Why People File a Quitclaim Deed in Glenn County
Just Got Married
Some of the simplest filings we see are newly married couples adding a spouse's name to a deed that predates the marriage.
Going Through a Divorce
Property settlements from a divorce usually still need one more filing — a quitclaim deed to match the title to who actually kept the house.
Inherited Property
Inherited a share of a family property? A quitclaim deed is often used to clean up or formalize how the title is held among heirs.
Gifting to Family
Plenty of parents use a quitclaim deed to add a child to the title outright, as a gift rather than a sale.
About the Glenn County Clerk-Recorder
Glenn County was split off from Colusa County in 1891 and named for Hugh J. Glenn, a rancher who had bought up roughly 8,000 acres in the area in 1867 and expanded it into a wheat operation of some 80,000 acres, making him the largest wheat farmer in California and earning him the nickname "Wheat King." Glenn never saw the county named for him: he was shot and killed by a former bookkeeper in 1883, eight years before the legislature carved his old ranching territory away from Colusa County in his honor. That agricultural legacy persists today -- Glenn County sits between Sacramento and Redding along the I-5 corridor, bordered by mountains to the west and the Sacramento River to the east, and remains one of the state's most thoroughly farm-dependent counties, though rice and orchard crops have long since eclipsed wheat as the dominant crop.
Cities and Communities Served
Recording jurisdiction runs countywide, not by city limits — if the property sits anywhere within Glenn County, this is the Glenn County Clerk-Recorder that will accept the deed. That includes:
Incorporated cities: Willows, Orland.
Unincorporated communities: Hamilton City, Artois, Elk Creek, Butte City, Ord Bend, Codora.
Recording is handled countywide out of the single Willows office regardless of which city or community the property is in.
Office Details
Address: 516 West Sycamore Street, Willows, CA 95988
Phone: (530) 934-6412
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 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 -- Glenn County is part of the Simplifile e-recording network despite its small, rural size, allowing title companies, lenders, and attorneys to submit documents electronically.
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 Glenn 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 Glenn 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 Glenn 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 Glenn 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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