Why People File a Quitclaim Deed in Calaveras County
Just Got Married
Recently tied the knot and want both names on the deed? A quitclaim deed gets your spouse added to the title without touching your mortgage or triggering a sale.
Going Through a Divorce
Once a divorce settlement decides who keeps the house, a quitclaim deed is the document that makes the title match the agreement.
Inherited Property
When an estate names you as the new owner, a quitclaim deed is typically what puts your name on the title where a relative's used to be.
Gifting to Family
Handing property down to the next generation while you're still around? A quitclaim deed is the usual way families make that transfer official.
About the Calaveras County Clerk-Recorder
Calaveras County was one of California's original 27 counties at statehood in 1850, and its name -- Spanish for "skulls" -- is reported to trace back to a discovery of Native American remains along the Calaveras River by the Spanish military explorer Gabriel Moraga decades earlier. Gold Rush-era mining camps built the county's early towns, including Angels Camp, where a rain-soaked Samuel Clemens sat out a two-week storm in the winter of 1865 and collected the barroom tall tale that became "The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County," the story that first made Mark Twain famous nationally. The county is also home to the Calaveras Big Trees, a stand of giant sequoias found by a hunter in 1852 that quickly became one of the state's earliest and longest-running tourist attractions.
Cities and Communities Served
Recording jurisdiction runs countywide, not by city limits — if the property sits anywhere within Calaveras County, this is the Calaveras County Clerk-Recorder that will accept the deed. That includes:
Incorporated city: Angels Camp.
Unincorporated communities: San Andreas, Valley Springs, Copperopolis, Murphys, Arnold, Mokelumne Hill, Avery, West Point, Rail Road Flat, Wallace.
Angels Camp is the only incorporated city in Calaveras County; every other community, including county-seat San Andreas, is unincorporated, and recording is handled countywide from the single San Andreas office.
Office Details
Address: 891 Mountain Ranch Road, San Andreas, CA 95249
Phone: (209) 754-6372
Hours: Monday-Friday, 8:00 AM-4:00 PM.
Recording Fee: A tiered per-page recording fee applies, with a base charge for the first page and a smaller charge for each additional page, plus surcharges for non-standard formatting such as oversized pages or extra indexing references. A county documentary transfer tax based on a percentage of the property's value also applies, and a separate penalty fee is charged if a deed evidencing a change of ownership is recorded without an accompanying Preliminary Change of Ownership Report.
E-recording: Not yet available -- as of this writing Calaveras County has not joined the Simplifile e-recording network, though the vendor lists it as a jurisdiction it is working with to bring the service online.
Good to know before you go: The Clerk-Recorder's office runs an online appointment scheduler for in-person visits, and while the county's own materials don't spell out whether it's mandatory for dropping off a deed versus only for services like marriage licenses and passports, calling ahead or booking a slot before driving out to the San Andreas office is a reasonable precaution given the county's rural, single-office setup.
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 Calaveras 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 Calaveras 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 Calaveras 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 Calaveras 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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