Why People File a Quitclaim Deed in Contra Costa County
Just Got Married
A wedding usually means updating a few things on paper, and the property title is one of them — a quitclaim deed handles adding your spouse cleanly.
Going Through a Divorce
Ending a marriage usually means someone's name has to come off the title — a quitclaim deed is the standard way that gets done.
Inherited Property
If probate or an estate settlement has already decided who inherits the property, a quitclaim deed is what makes the title match.
Gifting to Family
If you're gifting real estate to a family member, a quitclaim deed records that transfer without any money changing hands.
About the Contra Costa County Clerk-Recorder
Contra Costa County was one of California's original 27 counties when the legislature created it on February 18, 1850, and its Spanish name -- "opposite coast" -- described its position across the bay from San Francisco, seen from the water rather than the land. The county's boundaries originally reached much further south, taking in territory that became Alameda County when it split off in 1853, an ironic twist since that southern land was the part actually described as the "opposite coast." One of the county's earliest prominent residents was John Marsh, California's first American-trained physician, who settled a large land grant near what's now Marsh Creek in 1837 and used his adobe home as an early waypoint for settlers arriving over the Sierra. Today the county spans everything from the oil refineries and shipping terminals along the Carquinez Strait to the Mount Diablo foothills and the fast-growing suburbs of the San Ramon Valley.
Cities and Communities Served
Recording jurisdiction runs countywide, not by city limits — if the property sits anywhere within Contra Costa County, this is the Contra Costa County Clerk-Recorder that will accept the deed. That includes:
Incorporated cities: Antioch, Brentwood, Clayton, Concord, Danville, El Cerrito, Hercules, Lafayette, Martinez, Moraga, Oakley, Orinda, Pinole, Pittsburg, Pleasant Hill, Richmond, San Pablo, San Ramon, Walnut Creek.
Unincorporated communities: Alamo, Bay Point, Byron, Crockett, El Sobrante, Discovery Bay, Rodeo.
Recording is handled countywide out of the single Martinez office regardless of which city the property is in.
Office Details
Address: 555 Escobar Street, Martinez, CA 94553 (mail: P.O. Box 350, Martinez, CA 94553)
Phone: (925) 335-7900
Hours: Monday-Friday, 8:00 AM-4:30 PM. The office periodically runs an extended-hours program on the 1st and 3rd Thursday of the month, staying open until 6:30 PM to offer all services -- worth checking the office's current schedule before planning an evening visit, since these extended dates are announced for limited windows rather than year-round.
Recording Fee: A flat per-page recording fee applies, plus a county documentary transfer tax based on a percentage of the property's value. Some cities within the county, including El Cerrito and Richmond, levy their own additional city transfer tax on top of the county tax. 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: Available -- Contra Costa County is part of the Simplifile e-recording network, allowing title companies, lenders, and attorneys to submit documents electronically.
Good to know before you go: The office has offered periodic extended evening hours, staying open until 6:30 PM on select first-and-third Thursdays, on top of the standard 4:30 PM closing time -- useful for anyone who can't get to Martinez during a normal workday, though these extended dates run for a limited announced window rather than being a permanent weekly fixture, so it's worth confirming the current schedule is still active before planning around it.
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 Contra Costa 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 Contra Costa 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 Contra Costa 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 Contra Costa 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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