Legislative Updates

Notice of July 2022 Recording Fee Increase

• Effective July 1, 2022, California Government Code section 27388.2 (AB1466 - Restrictive Covenant Modification) requires that documents accepted for recording at the Sonoma County Recorder’s Office be charged an additional two dollars ($2) fee per title, unless exempted by statute.

Notice of 2018 Recording Fee Increase

• Effective January 1, 2018, California Government Code section 27388.1 (SB2 – Building Homes and Jobs Act) requires that documents accepted for recording at the Sonoma County Recorder’s Office be charged an additional seventy-five dollars ($75) fee per title, unless exempted by statute.
• 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).
  • Read more about the Recording Fee Increase

Notice of 2016 Recording Fee Increase

• Effective July 1, 2016, the fee for recording the first page of a standard document increased to $14.00. The additional page fee remains at $3.00. 

Notice of 2010 Recording Fee Increase

• Effective February 1, 2010 and pursuant to Senate Bill 676, signed by the governor on October 11, 2009, the base fee for recording a document in Sonoma County increased to $13.00 for the first page. The additional page fee remains at $3.00. This is a $5.00 increase in the base recording fee that had not been increased since 1972.
• This fee increase does not affect the recording fee for Uniform Commercial Code filings, Government Lien Release Fees or the filing fees for Maps.
• AB 886: Change in Acknowledgment Format:
  • Changes the format for a California Acknowledgment. This law in Chapter 399 of the Statutes of 2007 eliminates “personally known” as an element of identification on Certificates of Acknowledgment. For more information, see § 1189 of the Civil Code.

2008 Legislative Changes (California Assembly and State Bills)

AB 1168: Change Affecting Social Security Numbers in Recorded Documents:

• A new law in Chapter 627 of the Statutes of 2007 prohibits the recording of a document that contains more than the last four digits of a social security number. This law states that 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. For more information, see Government Code §1798 point.89.

AB 886: Change in Acknowledgment Format:

• Changes the format for a California Acknowledgment. This law in Chapter 399 of the Statutes of 2007 eliminates "personally known" as an element of identification on Certificates of Acknowledgment. For more information, see1189 of the Civil Code.