Why People File a Quitclaim Deed in Colusa County
Just Got Married
Married couples often file here for one simple reason: getting a new spouse's name onto a title that was only in one person's name before.
Going Through a Divorce
A finalized divorce often leaves one more step: updating the deed so it reflects only the spouse who's keeping the property.
Inherited Property
Settling a family member's estate often ends with the same step: a quitclaim deed to move the property title into the heir's name.
Gifting to Family
Adding a child or grandchild to an existing title is a common, no-sale use of a quitclaim deed.
About the Colusa County Clerk-Recorder-Registrar
Colusa County was one of California's original 27 counties at statehood in 1850, taking its name -- by way of the town of Colusa on the Sacramento River -- from a Patwin-language word for the local Native people, sometimes rendered "Colus" in early records. Long before American settlement, the fertile flatlands along the Sacramento River made the area valuable to the Patwin, and after statehood those same flatlands turned Colusa into one of the state's great wheat- and rice-growing counties, a role it still plays today as one of the top rice-producing counties in California. With only two incorporated cities -- Colusa, the county seat, and Williams -- the county remains overwhelmingly agricultural and rural in character.
Cities and Communities Served
Recording jurisdiction runs countywide, not by city limits — if the property sits anywhere within Colusa County, this is the Colusa County Clerk-Recorder-Registrar that will accept the deed. That includes:
Incorporated cities: Colusa, Williams.
Unincorporated communities: Arbuckle, College City, Grimes, Lodoga, Maxwell, Princeton, Stonyford.
Recording is handled countywide out of the single Colusa office regardless of which city or community the property is in.
Office Details
Address: 546 Jay Street, Suite 200, Colusa, CA 95932
Phone: (530) 458-0500
Hours: Monday-Friday, 8:30 AM-4:00 PM, with document recording cutting off earlier, at 3:00 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 separate state-mandated fee applies to many real estate documents to fund affordable housing programs, with common exemptions including most owner-occupied residential transfers. A Preliminary Change of Ownership Report (PCOR) should accompany a deed, or a penalty fee applies.
E-recording: Sources disagree on current availability -- some vendor directories list Colusa County as live on the Simplifile e-recording network while the county's own recorder page does not mention it, so anyone relying on e-recording should confirm directly with the office before assuming it's available.
Good to know before you go: The public counter is open until 4:00 PM, but the Recorder stops accepting documents for same-day recording an hour earlier, at 3:00 PM -- arriving in the late afternoon is a common way to have a document processed the next business day instead of same-day.
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 Colusa County Clerk-Recorder-Registrar 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 Colusa County Clerk-Recorder-Registrar 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 Colusa County Clerk-Recorder-Registrar 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 Colusa County Clerk-Recorder-Registrar?
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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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