Recorder


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PUBLIC NOTICE-

SENATE BILL (SB) 2 - BUILDING AND JOB ACT

Effective January 1, 2018, in order to fund the State’s Affordable Housing & Jobs Act, (SB-2), Government Code section 27388.1 requires that documents accepted for recording at the Sierra County Recorder’s Office be charged an additional seventy-five dollars ($75) fee as follows:

“…a fee of seventy-five dollars ($75) shall be paid at the time of recording of every real estate instrument, paper, or notice required or permitted by law to be recorded, except those expressly exempted from payment of recording fees, per each single transaction per parcel of real property.  The fee imposed by this section shall not exceed two hundred twenty-five dollars ($225)…”

Only an expressly limited number of statutory exemptions exist regarding the collection of this fee.   When an exemption is applicable, a valid declaration of exemption must be placed on the face of each document prior to depositing with the Recorder, otherwise the fee will be assessed and collected.  Following are samples of applicable statutory exemptions to be used on the first page of each document:

  1. A Documentary Transfer Tax (DTT) Declaration stating that the transfer is subject to payment of the DTT including the amount of DTT due and to be paid at the time of recording; and/or
  2. Exempt from fee per GC sec 27388.1(a)(2); recorded concurrently “in connection with” a transfer subject to the imposition of DTT; or
  3. Exempt from fee per GC sec 27388.1(a)(2); recorded concurrently “in connection with” a transfer of real property that is a residential dwelling to an owner-occupier; or
  4. Exempt from fee per GC sec 27388.1(a)(2); transfer of real property that is a residential dwelling to an owner-occupier; or
  5. Exempt from fee per GC sec 27388.1(a)(1); fee cap of $225 reached; or
  6. Exempt from fee per GC sec 27388.1(a)(1); not related to real property.

Failure to include a specified statutory exemption reason will result in the imposition of the $75 Building Homes and Jobs Act fee.  Fees are collected on behalf of the State and are deposited with the State for funding of the State program.  The County Recorder only collects the fee on behalf of the State.

Responsibilities

The county recorder maintains and provides public access to a permanent archive of recorded documents. The recorder is responsible for examination and recording of all documents presented to this office that deal with establishing ownership of land in the county or as required by law.

Disclaimer


Under California law, employees in the Recorder's Office are not allowed to give legal advice, cannot advise which forms are needed, nor advise how to fill them out.

Effective January 1, 2008, Section 1798.89 of the Civil Code was added to read: "Unless otherwise required to do so by state or federal law, no person, entity, or government agency shall present for recording or filing with a county recorder a document that is required by any provision of law to be open to the public if that record displays more than the last four digits of a Social Security number." 

Senate Bill 1050

Notaries Public: Verification of Identity Notice


This bill amends Sections 1189 and 1195 of the Civil Code, and Section 8202 of the Government Code relating to notaries public. Effective January 1, 2015, all documents will require a legible notice to be included in in an enclosed box, specified, stating that the acknowledgment, proof of execution, or jurat verifies only the identity of the individual who signed the document to which the acknowledgment, proof of execution, or jurat is attached, and not to the truthfulness, accuracy, or validity of the document. 

For the updated wording and further information please visit:
http://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=201320140sb1050

Recording Fees


Effective February 2012, recording fees have increased to $14 for the first page and $3 for each additional page of the same document. Copies of official records are a $1.00 per page.

Search Requests


Real property records dating back to 1850 can be found alphabetically by names of parties identified on the documents. Records are open to the public during regular office hours.