Why People File a Quitclaim Deed in San Mateo County
Just Got Married
If you're wondering how to actually get your spouse's name added to the deed, rather than just the mortgage, a quitclaim deed is the answer.
Going Through a Divorce
Once a divorce is behind you, updating the deed to remove a former spouse is usually one of the shorter items left on the list.
Inherited Property
If you're not sure whether the title on an inherited property has ever been updated, a quitclaim deed is how that gets fixed.
Gifting to Family
A parent handing over the family home to an adult child, while stepping off the title themselves, is a common quitclaim deed filing.
About the San Mateo County Clerk-Recorder
San Mateo County occupies most of the San Francisco Peninsula, the narrow strip of land separating the bay from the Pacific, and takes its name from a creek that Spanish scout Juan Bautista de Anza's party named for Saint Matthew while camped there in 1776. Unlike many California counties, it wasn't part of the state's original 1850 lineup - it was carved out through a political compromise in 1856. Redwood City, the county seat, grew up around a redwood-lumber shipping trade before reinventing itself as a Silicon Valley hub, a shift symbolized by Oracle moving its headquarters there in 1986 after venture capital firms like Kleiner Perkins had taken root in nearby Menlo Park in the 1970s. The office's full formal title is the Assessor-County Clerk-Recorder and Elections (ACRE), with a dedicated County Clerk-Recorder Division handling document recording.
Cities and Communities Served
Recording jurisdiction runs countywide, not by city limits — if the property sits anywhere within San Mateo County, this is the San Mateo County Clerk-Recorder that will accept the deed. That includes:
Incorporated cities: Atherton, Belmont, Brisbane, Burlingame, Colma, Daly City, East Palo Alto, Foster City, Half Moon Bay, Hillsborough, Menlo Park, Millbrae, Pacifica, Portola Valley, Redwood City, San Bruno, San Carlos, San Mateo, South San Francisco, Woodside.
Unincorporated communities: La Honda, Montara, El Granada, Moss Beach, Pescadero, San Gregorio.
Office Details
Address: 555 County Center, 1st Floor, Redwood City, CA 94063
Phone: (650) 363-4500 (recording, copies of deeds/maps, vital records); (650) 599-1713 (in-person appointment scheduling)
Hours: Monday-Friday, 8:00 AM-5:00 PM. Walk-ins are welcome; an appointment can also be booked online for in-person service.
Recording Fee: A flat per-page recording fee (higher for undersized print or non-standard page sizes), plus state-mandated per-title surcharges such as a Building Homes and Jobs Act (SB 2) fee and a real estate fraud prosecution fee, plus a county documentary transfer tax based on a percentage of the property's value. The City of San Mateo levies its own additional city-level transfer tax on properties within its limits, and Redwood City's municipal code likewise contains a documentary transfer tax article, so buyers and sellers in either city (or elsewhere in the county) should confirm with escrow or title whether a city-level tax applies on top of the county tax. A penalty fee applies if a required Preliminary Change of Ownership Report is missing.
E-recording: Available through the Simplifile e-recording network for submitters with a scanner and high-speed internet access.
Good to know before you go: The Assessor-County Clerk-Recorder's office runs a separate phone line just for booking in-person appointments (650-599-1713) apart from its main recording line, and its fraud-prevention guidance recommends periodically checking the county's free online Grantor/Grantee Index yourself to confirm no unexpected document has been recorded against your property, rather than relying solely on a notification program.
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 Mateo 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 San Mateo 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 San Mateo 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 San Mateo 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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