Why People File a Quitclaim Deed in Sierra County
Just Got Married
Married life comes with paperwork, and updating a solely-owned title to include a spouse is one of the more common early tasks a quitclaim deed handles.
Going Through a Divorce
If your settlement names you as sole owner but the title still shows both names, a quitclaim deed brings the two in line.
Inherited Property
Many people filing here are doing so on behalf of an estate, using a quitclaim deed to move a deceased relative's property into an heir's name.
Gifting to Family
Some people gift property to adult children specifically so it's already titled correctly before the children marry or have kids of their own.
About the Sierra County Clerk-Recorder
Sierra County was carved out of a much larger Yuba County in 1852, at the height of the Gold Rush, with Downieville named its seat. Downieville itself grew from a mining camp known simply as "The Forks" -- where the North Yuba River meets Downie River -- and swelled past 5,000 residents by 1851 before the placer gold played out and the population scattered. Today it remains one of California's least populous counties, tucked into the northern Sierra Nevada, where former mining camps like Sierra City and Alleghany still dot the mountainsides above the river canyons that once drew 16,000 miners in a single decade.
Cities and Communities Served
Recording jurisdiction runs countywide, not by city limits — if the property sits anywhere within Sierra County, this is the Sierra County Clerk-Recorder that will accept the deed. That includes:
Incorporated city: Loyalton.
Unincorporated communities: Downieville (county seat), Sierra City, Sierraville, Calpine, Alleghany.
Downieville, the county seat, is itself unincorporated; Loyalton is the county's only incorporated city. Recording jurisdiction covers the entire county.
Office Details
Address: 100 Courthouse Square, Room 11, PO Drawer D, Downieville, CA 95936
Phone: 530-289-3295
Hours: Monday - Friday, 9:00 AM - 4:00 PM, closed for lunch Noon - 1:00 PM
Recording Fee: Sierra County charges a flat per-page recording fee for the first page plus an additional fee for each subsequent page, along with a county documentary transfer tax based on a percentage of the property's value. A separate penalty fee applies if a Preliminary Change of Ownership Report (PCOR) is not submitted or is incomplete at the time of recording. Recording fees for the county are scheduled to change in 2026, so confirm current amounts before mailing payment.
E-recording: Sierra County is in the process of standing up electronic recording (per Government Code Section 27397) with a target date in early 2026; as of this writing it is not yet a fully operational e-recording county, so paper submission by mail or in person is the reliable method.
Good to know before you go: Sierra County's Clerk-Recorder office is transitioning to an electronic recording system in 2026 under state law; anyone recording a deed in the near term should call ahead to confirm whether e-recording is live yet or whether paper recording by mail or in person is still the only option, since the county's own site describes this as an active rollout rather than a finished one.
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 Sierra 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 Sierra 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 Sierra 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 Sierra 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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