Why People File a Quitclaim Deed in Imperial County
Just Got Married
One of the most routine reasons a deed gets filed: a wedding happened, and now the title needs to reflect both spouses' names.
Going Through a Divorce
A lot of post-divorce paperwork ends here: filing a quitclaim deed so the title reflects only the spouse awarded the property.
Inherited Property
Sorting out a relative's property after they've passed usually involves a quitclaim deed as the step that updates who's on title.
Gifting to Family
If the plan is to keep property in the family, a quitclaim deed is often how that gets formalized while everyone's still around to sign.
About the Imperial County Clerk-Recorder
Imperial County is California's youngest county, formed in 1907 out of the eastern part of San Diego County and named for the Imperial Land Company, the development outfit that first brought Colorado River irrigation water into the valley at the turn of the 20th century. That same irrigation project nearly ended in disaster: uncontrolled flooding on the Colorado River in 1905 blew out the main canal headgates and, for roughly eighteen months, sent the entire flow of the river pouring into the low-lying Salton Trough before engineers finally closed the breach in 1907 -- creating the Salton Sea, a 45-mile-long inland lake that still defines the county's northern landscape. Despite receiving only a few inches of rain a year and sitting entirely within the Colorado Desert, the All-American Canal's steady supply of Colorado River water has made Imperial County one of the most productive winter-vegetable growing regions in the country.
Cities and Communities Served
Recording jurisdiction runs countywide, not by city limits — if the property sits anywhere within Imperial County, this is the Imperial County Clerk-Recorder that will accept the deed. That includes:
Incorporated cities: Brawley, Calexico, Calipatria, El Centro, Holtville, Imperial, Westmorland.
Unincorporated communities: Bombay Beach, Desert Shores, Heber, Niland, Ocotillo, Salton City, Seeley, Winterhaven.
Recording is handled countywide out of the single El Centro office regardless of which city or unincorporated community the property is in.
Office Details
Address: 940 Main Street, Suite 202, El Centro, CA 92243
Phone: 442-265-1076
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, and a specific exemption cover sheet is available for that fee. A Preliminary Change of Ownership Report (PCOR) should accompany a deed, or a penalty fee applies.
E-recording: Available -- Imperial 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 explicitly does not perform document searches for the public -- anyone requesting a copy of a recorded document needs to already have the document number, or the book and page reference, in hand before contacting the office, since staff will not look it up on a requester's behalf.
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 Imperial 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 Imperial 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 Imperial 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 Imperial 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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