To transfer property title in California, you prepare a deed identifying the current owner, the new owner, and a full legal description of the property; sign it in front of a notary; and record it with the County Recorder in the county where the property sits, along with a Preliminary Change of Ownership Report. Recording starts at $10 for the first page, but documentary transfer tax, a possible $75 Building Homes and Jobs Act fee, and property tax reassessment can add real money on top of that. The steps below walk through each decision in the order you’ll face it.
Pick the Right Deed for Your Situation
California recognizes a few different deed types, and the right one depends on who is transferring to whom.
A grant deed is the standard for a sale. It carries two implied warranties: the transferor hasn’t already conveyed the property to someone else, and the property is free of liens or encumbrances the transferor created or allowed. Those promises only cover problems the current transferor caused. They say nothing about defects earlier in the chain of title.1Board of Equalization. Property Ownership and Deed Recording
A quitclaim deed makes no promises. It transfers whatever interest the signer happens to hold, which could be full ownership, a partial share, or nothing at all. Quitclaims are common for adding or removing a spouse, moving property into a living trust, or transferring between family members. Buying from a stranger with a quitclaim is a bad idea for the same reason: no warranties, no recourse if something goes wrong.
An interspousal transfer deed is built for transfers between spouses or registered domestic partners. It functions much like a quitclaim, with an added tax benefit: transfers between spouses during a marriage are automatically excluded from property tax reassessment, and so are transfers between former spouses under a divorce settlement. If ex-spouses divide property years later without a settlement, the transfer will trigger reassessment.
A revocable transfer on death (TOD) deed is a different tool. It names a beneficiary who receives the property automatically at the owner’s death without probate, and the owner keeps full control and can revoke it any time during life. It’s available in California through at least January 1, 2032.2California Legislative Information. California Probate Code 5614 The property has to be residential with one to four units or a condo unit; agricultural parcels over 40 acres don’t qualify. The deed must be signed in front of two witnesses present at the same time, notarized, and recorded within 60 days of notarization, or it has no legal effect. Beneficiaries must be named by full legal name, not by a category like “my children,” and a TOD deed can’t be revoked by a will. If the owner holds title as a joint tenant and dies first, the surviving joint tenant takes the property by right of survivorship and the TOD deed is void.3California Legislative Information. AB-288 Revocable Transfer on Death Deeds
What Every Valid Deed Must Contain
Whatever deed type you choose, California requires the deed to be in writing and signed by the transferor. It needs a granting clause (language like “I hereby grant”), the full names of both the transferor and the recipient, and a legal description of the property that distinguishes it from every other parcel. A street address is not enough. The legal description usually references the lot number, tract number, and the recorded parcel map, and you can find it on the current deed or the property tax bill, which also lists the Assessor’s Parcel Number.1Board of Equalization. Property Ownership and Deed Recording
The deed should also state how the new owner will hold title. Your options are sole ownership, joint tenancy with right of survivorship, tenancy in common (each owner holds a defined share), community property, and community property with right of survivorship. Each one has different consequences for probate and taxes. Fix this at the start, because changing the vesting later means preparing and recording another deed.
Nearly every transfer must include a Preliminary Change of Ownership Report (PCOR), filed alongside the deed. The PCOR gives the County Assessor what it needs to decide whether to reassess. A handful of documents are exempt (easements, trustee’s deeds from foreclosure sales, and affidavits of death for a deed of trust beneficiary), but when the PCOR is required and you don’t file it, the county tacks on a $20 penalty.
Notarize and Record with the County
The transferor’s signature has to be notarized. A California notary verifies the signer’s identity with acceptable ID, attaches an acknowledgment certificate with an official seal, and for any deed affecting real property, takes the signer’s thumbprint in the notary journal. The maximum notary fee is $15 per signature.4California Legislative Information. California Government Code 8211
Once the deed is notarized and the PCOR is filled out, you file the packet with the County Recorder in the county where the property is located. You can file in person or by mail. A recorder’s examiner reviews the documents, collects the fees, and records the deed. The original is scanned into the public record and mailed back to whoever you designate on the document.
What It Costs to Record
The base recording fee under state law is $10 for the first page and $3 for each additional page. Counties add their own surcharges, so what you actually pay at the counter is higher than the state minimum.5California Legislative Information. California Government Code 27361
California also charges a documentary transfer tax on real property conveyances at $0.55 per $500 of value or fraction of it, which comes out to $1.10 per $1,000. The tax is calculated on the property’s value minus any existing liens that remain after the transfer. Some cities add their own transfer tax, and a few have adopted much higher rates on high-value properties. The transfer tax amount, or a statement explaining the exemption, has to appear on the face of the deed.6California Legislative Information. California Revenue and Taxation Code 11911
A separate $75 fee under the Building Homes and Jobs Act (SB 2) applies to most real estate recordings, capped at $225 per transaction. Two carve-outs matter: the fee doesn’t apply to documents recorded in connection with a transfer already subject to documentary transfer tax, and it doesn’t apply to the transfer of a residential property to an owner-occupier. Claim the exemption on the face of the document or a cover page, or you’ll get charged automatically.
Common Transfer Tax Exemptions
Not every transfer owes documentary transfer tax. Common exemptions include:
- Gifts, whether made during life or at death.
- Transfers into or out of a trust where beneficial ownership doesn’t change.
- Transfers between spouses caused by or in anticipation of a divorce.
- Transfers with no real change in ownership, such as moving property from individual names into an LLC the same people own in the same proportions.
- Property with a fair market value under $100, or where outstanding liens equal or exceed the value.
If There’s a Mortgage on the Property
Most mortgages contain a due-on-sale clause that lets the lender call the entire loan balance if the property changes hands without consent. Recording a deed can technically trip it. The federal Garn-St. Germain Act carves out several exceptions for residential property with fewer than five units, and the lender cannot enforce the due-on-sale clause in any of these situations:7Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 12 USC 1701j-3 – Preemption of Due-on-Sale Prohibitions
- A transfer by operation of law when a joint tenant or co-owner dies.
- A transfer to a relative on the borrower’s death.
- Adding or transferring to the borrower’s spouse or children.
- A transfer to a spouse under a divorce decree or settlement.
- Moving the property into a revocable living trust where the borrower stays a beneficiary and continues to occupy the home.
Family transfers usually fit somewhere in that list. Selling to an unrelated buyer, transferring to a business entity, or removing the borrower from both title and the trust may not. Talk to the lender before recording if you aren’t sure.
Property Tax Reassessment
Recording a change in ownership generally triggers a reassessment. If the property has appreciated since the current owner bought it, the new assessed value (and the bill that follows) can climb sharply. Two exclusions handle most family transfers.
Spousal Transfers
All transfers between spouses or registered domestic partners during a marriage are excluded from reassessment, regardless of how title is held. So are transfers resulting from divorce, including those made under a property settlement agreement. No claim form is required.
Parent-Child and Grandparent-Grandchild Transfers
Under Proposition 19, a parent-to-child transfer of a family home can be excluded from reassessment only if the property was the transferor’s principal residence and the recipient moves in and makes it their own principal residence within one year. The recipient also has to file for the homeowners’ exemption or disabled veterans’ exemption within one year of the transfer. File late and the exclusion only begins the year the exemption claim is submitted, not the date of transfer.8California State Board of Equalization. Proposition 19 Fact Sheet
There’s a value cap. The property keeps the transferor’s assessed value only if the current fair market value doesn’t exceed the assessed value by more than $1,044,586, the inflation-adjusted limit for transfers occurring between February 16, 2025 and February 15, 2027. If the market value goes over that ceiling, the difference between the cap and the market value gets added to the assessed value.9California State Board of Equalization. Proposition 19
Grandparent-to-grandchild transfers can qualify for the same exclusion, but only if the grandchild’s parents (the grandparents’ own children) are deceased.8California State Board of Equalization. Proposition 19 Fact Sheet
Federal Tax Consequences of Gift Transfers
If you transfer property as a gift, you (the giver) may have to file IRS Form 709 when the value exceeds the annual gift tax exclusion, which is $19,000 per recipient for 2026. Filing doesn’t necessarily mean owing tax; the gift is reported against the lifetime exemption. The recipient owes nothing on the gift itself.10Internal Revenue Service. IRS Releases Tax Inflation Adjustments for Tax Year 2026
The bigger issue is cost basis. Property purchased carries a basis equal to what the buyer paid. Property received as a gift generally carries the original owner’s basis forward, which can be decades old and far below current value. That means a larger taxable gain whenever the recipient sells.11Internal Revenue Service. Instructions for Form 709
Inherited property is treated differently. A beneficiary receives a stepped-up basis equal to the fair market value on the date of death. In California, a community property state, both halves of jointly held community property get a full step-up when one spouse dies, not just the deceased spouse’s share. That gap between gifting during life and passing property at death is often the single biggest tax question in these transfers.
Reporting a Death and Withholding on Sales
When a property owner dies, someone has to file Form BOE-502-D (Change in Ownership Statement — Death of a Real Property Owner) with the County Assessor within 150 days of the date of death. If the property goes through probate, the personal representative files the form before or when the inventory and appraisal go to the court.12California State Board of Equalization. Death of a Real Property Owner – Reporting Requirements This is separate from any Prop 19 exclusion claim. Even a fully excluded transfer still has to be reported.
Selling the property, rather than gifting or inheriting it, brings state withholding into the picture. California requires 3⅓ percent of the total sales price to be withheld through escrow, though the seller can elect to base withholding on the actual gain, which is often lower. Withholding is waived when the property was the seller’s principal residence, the sales price is $100,000 or less, or the seller can show a loss or zero gain. The exemption gets certified on FTB Form 593 before escrow closes.13Legal Information Institute. California Code of Regulations Title 18, 18662-3 – Real Estate Withholding
One last note on protection: a grant deed’s two warranties don’t cover defects earlier in the chain (forged deeds, unknown heirs, undisclosed easements, or old liens). Title insurance covers that gap and is standard in purchase transactions. Family quitclaim transfers often skip it, but the transferee has no warranties from the transferor and nothing to fall back on if a defect turns up later.14California Department of Insurance. Title Insurance