The SB 2 California recording fee is a $75 charge added to most real estate documents recorded with a county recorder, created by the Building Homes and Jobs Act of 2017 and effective January 1, 2018. It is assessed per document title, per parcel, and capped at $225 for a single transaction on one parcel. The money funds affordable housing, homelessness programs, and local planning grants through a state trust fund.1California Legislative Information. California Government Code 27388.1
How the $75 Fee Is Calculated
The fee attaches to each document title, not each piece of paper. Record one deed of trust against a parcel and the SB 2 charge is $75. Record a combined instrument like a “Substitution of Trustee and Full Reconveyance,” and the recorder counts two titles, so the charge is $150. The fee sits on top of whatever standard recording charges the county already collects.1California Legislative Information. California Government Code 27388.1
The $225 cap applies to a single transaction on one parcel. Once you hit it, any additional documents in that transaction record without further SB 2 fees. Transactions touching multiple parcels, each with its own assessor parcel number, can incur separate fees per parcel, though the cap still applies to each transaction.1California Legislative Information. California Government Code 27388.1
Which Recordings Trigger the Fee
The statute reaches almost any real-estate-related instrument recorded in California. That includes deeds, grant deeds, trustee’s deeds, deeds of trust, reconveyances, quit claim deeds, assignments of deeds of trust, abstracts of judgment, subordination agreements, homestead declarations, notices of default, easements, notices of trustee sale, notices of completion, UCC financing statements, mechanic’s liens, maps, and CC&Rs.1California Legislative Information. California Government Code 27388.1
If you are recording something tied to real property and it doesn’t fit one of the exemptions below, plan on paying $75 per title. That applies to refinance documents, lien recordings, and even a homestead declaration.
Exemptions From the SB 2 Fee
Five categories are exempt under Government Code section 27388.1:1California Legislative Information. California Government Code 27388.1
- Documents recorded in connection with a transfer that is subject to documentary transfer tax (DTT).
- Documents recorded in connection with a transfer of residential real property to an owner-occupier.
- Instruments executed or recorded by the federal government under the Uniform Federal Lien Registration Act.
- Instruments recorded by the state, a county, a municipality, or another political subdivision.
- Documents recorded to remove restrictive covenants that violate California’s fair housing laws.
The exemption has to be declared on the face of the document or on a cover page before recording. If nothing is claimed, the recorder assesses the $75, and the money goes to the State Controller. Getting it back after that point is difficult, so it’s worth catching before submission.1California Legislative Information. California Government Code 27388.1
Why Refinances Pay and Most Home Sales Don’t
The documentary transfer tax exemption does most of the work. In a standard home purchase, the buyer pays DTT on the price, and the deed and deed of trust recorded with that transfer are exempt from the SB 2 fee. Buyers who don’t know the exemption exists often assume they paid it and never notice they didn’t.
Refinances are the opposite. Ownership doesn’t change, no DTT is due, and no exemption applies. A typical refinance records at least a new deed of trust and a reconveyance of the old one, so the homeowner pays a minimum of $150 in SB 2 fees. With more documents in the file, the total climbs toward the $225 cap. The fee shows up on the Closing Disclosure under “Taxes and Other Government Fees” alongside the county’s standard recording charges.2Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. TILA-RESPA Integrated Disclosure: Guide to the Loan Estimate and Closing Disclosure Forms
Where the Money Goes
Every SB 2 fee flows into the Building Homes and Jobs Trust Fund in the State Treasury under Health and Safety Code section 50470. From 2019 onward, the fund is distributed as follows:3California Legislative Information. California Health and Safety Code 50470
- 70% to local governments for affordable housing, allocated using the federal Community Development Block Grant formula (90% of that share) with the remaining 10% distributed equitably to smaller nonentitlement communities.
- 15% to the California Housing Finance Agency for mixed-income multifamily rental housing serving lower- and moderate-income households.
- 10% to the Department of Housing and Community Development for farmworker housing.
- 5% for state incentive programs administered by HCD.
Any agency receiving these funds may spend no more than 5% of its allocation on administration. In the program’s first year (2018), the split was simpler: half to local planning grants, half to homelessness programs.3California Legislative Information. California Health and Safety Code 50470
What to Check Before You Record
If you’re recording anything real-estate-related in California, work through three questions before the document reaches the recorder. Does this transaction pay documentary transfer tax? Is it a residential transfer to an owner-occupier? Does one of the other three exemptions apply? If yes to any, put the exemption reason on the document or cover page. If no, count the document titles you’re recording, multiply by $75, and cap the total at $225 per parcel per transaction. That is what you will owe.