, the traditional distinction California cases draw between the two deeds, and this form states that limit on its face.

One Grantor, One Signature Line

The form recites exactly one grantor, an individual signing personally. The grantor section carries one name with the customary status description, the signature section carries one line, and one California all-purpose acknowledgment certificate follows, complete with the boxed notice Civil Code Section 1189 requires at the top of every certificate taken in the state. An individual releasing a possible interest to clear a cloud on title, a family member passing an interest to a relative, and an owner moving title under a settlement present the single grantor pattern this deed recites. The form is not set up as a two grantor instrument, and a conveyance of community real property in which both spouses join presents a two signer pattern outside this form's single signature block.

A First Page Built for the Recording Counter

California recorders read the first page before anything else, and this form arranges it the way Government Code Section 27361.6 describes: the top 2.5 inches reserved for recording information, the requester line and return address in the left 3.5 inches of that space, and the document title below. The first page also carries the two entries state law looks for before acceptance: the name and address for future tax statements under Government Code Section 27321.5, and the documentary transfer tax declaration under Revenue and Taxation Code Sections 11932 and 11933, showing the amount due, the basis of computation, and whether the property lies in a city or an unincorporated area, over the declarant's signature. The guide walks through the county rate, the separate taxes some charter cities impose, and the exemptions that enter a code section instead of a dollar amount, gifts among them.

Signing and Recording

The grantor signs before a notary; California requires acknowledgment before a deed can be recorded and does not accept subscribing witness proof for deeds. Recording happens with the recorder of the county where the property is located. California follows a race-notice rule: the deed is valid between the parties without recording, but an unrecorded conveyance loses to a later good faith purchaser who records first. Recording also brings the fee stack the guide describes, from the base recording fees to the Building Homes and Jobs Act fee, with the documentary transfer tax paid at the counter and the Preliminary Change of Ownership Report accompanying the deed to the assessor.

The download includes the quitclaim deed as a fillable PDF, a completed example showing every entry filled in for a Sacramento County fact pattern, and a plain language guide that explains each section of the form, the notarization, and the recording steps. The package describes the law that governs the document in general terms and is not legal advice about any particular title.