Why People File a Quitclaim Deed in Marin County
Just Got Married
If your name was the only one on the deed before you got married, a quitclaim deed is the ordinary way to fix that.
Going Through a Divorce
Getting an ex-spouse's name off a shared title is usually one deed away, once the divorce settlement is signed.
Inherited Property
If the will or probate court named you the new owner, a quitclaim deed is how that gets reflected on the actual property title.
Gifting to Family
Grandparents gifting property directly to grandchildren often use a quitclaim deed to make that transfer without a sale.
About the Marin County Clerk-Recorder
Marin County's name traces back to Huicmuse, a Coast Miwok leader baptized 'Marino' at Mission Dolores in 1801, whose Huimen band lived around what's now Sausalito, Tiburon, and Mill Valley -- though some historians instead trace the name to a Spanish-era bay designation, 'la Marinera.' Formed as one of California's original 1850 counties, Marin developed a split identity over the following century: a working waterfront and dairy-ranching west side around Point Reyes and Tomales Bay, and an increasingly affluent commuter suburb on its eastern shore facing San Francisco across the Golden Gate. San Rafael, the county seat and Marin's only charter city, has served as the seat of government since the county's founding and today houses the county's Civic Center complex, a Frank Lloyd Wright design completed after his death. The office's full formal title is the Assessor-Recorder-County Clerk.
Cities and Communities Served
Recording jurisdiction runs countywide, not by city limits — if the property sits anywhere within Marin County, this is the Marin County Clerk-Recorder that will accept the deed. That includes:
Incorporated cities: Belvedere, Corte Madera, Fairfax, Larkspur, Mill Valley, Novato, Ross, San Anselmo, San Rafael, Sausalito, Tiburon.
Unincorporated communities: Marin City, Kentfield, Strawberry, Muir Beach, Point Reyes Station, Nicasio.
All property recording for Marin's 11 incorporated cities/towns and its unincorporated communities is centralized at the Assessor-Recorder-County Clerk's office in San Rafael's Civic Center.
Office Details
Address: 3501 Civic Center Drive, Room 232, San Rafael, CA 94903
Phone: (415) 473-6092
Hours: Monday-Friday, 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Documents are accepted for recording only from 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.; clerk licenses and applications are accepted until 3:30 p.m.
Recording Fee: Recording fees are charged per page for the first page and each additional page, with extra penalty-style surcharges for non-standard page sizes or small print that doesn't meet state formatting requirements. A county documentary transfer tax based on a percentage of the property's value applies to most transfers, and certain incorporated cities within Marin -- including San Rafael, the county's only charter city -- levy their own additional city transfer tax on top of the county tax, so the total can vary depending on which city the property sits in. A state-mandated per-document fee also applies to support affordable housing programs, and a penalty fee applies if a required PCOR is missing from an ownership-transfer deed.
E-recording: Marin County participates in the CSC eRecording network, allowing title companies, attorneys, and lenders to submit documents electronically through an approved e-recording vendor; check with the Assessor-Recorder-County Clerk's office for current submitter requirements.
Good to know before you go: Marin's Assessor-Recorder-County Clerk runs a property-fraud notification program, launched with the District Attorney's office, that mails a letter to a property's owner of record whenever a new deed affecting that property is recorded, specifically to catch fraudulent transfers early. Owners can also enroll in the free third-party Property Fraud Alert monitoring service for the same purpose -- a step worth taking given Marin's high property values and the appeal that creates for deed fraud.
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 Marin 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 Marin 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 Marin 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 Marin 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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