ARTICLE 1. Duties Generally [27201. - 27211.]

Cal. Government Code - GOV 1.

in effect

Cal. Government Code - GOV § 27201. Section 27201.

(a) (1) (A) The recorder shall, upon payment of proper fees and taxes, accept for recordation any instrument, paper, or notice that is authorized or required by statute, or court order to be recorded, or authorized or required to be recorded by a local ordinance that relates to the recordation of any instrument, paper, or notice that relates to real property, if the instrument, paper, or notice contains sufficient information to be indexed as provided by statute, meets recording requirements of state statutes and local ordinances, and is photographically reproducible. The county recorder shall not refuse to record any instrument, paper, or notice that is authorized or required by statute, court order, or local ordinance that relates to the recordation of any instrument, paper, or notice that relates to real property to be recorded on the basis of its lack of legal sufficiency. (B) “Photographically reproducible,” for purposes of this division, means all instruments, papers, or notices that comply with standards as recommended by the American National Standards Institute or the Association for Information and Image Management for recording of records. (2) (A) A person of or related to the record may request that the recorder correct the information contained in an index of a record. The request shall identify the exact location of an error within a specifically identified index entry. (B) If the person making the request provides sufficient evidence to the recorder to determine that there is an error in the index that needs to be corrected, the recorder shall correct that index entry within 30 business days of receiving the request. (C) The corrected index entry shall be entered into the public index to reflect both the error and the correction. The recorder shall note that an index entry has been corrected in accordance with local policy. (b) (1) Each instrument, paper, or notice shall contain an original signature or signatures, except as otherwise provided by law, or be a certified copy of the original. (2) A facsimile signature shall be accepted on a lien recorded by a governmental agency when that facsimile signature has been officially adopted by that agency. The lien shall have noted on its face a statement to that effect. The officially adopted facsimile signature shall be provided to the county recorder by a letter from the agency. A facsimile signature shall continue to be valid until the agency notifies the county recorder that the facsimile signature has been revoked. (c) (1) Each instrument, paper, or notice that is rerecorded shall be executed and acknowledged or verified as a new document, in addition to any previous execution and acknowledgment or verification, unless any of the following apply: (A) The instrument, paper, or notice is otherwise exempted by Section 27287 or any other law. (B) The instrument, paper, or notice is presented solely to correct a recording sequence. The intent of the parties with regard to the priority of recorded documents shall be controlling regardless of the sequence of recording by a county recorder or the sequence of recording specified in instructions given by a submitter to a county recorder. This subparagraph is declaratory of existing law, and any rerecording of documents to change the sequential numbers assigned to a document by the recorder shall not require the document to be executed and acknowledged or verified as a new document. (C) (i) The instrument, paper, or notice is presented solely to make a minor correction with a corrective affidavit. The corrective affidavit shall satisfy all of the following: (I) Be attached to the original recorded instrument, paper, or notice. (II) Set out the information corrected. (III) Be certified by the party submitting the affidavit under penalty of perjury. (IV) Be acknowledged pursuant to Section 27287. (ii) For purposes of this subparagraph, “minor correction” includes any of the following: (I) An incorrect or missing address of the party to which the instrument, paper, or notice is to be returned following recording pursuant to Section 27361.6. (II) A clarification of illegible text pursuant to Section 27361.7. (III) An incorrect or missing printed or typed name of an individual or entity near the signature pursuant to Section 27280.5. (IV) An incorrect or missing documentary transfer tax amount due pursuant to Section 11932 of the Revenue and Taxation Code. (2) Each rerecorded instrument, paper, or notice shall include a cover sheet that complies with Section 27361.6 and shall state the reason for rerecording on the cover sheet.

Cal. Government Code - GOV § 27201.1. Section 27201.1.

(a) (1) A disinterested custodian of an electronic record may certify that a tangible copy is a complete and accurate reproduction of the electronic record. The certification shall be subscribed and sworn to, or affirmed, by the disinterested custodian before a notary public and accompanied by a jurat attached thereto pursuant to Section 8202. The certification shall be in substantially the following form: Certification of a Printed Copy of an Electronic Record I hereby certify that the attached instrument entitled document title, if applicable , dated document date , and containing page count pages is an accurate reproduction of an electronic record printed by me or under my supervision. At the time of printing, I had access to the electronic record displaying intact tamper-evident security procedures. No security procedures used on the electronic record indicated any changes or errors in an electronic signature or other information in the electronic record after the completion of the electronic record’s creation, execution, or notarization. I am not a grantee, beneficiary, or otherwise a person who directly benefits from the attached instrument or electronic record. I certify under PENALTY OF PERJURY under the laws of the State of California that the foregoing paragraphs are true and correct. Dated: ______ Name: ______ Signature: ______ (2) A certification made by a disinterested custodian pursuant to this subdivision is separate and distinct from a certified copy issued by a recorder for purposes of Sections 1530 and 1531 of the Evidence Code. The disinterested custodian shall so identify the certification according to the form required by paragraph (1). (b) The recorder shall accept for recording a tangible copy of an electronic record bearing electronic signatures and containing a certificate in the form required by subdivision (a) as a certified copy of an original pursuant to subdivision (b) of Section 27201 provided that the electronic record is otherwise an instrument or notice that is authorized or required to be recorded and the tangible copy satisfies the requirements of subparagraph (A) of paragraph (1) of subdivision (a) of Section 27201. (c) A tangible copy of an electronic record, once copied into the proper book of record, kept in the office of any county recorder, imparts notice of its contents to subsequent purchasers and encumbrancers, notwithstanding any failure of the person making the certification to qualify as a disinterested custodian. (d) For purposes of this section, “electronic record,” “electronic signature,” and “security procedure” have the same meaning as in Section 1633.2 of the Civil Code, and “disinterested custodian” means a person who has access to an electronic record displaying intact tamper-evident security procedures and who is not the grantee, beneficiary, or otherwise a person who directly benefits from the electronic record.

Cal. Government Code - GOV § 27201.5. Section 27201.5.

(a) A notary acknowledgment shall be deemed complete for recording purposes without a photographically reproducible official seal of the notary public if the seal, as described in Section 8207, is present and legible, and the name of the notary, the county of the notary’s principal place of business, the notary’s telephone number, the notary’s registration number, and the notary’s commission expiration date are typed or printed in a manner that is photographically reproducible below, or immediately adjacent to, the notary’s signature in the acknowledgment. (b) If a request for a certified copy of a birth or death record is received by mail, a notarized statement sworn under penalty of perjury shall accompany the request, stating that the requester is an authorized person, as defined by law.

Cal. Government Code - GOV § 27202. Section 27202.

Upon the request of any officer of the United States, the county recorder shall record instruments to which the United States is a party without payment of the recording fee in advance and shall execute the proper government voucher for payment. Upon payment, the fee shall be transmitted to the Treasurer with the recorder’s first settlement after the collection.

Cal. Government Code - GOV § 27203. Section 27203.

Any recorder to whom an instrument proved or acknowledged according to law or any paper or notice which may by law be recorded is delivered for record is liable to the party aggrieved for the amount of the damages occasioned thereby, if he or she commits any of the following acts: (a) Neglects or refuses to record the instrument, paper, or notice within a reasonable time after receiving it. (1) This subdivision shall not apply to an instrument, paper, or notice that the recorder has determined to be an unrecordable document pursuant to this chapter. Nothing in this subdivision shall preclude the application of Section 27201. (2) The recorder may provide, to any person presenting a document the recorder determines to be an unrecordable document, a form stating that the person has the right to judicial review in a court of competent jurisdiction of the recorder’s refusal to record the document. The form shall include a section stating the recorder’s reason for refusing the document. The form shall provide notice that it is a public offense to further attempt to record the document without an order of the court as provided by Section 27204. The recorder shall keep a correct copy of the refused document. In the event the document is determined by the court to be a recordable document, the recorder shall pay the filing fees for the review, and shall record the document within a reasonable time. (b) Records any instrument, paper, or notice, willfully or negligently, untruly, or in any manner other than that prescribed by this chapter. (c) Neglects or refuses to keep in his or her office the indices required by this chapter. (d) Alters, changes, obliterates, or inserts any new matter in any records deposited in the recorder’s office, unless the recorder is correcting an indexing error. The recorder may make marginal notations on records as part of the recording process. (e) Refuses to make the proper entries in the indices required by this chapter. (f) Neglects to make the proper entries in the indices required by this chapter. Nothing in this subdivision prohibits a recorder from correcting an indexing error. (g) Fails to correct an indexing error pursuant to subparagraph (B) of paragraph (2) of subdivision (a) of Section 27201.

Cal. Government Code - GOV § 27203.5. Section 27203.5.

If the recorder willfully and maliciously commits any of the acts described in Section 27203 or derives a personal financial benefit from committing any of those acts, the recorder is liable to the party aggrieved for three times the amount of damages occasioned thereby.

Cal. Government Code - GOV § 27204. Section 27204.

Any person who receives a form from the recorder pursuant to subdivision (a) of Section 27203, stating that the proffered document is unrecordable, and who subsequently attempts to record the document without an order from the court requiring recordation of that document, is guilty of a misdemeanor, punishable by imprisonment in a county jail not exceeding six months, by a fine not exceeding one thousand dollars ($1,000), or by both that imprisonment and fine, or of an infraction punishable pursuant to Section 19.8 of the Penal Code.

Cal. Government Code - GOV § 27205. Section 27205.

After two years from the date of filing in the recorder’s office of notice of completion of any building or improvement, the contract, plans, specifications and bond under which the work or improvement was performed may be returned by the recorder to the person filing them, unless the recorder has been notified in writing to retain them by someone claiming some interest under the contract or in the property affected. After five years from the date of filing in the recorder’s office of any contract, plans, and specifications of any building or improvement, the recorder may destroy the contract, plans, specifications, and bond relating thereto if they have not been delivered as provided in this section, unless he has been notified in writing to retain them by someone claiming some interest under the contract or in the property affected.

Cal. Government Code - GOV § 27206. Section 27206.

The county recorder may destroy federal tax liens together with any release of said liens eight years after the lien was filed in his office; provided, a microfilm copy of each unreleased tax lien has been made and certified in the manner provided for in Section 1551 of the Evidence Code. All film used in the microphotography process shall comply with the minimum standards of quality approved by the United States Bureau of Standards. The original copy of the microfilm shall be kept in a safe and separate place for security purposes.

Cal. Government Code - GOV § 27207. Section 27207.

At the request of the county recorder, the board of supervisors of any county may authorize the destruction of any or all of the filed papers or records books created under the Land Title Law (an initiative measure adopted by the electors November 3, 1914, and repealed effective May 1, 1955) after compliance with all the conditions in paragraphs (a), (b), (c), and (d) of Section 26205.5 of the Government Code.

Cal. Government Code - GOV § 27208. Section 27208.

If a paper or document has been microfilmed, the county recorder may destroy or otherwise dispose of any paper or document filed with or submitted to him or her more than one year previously, unless another provision of law requires a longer retention period or unless the recorder determines that there is a need for its retention. In determining where there is a need for retaining a paper or document, consideration shall be given to factors, including, but not limited to, future public need, the effect of statutes of limitation, and historical significance.

Cal. Government Code - GOV § 27210. Section 27210.

The county recorder may use a printed, stamped, photographically reproduced facsimile, electronic, or otherwise digitally created signature in certifying to a record in the recorder’s office provided that the certification has the seal of the recorder’s office affixed thereto.

Cal. Government Code - GOV § 27211. Section 27211.

(a) The recorder shall keep an official seal of the recorder’s office that shall, when embossed, stamped, impressed, or affixed to a certification, show legibly. The seal may be applied manually, mechanically, electronically, or by other digital means. The seal shall: (1) Be circular in shape; (2) Be not less than 1 1 4 inches and not more than 2 inches in diameter; (3) Have in the center any words or design adopted by the recorder; (4) Have inscribed around the central words or design, “Recorder, ____ County, California,” inserting therein the name of the county. (b) This section does not prohibit a recorder from continuing to use a seal of a design different than that specified in subdivision (a) if that seal has customarily been used.

Source: CA Legislative Counsel Bulk DataURL: https://downloads.leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/pubinfo_2025.zipFetched: 6/27/2026