Calif. Government Code §27388
Amended by A.B. 661
Effective date: January 1, 2017
Any real estate instrument conveying or vesting real estate and subject to a documentary transfer tax is exempt from the $10 county recording fee which funds real estate fraud prevention.
Real estate instruments include:
- trust deeds;
- assignments;
- covenants, conditions and restrictions (CC&Rs);
- liens; and
- notices, such as a notice of default or notice of trustee’s sale.
Further, real estate instruments not subject to documentary transfer taxes are also exempt from the recording fee when the instrument is:
- simultaneously filed with another document subject to the tax; or
- recorded in the same business day as another related document subject to the tax.
To qualify for the exemption, the real estate instrument — regardless of whether it is directly subject to the documentary transfer tax — needs to have a statement attached which:
- declares the instrument is exempt; and
- lists the recording date and either the:
- recorder’s identification number; or
- previously recorded document’s book and page.
