Why People File a Quitclaim Deed in San Francisco County
Just Got Married
If the property was yours before the ceremony and you'd like it to be both of yours now, a quitclaim deed makes that change.
Going Through a Divorce
Some divorcing couples file the quitclaim deed together at the settlement table; others handle it separately afterward.
Inherited Property
If a trust distributed property to you as a beneficiary, a quitclaim deed is often used to move the title into your own name.
Gifting to Family
A grandparent, aunt, or uncle gifting property to a younger relative usually does so with a quitclaim deed, not a sale.
About the San Francisco Assessor-Recorder
San Francisco's unusual government structure dates to the Consolidation Act of April 19, 1856, when the state legislature merged the city and the (much larger) original county into a single city-county government, while splitting off the southern portion of the old county to form San Mateo County. That reorganization — drafted largely by Horace Hawes — is why San Francisco has run as one consolidated government ever since, folding what would elsewhere be separate city and county offices into departments like the Assessor-Recorder. Geographically it's the smallest county in California by land area, yet it holds some of the most valuable real estate in the country, a combination that shapes both its recording volume and its notably layered transfer-tax structure.
Cities and Communities Served
Recording jurisdiction runs countywide, not by city limits — if the property sits anywhere within San Francisco County, this is the San Francisco Assessor-Recorder that will accept the deed. That includes:
Incorporated city: San Francisco.
San Francisco is a consolidated city-county government — one government performing both city and county functions at once — so there are no separate incorporated cities or unincorporated areas within it the way other California counties have. The Assessor-Recorder's recording jurisdiction simply covers the entire city-county, corner to corner.
Office Details
Address: City Hall, 1 Dr. Carlton B. Goodlett Place, Room 190, San Francisco, CA 94102
Phone: (628) 652-8100
Hours: General office hours are 8:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m., Monday through Friday, but the in-person recording counter itself keeps narrower hours, closing at 4:00 p.m. rather than 5:00 p.m. A drop box outside City Hall's Grove Street entrance accepts documents when the counter is closed.
Recording Fee: A flat per-page recording fee applies, along with the standard county documentary transfer tax based on a percentage of the property's value. San Francisco is distinctive among California counties in also levying its own separate city real property transfer tax on top of the county tax — and that city tax is structured on a tiered, graduated schedule, where the applicable rate step depends on which value tier the property's sale price falls into, rather than a single flat percentage across all transactions. As elsewhere in California, a penalty fee applies if the Preliminary Change of Ownership Report is missing or incomplete.
E-recording: Electronic recording is available to qualifying submitters (title companies, attorneys, financial institutions, and government entities meeting the state's insurance requirements under California's e-recording statute) rather than to individual walk-up filers; the office's physical drop box outside City Hall serves as the practical alternative to an in-person counter visit for most individual filers.
Good to know before you go: Because the recording counter at City Hall closes at 4:00 p.m. — an hour earlier than the office's general 8-to-5 hours — documents that miss the window can be left in the Assessor-Recorder's drop box at City Hall's Grove Street entrance, which the office typically examines and records within about a day of pickup rather than requiring a return trip.
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 Francisco 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 San Francisco 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 San Francisco 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 San Francisco 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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