Butte County Recorder Information

About Butte County Recorder

The County Clerk-Recorder is responsible for recording and maintaining real property records in Butte County.

Recording Fees

To record a document, the standard fee is $15 for the first page and $3 for each additional page.

The first page of the following documents is $18:
deed of trust, assignment of deed of trust, reconveyance, request for notice, notice of default, substitution of trustee, notice of trustee's sale, rescission of declaration of default

Multi-titled instruments are $15 per title, or $18 (for above-listed documents), plus $3 for each additional page.

A non-conforming page size will be an additional $3 per page.

Penalty print will be $1 for each page containing such print.

Documents requiring additional indexing will be $1 per each additional reference.

Documents requiring indexing of more than 10 names will be $10 for each additional group of 10 names or fraction thereof.

Survey Monument Preservation Fee is $10.

To record a deed without a Preliminary Change of Ownership Report, triggers a $20 penalty fee.

A Translation Certification is $21.

Transfer tax is calculated at the rate of $0.55 per $500 of property value. This is due at the time of recording, unless a valid exemption is under the Revenue and Taxation Code is provided (section 11921- 11930 of the Revenue and Taxation section of the California Code of Law).

County recording fees are subject to change without notice. For the most current fees and further information, contact the local recorder directly.

On January 1, 2018, California Senate Bill 2, a.k.a., the "Building Homes and Jobs Act," goes into effect and may increase recording fees for real estate instruments. The fee will address homelessness and housing shortages, and help to increase the rate of home ownership within the State by creating a Building Homes and Jobs Trust Fund to which the additional fee will be remitted.

Upon taking effect, the recorder's office will impose a fee of $75.00 to be paid when recording every real estate instrument, paper, or notice required or permitted by law to be recorded, per each single transaction per single parcel of real property, not to exceed $225.00.

Transfers subject to the documentary transfer tax as defined in Section 11911 of the Revenue and Taxation Code or on any real estate instrument, paper, or notice recorded in connection with a transfer of real property that is a residential dwelling to an owner-occupier are exempt from this fee.

If you have any questions about how the Building Homes and Jobs Act affects your recording fees, please speak with a clerk with the Recorder's Office or a licensed attorney within the state.

Document Formatting Requirements

* Original signatures, or a certified copy of an original, are required. Corresponding names should be printed or typed beneath signatures.

* A California all-purpose acknowledgment is needed for real property documents.

* The entire document, which includes notary seals and attachments, must be sufficiently legible to produce a readable photographic copy. Black ink with a font size of at least 10 point should be used to ensure legibility and to avoid penalty print charges. Printing should be single-sided only.

* The maximum size document accepted for recording is 8.5 x 11 inches, unless otherwise provided by law.

* Side margins must be at least an inch. The top 2-1/2 inches on the first page must be reserved for recording information. The left 3-1/2 inches of this space must include the name of the party requesting recording, as well as the address where the document should be returned after recording.

* If the first page requirements are not met, a cover page can be added to the document. This will be included in the overall page count.

* Directly below the 2-1/2 inch margin on the first page reserved for the recorder, the title of the document should be given. The Recorder is only required to index the title (or titles) listed in this space. Additional titles may be identified and indexed at the discretion of the recorder.

* Every deed executed to convey fee title to real property shall have the name and address of the person or entity to where future tax statements should be mailed. This should be placed across the bottom of the first page.

* A recording reference is required on any document that modifies, releases, or cancels the provisions of a previously recorded document.

If the document effects or evidences a transfer or encumbrance of an interest in real property, the name or names in which the instrument appears of record shall show the name or names of the assessed owners as they appear on the latest secured assessment roll.

If a document releases or terminates any interest, right, or encumbrance, it shall contain (or have appended) all of the names of the persons or entities owning the title or interest being relieved by the document, or the names of the owners of that title or interest as they appeared at the time and in the document creating the interest, right, or encumbrance.

If a document is written in a language other than English, it must be accompanied by an English translation, performed by a certified or registered court interpreter or by an accredited translator registered with the American Translators Association. The translation must be accompanied by a notarized declaration by the interpreter or translator that the translation is true and accurate, and includes the certification, qualification, or registration of the interpreter or translator.

A Preliminary Change of Ownership Report is required to accompany all deeds submitted for recording.