Why People File a Quitclaim Deed in Kern County
Just Got Married
After a wedding, adding a spouse to an existing title is usually quick — a quitclaim deed is the document that makes it official.
Going Through a Divorce
Divorce settlements decide who gets the property; a quitclaim deed is the separate step that actually updates the recorded title.
Inherited Property
Estates get settled in probate, but the title itself often still needs a quitclaim deed to formally reflect the new owner.
Gifting to Family
Some people use a quitclaim deed to gift a share of the property to a child or sibling, well ahead of any estate planning.
About the Kern County Assessor-Recorder
Kern County was created on April 2, 1866 from the southern portion of Tulare County, with additional land later folded in from Los Angeles and San Bernardino counties, and it takes its name from the Kern River, itself named for Edward Kern, an artist and cartographer on John C. Fremont's 1845 survey expedition. The county's first seat of government was the mountain mining town of Havilah, but the discovery that the valley floor -- once dismissed as unusable swamp and tule marsh -- could be drained and irrigated shifted the county's center of gravity permanently, and the seat moved to Bakersfield in 1874 as farming overtook mining as the dominant industry. Two decades later, the 1899 discovery of the Kern River Oil Field near Bakersfield launched a second economic boom, giving rise to the towns of Oildale and Oil Center and cementing Kern County's status as one of the top oil-and-gas producing counties in the United States alongside its position as one of the nation's leading agricultural counties.
Cities and Communities Served
Recording jurisdiction runs countywide, not by city limits — if the property sits anywhere within Kern County, this is the Kern County Assessor-Recorder that will accept the deed. That includes:
Incorporated cities: Arvin, Bakersfield, California City, Delano, Maricopa, McFarland, Ridgecrest, Shafter, Taft, Tehachapi, Wasco.
Unincorporated communities: Lake Isabella, Rosamond, Mojave, Lamont, Oildale, Frazier Park.
Recording is handled countywide out of the single Bakersfield office regardless of which of Kern's 11 incorporated cities the property is in.
Office Details
Address: 1530 Truxtun Avenue, Bakersfield, CA 93301
Phone: (661) 868-6400
Hours: Monday-Friday, 8:00 AM-3:00 PM for document recording. (The separately elected Kern County Clerk, which handles marriage licenses and other clerk functions rather than recording, keeps a similar but distinct 8:30 AM-3:00 PM schedule at a different phone line.)
Recording Fee: A flat per-page recording fee applies, with an added per-page penalty charge for nonconforming documents, plus a county documentary transfer tax based on a percentage of the property's value. A separate real estate fraud prevention fee applies per document title, and a 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), the Assessor's Parcel Number, and the tax rate area must accompany a deed transferring title, or a penalty fee applies.
E-recording: Available -- Kern 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 Assessor-Recorder's office accepts cash, money order, or check only for recording fees -- credit cards are not accepted at the counter, which catches people off guard who expect to pay by card. It's also worth knowing that recording (the Assessor-Recorder) and other county clerk functions like marriage licenses are handled by two separately elected offices with different phone lines, so calling the wrong one can send you in circles before you reach the right department for a deed.
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 Kern County Assessor-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 Kern County Assessor-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 Kern County Assessor-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 Kern County Assessor-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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