Why People File a Quitclaim Deed in Amador County
Just Got Married
If marriage is the reason you're here, you're not alone — adding a spouse to the title is one of the simplest, most common uses of a quitclaim deed.
Going Through a Divorce
If your divorce settlement awarded you the property, a quitclaim deed is how you actually get your ex's name off the title.
Inherited Property
If you're sorting out property after losing a family member, a quitclaim deed is often the last step in getting the title updated to reflect the new owner.
Gifting to Family
Whether you're adding your child to the title or handing the property over outright, a quitclaim deed is the standard way families make that change here.
About the Amador County Recorder-Clerk
Amador County was formed on May 11, 1854 out of parts of Calaveras and El Dorado counties, and Jackson -- then a mining camp that had grown up around a supply spring nicknamed Botellas -- narrowly beat out the rival town of Volcano in the contest to become county seat. The county sits squarely in the Mother Lode and is the only county in California named for a Californio-era figure, Jose Maria Amador, a wealthy rancher whose land grant once covered much of what is now the Amador Valley near Danville. From the Gold Rush until World War II, the Kennedy, Argonaut, and Eureka mines around Jackson together produced more than half of all the gold ever pulled from the Mother Lode belt, and the county still markets itself today as "the Heart of the Mother Lode."
Cities and Communities Served
Recording jurisdiction runs countywide, not by city limits — if the property sits anywhere within Amador County, this is the Amador County Recorder-Clerk that will accept the deed. That includes:
Incorporated cities: Jackson, Ione, Amador City, Sutter Creek, Plymouth.
Unincorporated communities: Pine Grove, Pioneer, Volcano, Drytown, River Pines.
Recording is handled countywide out of the single Jackson office regardless of which city or unincorporated community the property is in.
Office Details
Address: 810 Court Street, Jackson, CA 95642
Phone: (209) 223-6468
Hours: Monday-Friday, 8:00 AM-5:00 PM.
Recording Fee: A flat per-page recording fee applies, plus a county documentary transfer tax based on a percentage of the property's value. A Preliminary Change of Ownership Report (PCOR) should accompany the deed, or a penalty fee applies.
E-recording: Not yet available as of this writing -- Amador County is not currently on the Simplifile e-recording network, though the vendor lists it as a jurisdiction it is working to add.
Good to know before you go: The office enforces specific page-formatting rules that trip up a lot of homemade deeds: documents need to be on white paper of at least 16-lb weight, printed single-sided in black ink of at least 10-point type, and must leave a specific blank margin -- roughly 2.5 inches down and 3.5 inches across in the top corner for the return-address area, plus another clear block for the recorder's stamp. A deed that crowds text into those margins is a common reason for rejection at the counter.
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 Amador County Recorder-Clerk 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 Amador County Recorder-Clerk 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 Amador County Recorder-Clerk 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 Amador County Recorder-Clerk?
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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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