Why People File a Quitclaim Deed in Kings County
Just Got Married
Whether the wedding was last month or last year, adding your spouse's name to the title is a common, low-friction use of a quitclaim deed.
Going Through a Divorce
Once the divorce paperwork is behind you, a quitclaim deed closes the loop by taking your former spouse's name off the deed.
Inherited Property
When a family member leaves you property, a quitclaim deed is commonly the document that finishes the transfer on paper.
Gifting to Family
Gifting real estate within the family doesn't need a sale — a quitclaim deed handles the transfer on its own.
About the Kings County Assessor/Clerk-Recorder
Kings County split off from Tulare County in 1893, after Hanford-area residents pushed for a county of their own rather than continuing to route business north to Visalia. It takes its name from the Kings River, itself a translation of the Spanish Río de los Santos Reyes -- the River of the Holy Kings -- a name early Spanish expeditions attached to the waterway in reference to the Three Kings of the Nativity story. Hanford, the county seat, grew up as a Southern Pacific Railroad town and still has one of the best-preserved Chinatown districts in the San Joaquin Valley, China Alley, a legacy of the Chinese laborers who worked the rail line and stayed on. The county's economy has long run on Central Valley agriculture -- cotton and dairy historically, with Naval Air Station Lemoore, the Navy's largest master jet base on the West Coast, now anchoring much of the local economy alongside farming.
Cities and Communities Served
Recording jurisdiction runs countywide, not by city limits — if the property sits anywhere within Kings County, this is the Kings County Assessor/Clerk-Recorder that will accept the deed. That includes:
Incorporated cities: Hanford, Corcoran, Lemoore, Avenal.
Unincorporated communities: Armona, Home Garden, Kettleman City, Stratford, Guernsey, Grangeville.
Recording is handled countywide out of the single Hanford office regardless of which Kings County city or community the property sits in.
Office Details
Address: Kings County Government Center, 1400 W. Lacey Blvd., Hanford, CA 93230
Phone: (559) 852-2470
Hours: Monday-Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. for general clerk services; document recording is same-day only until 3:00 p.m., with certificate and other requests taken until about 4:00 p.m. Arrive well before the 3:00 p.m. cutoff if you need a deed recorded that day.
Recording Fee: A per-page recording fee applies, with an added per-page surcharge on non-conforming documents; a county documentary transfer tax based on a percentage of the property's value is also due, along with a statewide real-estate-transaction fee (with common residential-transfer exemptions) and a possible penalty fee if a complete Preliminary Change of Ownership Report is not submitted with the deed.
E-recording: Kings County participates in the CSC eRecording network, so deeds can be submitted electronically through a CSC-affiliated e-recording provider rather than in person.
Good to know before you go: Kings County's recording window closes well before the office itself does -- documents must be in by 3:00 p.m. for same-day recording even though the clerk's counter stays open until 5:00 p.m., and vital-record and other filing requests are cut off around 4:00 p.m. If you're driving in to record a deed in person, plan to arrive mid-afternoon at the latest rather than assuming you have until closing time.
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 Kings County Assessor/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 Kings County Assessor/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 Kings County Assessor/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 Kings County Assessor/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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