Why People File a Quitclaim Deed in Solano County
Just Got Married
It's not unusual to marry, settle in, and only later decide to add a spouse's name to the title — a quitclaim deed works just as well on that timeline.
Going Through a Divorce
Property division in a divorce isn't complete, from the county's point of view, until a quitclaim deed updates the recorded title.
Inherited Property
Sorting out who owns a family property after a death can take time, but the quitclaim deed that finalizes it is usually straightforward.
Gifting to Family
If a family member asked you to "just add my name to the deed," a quitclaim deed is almost certainly the document they meant.
About the Solano County Assessor-Recorder
Solano County was one of California's original 27 counties, set by the first state legislature on February 18, 1850, though before statehood the area had been referred to informally as Benicia County. It takes its name -- indirectly -- from Sem-Yeto, a Suisun tribal leader who was baptized with the name Solano in honor of the Spanish missionary saint Francisco Solano, and who at General Mariano Vallejo's request lent that name to the county covering land he once controlled between the Petaluma Creek and the Sacramento River. The county today spans everything from the historic waterfront at Benicia, briefly California's state capital in the 1850s, to the farmland and wind turbines of its interior valleys and the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta town of Rio Vista.
Cities and Communities Served
Recording jurisdiction runs countywide, not by city limits — if the property sits anywhere within Solano County, this is the Solano County Assessor-Recorder that will accept the deed. That includes:
Incorporated cities: Fairfield (county seat), Benicia, Dixon, Rio Vista, Suisun City, Vacaville, Vallejo.
Unincorporated communities: Cordelia, Green Valley, Elmira, Birds Landing.
Office Details
Address: 675 Texas Street, Suite 2700, Fairfield, CA 94533
Phone: (707) 784-6290
Hours: Monday - Friday, 9:00 AM - 4:00 PM, closed weekends and county holidays. This is a separate division from the Solano County Clerk (housed under Treasurer-Tax Collector-County Clerk) in the same complex.
Recording Fee: Solano 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. Some Solano cities, including Vallejo, levy their own additional city transfer tax on top of the county tax, so check with the city if the property is inside city limits. A separate penalty fee applies if a Preliminary Change of Ownership Report (PCOR) is not submitted or is incomplete at the time of recording.
E-recording: Solano County accepts e-recording through Simplifile.
Good to know before you go: Solano County's finance departments have been working through a multi-year property tax system transition that has caused processing delays for some property owners -- if a recorded document doesn't show up promptly in county assessment or tax records, that backlog (not necessarily an error in your recording) may be the cause, and the county has said it is working individually with affected owners.
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 Solano County 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 Solano County 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 Solano County 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 Solano County 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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