Why People File a Quitclaim Deed in Alameda County
Just Got Married
Just got married and want your spouse's name on the title? A quitclaim deed is the standard way to add them — no sale, no mortgage payoff, just an updated deed on file with the county.
Going Through a Divorce
Going through a divorce and need an ex's name off the title? A quitclaim deed handles that cleanly, once your settlement or court order says who keeps the property.
Inherited Property
Inherited property from a family member? Depending on how the estate was handled, a quitclaim deed may be how ownership formally moves into your name.
Gifting to Family
Adding an adult child to the title, or gifting property to family outright? A quitclaim deed is the usual way to make that transfer official.
About the Alameda County Clerk-Recorder
Alameda County was split off from Contra Costa and Santa Clara counties in 1853 and takes its name from the Spanish word for a tree-lined public walkway, a reference to the cottonwoods that once grew along Alameda Creek. Oakland has served as county seat since the beginning, and the county's growth accelerated through the Port of Oakland, the wartime Kaiser shipyards of the 1940s, and later the spillover of Silicon Valley's tech economy into cities like Fremont and Pleasanton. Its geography ranges from dense bayfront cities to the oak-covered hills around Sunol and the vineyards of the Livermore Valley, and it counts 14 incorporated cities, including Berkeley, home to the flagship campus of the University of California. The office's full formal title is the Alameda County Auditor-Controller/Clerk-Recorder.
Cities and Communities Served
Recording jurisdiction runs countywide, not by city limits — if the property sits anywhere within Alameda County, this is the Alameda County Clerk-Recorder that will accept the deed. That includes:
Incorporated cities: Alameda, Albany, Berkeley, Dublin, Emeryville, Fremont, Hayward, Livermore, Newark, Oakland, Piedmont, Pleasanton, San Leandro, Union City.
Unincorporated communities: Ashland, Castro Valley, Cherryland, Fairview, San Lorenzo, Sunol.
Recording is handled countywide out of the Oakland office regardless of which city the property is in; the Dublin satellite office provides other Clerk-Recorder services but is not a mail-in recording location.
Office Details
Address: 1106 Madison Street, Oakland, CA 94607
Phone: (510) 272-6362
Hours: Monday-Friday, 8:30 AM-5:00 PM (closed holidays). Document recording has an earlier cutoff of 4:30 PM even though the counter stays open until 5:00 PM. A satellite Tri-Valley office at 7600 Dublin Boulevard, Suite 160, Dublin, CA 94568 keeps the same hours but does not accept mailed-in documents.
Recording Fee: A flat per-page recording fee applies, with an additional per-page charge for each page beyond the first, plus a county documentary transfer tax based on a percentage of the property's sale price or value. Several Alameda County cities -- including Oakland, Berkeley, Alameda, Albany, Hayward, and San Leandro -- levy their own additional city transfer tax on top of the county tax, so the total can vary noticeably depending on which city the property sits in. A Preliminary Change of Ownership Report (PCOR) must generally accompany the deed, or a penalty fee applies.
E-recording: Electronic recording is available through the county's approved e-recording vendor network, primarily used by title companies, lenders, and attorneys rather than the general public.
Good to know before you go: Both the Oakland headquarters and the Tri-Valley office in Dublin stop accepting documents for recording at 4:30 PM even though the public counter is open until 5:00 PM for other business -- arriving right before closing is a common way to miss same-day recording. The Dublin office is also clerk-services-only and cannot accept documents mailed in for recording, so mailed submissions need to go to the Oakland address.
How to File a Document
- Sign in Front of a Notary: California requires the grantor's signature to be acknowledged before a notary public before the Alameda County Clerk-Recorder will accept a deed for recording. California notaries also have to take the signer's right thumbprint in their journal specifically for deeds and other real-property documents -- a state-specific requirement that catches people off guard if their notary isn't prepared for it, so it's worth confirming ahead of time that whoever notarizes your deed has a journal and inkpad on hand.
- Attach a Full Legal Description, Not Just an Address: A street address alone won't satisfy California's requirements -- the deed needs the property's actual legal description (a metes-and-bounds description, a government survey reference, or a platted lot and block, depending on how the parcel was originally surveyed and subdivided). You can usually copy this directly from the deed that transferred the property to you.
- Complete a Preliminary Change of Ownership Report: California requires a separate Preliminary Change of Ownership Report (PCOR) to accompany most deeds when they're filed. It's a distinct form the county assessor's office uses to determine whether the transfer triggers a reassessment -- a penalty applies if it's missing or left incomplete, so it's worth getting right before you file. The Alameda County Clerk-Recorder or county assessor can supply the current version.
- Know Where California Stands on Remote Online Notarization: Unlike some states, California-commissioned notaries can't yet offer remote online notarization -- that's not scheduled to change until January 1, 2030. In the meantime, an out-of-state online notary can still validly notarize a California deed, since California recognizes notarial acts performed under another state's laws. See our online notarization page for how that works.
- Record with the County Clerk-Recorder: Bring, mail, or (where the county supports it) e-file the signed, notarized deed and its Preliminary Change of Ownership Report with the Alameda County Clerk-Recorder for the county where the property sits. California's recording fee is a flat, statute-set amount per document, and on top of that, a county documentary transfer tax applies based on a percentage of the property's value -- some cities also levy their own additional city transfer tax on top of the county's.
Still Have Questions About Filing With the Alameda County Clerk-Recorder?
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Other Counties in California
Filing somewhere else in the state? Here are a few other county pages:
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