Why People File a Quitclaim Deed in San Diego County
Just Got Married
A quitclaim deed is the quiet, unglamorous paperwork that usually follows a wedding when one spouse already owned the home.
Going Through a Divorce
A quitclaim deed after a divorce isn't about deciding who gets the property — that's already settled — it's just recording it.
Inherited Property
Some inherited properties pass through several title updates over the years — a quitclaim deed is the standard tool each time.
Gifting to Family
Some people gift property to family specifically to avoid probate later — a quitclaim deed is the document that makes the transfer now instead.
About the San Diego County Recorder
San Diego County was established in February 1850 as one of California's original 27 counties at statehood, with the city of San Diego as county seat. The bay itself was first charted by Spanish explorer Juan Rodríguez Cabrillo in 1542 — who called it San Miguel — before Sebastián Vizcaíno renamed it for San Diego de Alcalá in 1602; the area later became the site of California's first Spanish mission and presidio in 1769, making it, by that measure, the birthplace of European settlement in the state. Today it's California's second-most-populous county, with an economy anchored by a major naval and Marine Corps presence, a large biotech and life-sciences cluster, and its position on the U.S.-Mexico border. The office's full formal title is the Assessor/Recorder/County Clerk (ARCC).
Cities and Communities Served
Recording jurisdiction runs countywide, not by city limits — if the property sits anywhere within San Diego County, this is the San Diego County Recorder that will accept the deed. That includes:
Incorporated cities: Carlsbad, Chula Vista, Coronado, Del Mar, El Cajon, Encinitas, Escondido, Imperial Beach, La Mesa, Lemon Grove, National City, Oceanside, Poway, San Diego, San Marcos, Santee, Solana Beach, Vista.
Unincorporated communities: Alpine, Fallbrook, Ramona, Julian, Spring Valley, Valley Center, Rancho Santa Fe, Borrego Springs.
Office Details
Address: 1600 Pacific Highway, Suite 260, San Diego, CA 92101
Phone: (619) 237-0502
Hours: 8:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m., Monday through Friday, at the downtown San Diego office and all branch locations.
Recording Fee: A flat per-page recording fee applies to the first page of a document, with a separate per-page fee for each additional page. Conveyances are also subject to the county's documentary transfer tax, calculated as a percentage of the property's value; the City of San Diego does not currently layer on an additional city-level transfer tax of its own on top of the county's share, unlike some California cities. If a Preliminary Change of Ownership Report is missing or incomplete when the deed is submitted, a penalty fee is added.
E-recording: Electronic recording is available to approved submitters — title companies, financial institutions, attorneys, and similar entities meeting the state's insurance and registration requirements under California's e-recording law — rather than open to individual walk-up filers. Contact the Recorder/County Clerk division for current vendor and enrollment details.
Good to know before you go: Recording a document at the downtown San Diego ARCC office does not require an appointment — walk-ins are accepted for recording specifically, even though some other ARCC services (like certain vital-records requests) are appointment-based. The office also operates branch counters in Chula Vista, San Marcos, and Santee that accept recordings on the same walk-in basis, which can save a trip downtown for residents in the South Bay, North County, or East County.
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 San Diego County 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 San Diego County 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 San Diego County 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 San Diego County 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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