California Quitclaim Deed
A California quitclaim deed (or quit claim deed) transfers your interest with no warranty. Notarize it and record with the County Recorder. Attorney review available.
Introduction
A quitclaim deed is a document that transfers whatever ownership interest you have in a piece of real estate to someone else, with no promise that your title is good or even that you own anything at all. That is the key difference from a warranty deed, which does promise clear title and lets the grantee sue if the title turns out to be flawed. A quitclaim simply passes along whatever interest you hold, so people use it for lower-risk transfers between people who already trust each other: adding or removing a spouse after a marriage or divorce, moving a home into a living trust, or clearing up a possible claim on a title. In California the person giving up the interest is the grantor and the person receiving it is the grantee. To record a California quitclaim deed you must sign it in front of a notary, because Cal. Gov. Code Section 27287 requires acknowledgment and specifically does not let a quitclaim deed be proven by a subscribing witness. You then record it with the County Recorder in the county where the property sits under Cal. Civ. Code Section 1169, and if the transfer is taxable you show the Documentary Transfer Tax on the face of the deed. Attorney review is available as an option before you sign.
Key Things to Know
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A quitclaim deed transfers only the interest you actually have. It passes whatever ownership you hold in the property to the grantee and makes no promise that the title is clear, or even that you own anything. A warranty deed, by contrast, guarantees the title, which is why a quitclaim is used mainly between people who trust each other.
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Record it with the County Recorder. Under Cal. Civ. Code Section 1169 a California deed is recorded by the County Recorder of the county where the property is located. Recording is what protects the grantee against a later buyer under the state's race-notice priority rule (Cal. Civ. Code Section 1214).
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You must sign before a notary. To be recorded, a California quitclaim deed must be acknowledged (notarized). Cal. Gov. Code Section 27287 requires acknowledgment and, since 2012, specifically does not let a quitclaim deed be proven by a subscribing witness instead.
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No witnesses are required. California does not require witnesses to sign a deed. Notarization is the operative formality, and for a quitclaim deed it is the only accepted way to make the deed recordable.
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Show the Documentary Transfer Tax on the deed. California counties charge a Documentary Transfer Tax of $0.55 per $500 of value above $100 (Cal. Rev. & Tax. Code Section 11911). Section 11932 requires the tax amount and the property's city or unincorporated location to appear on the face of the deed, and some cities add their own tax.
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There is no California quitclaim form to fill in. The state codifies a statutory grant deed at Cal. Civ. Code Section 1092 but no quitclaim-specific form. A quitclaim uses release and quitclaim words instead of grant, so the implied covenants that come from the word grant under Cal. Civ. Code Section 1113 never attach.
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Both spouses must sign to convey community property. California is a community-property state, and Cal. Fam. Code Section 1102 requires both spouses to join in selling, conveying, or encumbering community real estate, even if only one spouse is on title. Common quitclaim uses include divorce transfers and moving a home into a living trust.
Key decisions before you file
Before you file a Quitclaim Deed in California, a few decisions shape the document: which option to choose and what each one means. The Quitclaim Deed guide walks through them.
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California Requirements for Quitclaim Deed
To record a California quitclaim deed you must acknowledge it before a notary public. Cal. Gov. Code Section 27287 requires acknowledgment and does not allow a quitclaim deed to be proven by a subscribing witness, so notarization is the only way to make the deed recordable.
California does not require witnesses to sign a deed. Under Cal. Civ. Code Section 1091 the deed must be a writing subscribed by the grantor, and notarial acknowledgment, not witnesses, is what allows it to be recorded.
Record the signed, notarized deed with the County Recorder of the county where the property is located (Cal. Civ. Code Section 1169). Recording protects the grantee against a later buyer under California's race-notice priority rule (Cal. Civ. Code Section 1214).
California counties impose a Documentary Transfer Tax of $0.55 per $500 of value above $100 (Cal. Rev. & Tax. Code Section 11911). Section 11932 requires the tax amount and the property's city or unincorporated location to appear on the face of the deed, and some cities add their own tax.
Some transfers are exempt from the Documentary Transfer Tax. A gift or a transfer at death is exempt under Rev. & Tax. Code Section 11930, and a division of marital property in a divorce is exempt under Section 11927 if the deed includes the required signed recital claiming the exemption.
California codifies a statutory grant deed at Cal. Civ. Code Section 1092 but no quitclaim-specific form. A quitclaim deed uses remise-and-release language instead of the word grant, so the covenants implied by Section 1113 from the word grant do not attach and the deed carries no warranty of title.
California is a community-property state. Cal. Fam. Code Section 1102 requires both spouses to join in selling, conveying, or encumbering community real property, even when only one spouse holds title. A quitclaim of community property signed by one spouse alone may be voidable.
File a Preliminary Change of Ownership Report with the deed. Cal. Rev. & Tax. Code Section 480.3 lets the recorder charge an extra $20 fee if the report is not filed with the deed. The deed must also meet the recording format rules in Gov. Code Section 27361.6, including the reserved top margin on the first page.
Frequently Asked Questions
A quitclaim deed is a deed that transfers whatever interest you have in California real estate to someone else, without any warranty that the title is good. It is often typed as a quit claim deed. Unlike a warranty deed, it makes no promise that you own the property or that the title is free of other claims. It simply passes along the interest you hold, if any.
The difference is the promise about title. A California warranty deed guarantees that the grantor owns the property and that the title is clear, and the grantee can sue if that turns out to be false. A quitclaim deed makes no such promise. Under Cal. Civ. Code Section 1113 the covenants that protect a buyer come from using the word grant, and a quitclaim uses release language instead, so none of those covenants attach.
Yes. To record a quitclaim deed in California you must sign it before a notary public. Cal. Gov. Code Section 27287 requires the deed to be acknowledged and, unlike some other documents, a quitclaim deed cannot be proven by a subscribing witness instead. Without a notary acknowledgment the County Recorder will not record it.
You record it with the County Recorder in the county where the property is located, as Cal. Civ. Code Section 1169 requires. Recording gives public notice and protects the grantee against a later buyer under California's race-notice priority rule (Cal. Civ. Code Section 1214). Bring the Documentary Transfer Tax declaration and a Preliminary Change of Ownership Report when you record.
You pay the County Recorder's recording fee plus any Documentary Transfer Tax. The transfer tax is $0.55 per $500 of value above $100 under Cal. Rev. & Tax. Code Section 11911, and some cities add more. Gifts, transfers at death, and property divisions in a divorce can be exempt under Rev. & Tax. Code Sections 11930 and 11927.
No. Recording your quitclaim deed with the County Recorder under Cal. Civ. Code Section 1169 passes your interest in the property, but it reaches neither the mortgage nor the deed of trust securing the loan. If your name is on the note, you stay personally liable even after the deed is recorded. Only the lender can release you, typically by refinancing or signing a formal release, so settle that before you sign your interest away.
Yes, and it is common. One spouse can quitclaim their interest to the other to carry out a divorce settlement. Because California is a community-property state, Cal. Fam. Code Section 1102 normally requires both spouses to join in conveying community property. A divorce-related transfer can also be exempt from the Documentary Transfer Tax if the deed includes the recital required by Rev. & Tax. Code Section 11927.
No. A California quitclaim uses release language instead of the word 'grant', so under Cal. Civ. Code Section 1113 none of the implied covenants attach and you take only whatever interest the grantor actually holds, still subject to any liens against it. Recording first under the state's race-notice rule in Civ. Code Section 1214 protects your priority, but it does not clean the title. A title search and title insurance are the safeguards a quitclaim cannot give.