Why People File a Quitclaim Deed in Tehama County
Just Got Married
Adding your spouse to a title you already hold is one of the more common quitclaim filings we see, wedding season or not.
Going Through a Divorce
If you're the one keeping the house post-divorce, don't assume the title updates itself — a quitclaim deed is what makes that happen.
Inherited Property
If you inherited a home and are unsure what to do with the deed, a quitclaim deed is usually the document that updates it into your name.
Gifting to Family
Some families use a quitclaim deed to shift a rental or second property to a adult child who's ready to manage it.
About the Tehama County Clerk and Recorder
Tehama County was created April 9, 1856 by combining pieces of Butte, Colusa, and Shasta counties, and it originally took its seat from the city of Tehama before Red Bluff won the honor by vote in March 1857. The county's name almost certainly comes from a Wintun word, though sources disagree on the exact translation -- "high water," "low land," and "salmon" have all been proposed -- while Red Bluff itself is named for the reddish volcanic bluff the town sits on along a bend of the Sacramento River; the settlement went by the names Leodocia and then Covertsburg before Red Bluff stuck around 1854. Today the county sits at the northern end of the Sacramento Valley, where valley farmland gives way to the foothills of the Coast Range and southern Cascades.
Cities and Communities Served
Recording jurisdiction runs countywide, not by city limits — if the property sits anywhere within Tehama County, this is the Tehama County Clerk and Recorder that will accept the deed. That includes:
Incorporated cities: Red Bluff (county seat), Corning, Tehama.
Unincorporated communities: Los Molinos, Gerber, Cottonwood, Manton, Paskenta.
Office Details
Address: 633 Washington Street, Room 11, Red Bluff, CA 96080
Phone: (530) 527-3350
Hours: Monday - Friday, 8:00 AM - 12:00 PM and 1:00 PM - 5:00 PM (closed for lunch)
Recording Fee: Tehama 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.
E-recording: Tehama County accepts e-recording through Simplifile.
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 Tehama County Clerk and 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 Tehama County Clerk and 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 Tehama County Clerk and 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 Tehama County Clerk and 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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