Lassen County Recorder Information

About Lassen County Recorder

The Clerk/Recorder is responsible for maintaining records for real property located in Lassen County.

Recording Fees

$7.00-1st page (Limited to 8.5 x 11 sheet)
$3.00-Each additional page or fraction of a page

Oversize Documents:
$10.00-1st page size over 8.5 x 11
$6.00-Each additional page of the same document

$10.00-Survey Monument Fee: added to a deed for consideration which does not reference a recorded map filed in the Recorder's Office

$1.00-Penalty Print: nine lines per vertical inch or 22 characters per inch horizontally

COMBINED DOCUMENTS:
When two or more documents are serially incorporated into one form or sheet, they will be considered as two or more separate documents. A base recording fee of $7.00 will be charged for the first page and $3.00 for each additional
page plus $7.00 for each additional document title to be indexed.
$75 Affordable Housing and Job Act (SB2) will apply per title up to three (3) titles ($225) Documents must state appropriate exemption or fee will apply.
EXAMPLE:
Affordable Housing and Job Act (SB2) $75.00 per title
Deed of Trust and a Request for Notice of Default $14.00
Deed of Trust and Assignment of Rents $14.00
Substitution of Trustee and Reconveyance $14.00

$1.00-Each reference to a previously recorded document that gives names other than the first reference
$1.00-Each group of ten names or fraction thereof

$20.00-Documents recorded without Preliminary Change of Ownership Report

Documentary Transfer Tax: $1.10 per $1000.
If none, reason must be indicated in space (documentary tax fees). EXAMPLE: Gift; No Consideration; Marriage Dissolution, etc.

COPIES:
First Page- $1.50
Each additional page-$.50
Certification-$1.75

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

* Submit an original document that has been signed and acknowledged in front of a notary public.

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

* The entire document 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.

* Documents should be on 8.5 x 11 inch white paper.

* On the first page, a 2.5 inch top margin should be provided. The left 3.5 inches of this space should include the name of the party requesting the recording, as well as a return address where the document should be returned after recording.

* Side margins should be at least 1/2 an inch. Top and bottom margins should be a minimum of 1 inch.

* Directly below the 2.5 inch top margin on the first page, the title of the document should be given. The recorder is required to index only the title (or titles) listed in this space. Additional titles may be identified and indexed at the discretion of the recorder.

* Corresponding names should be typed or written beneath signatures in the document.

* Across the bottom of the first page, include the name and return address of the person or entity to where future tax statements should be mailed.

* A document that modifies, cancels, or releases the provisions of a previous document of record requires a recording reference.

* If an entire instrument or part of an instrument is in a language other than English, it will not be accepted unless it is accompanied by an English translation. The translation must be 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.

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

* If the document releases or terminates any interest, right, or encumbrance, it shall contain the names of the persons and 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 right, interest, or encumbrance.

A Preliminary Change of Ownership Report is required to be submitted with each document that changes title to real property. Questions regarding this form should be directed to the assessor's office.

Documents that transfer title are subject to payment of the documentary transfer tax on the value of the property transferred or on the amount paid for the property being purchased.

If the document is exempt from transfer taxes, a statement and/or appropriate Revenue and Taxation code should be stated on the face of the exempt document.

The recording act in California is a race-notice act. A later buyer who pays fair value, does not have notice that there were any earlier conflicting interests, and records first, wins and will have priority over any later recordings.