Building Homes and Jobs Act Fee

The staff of the Clerk-Recorder-Assessor's Office are forbidden by California legal codes to practice law or provide legal advice; this prohibition includes giving advice about what forms you might need or how you should fill them out.

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 ($75.00) fee per title, unless exempted by statute.

A fee of seventy-five dollars ($75.00) 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 ($225.00).

• This fee will be calculated per document, with a maximum of $225.00 based on the number of documents and titles. 

The fee shall not be imposed on any real estate instrument, paper, or notice recorded in connection with a transfer subject to the imposition of a documentary transfer tax as defined in Section 11911 of the Revenue and Taxation Code or on any real estate instrument, paper, or notice recorded in connection with a transfer of real property that is a residential dwelling to an owner-occupier.

• A declaration of valid exemption may be placed on the face of each document, or on a document cover page, which shall become part of the document, prior to depositing with the Recorder. If no valid exemption is declared, the fee will be assessed.

Cover Sheet Template (PDF)

Exemptions

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, or on the cover page, 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:

• Document is subject to the imposition of documentary transfer tax and includes a declaration showing the amount of documentary transfer tax paid at the time of recording
• Exempt from fee per GC 27388.1 (a) (2); recorded concurrently “in connection with” a transfer subject to the imposition of documentary transfer tax
• Exempt from fee per GC sec 27388.1 (a) (2); Document represents a transfer of real property that is a residential dwelling to an owner-occupier
• Exempt from fee per GC 27388.1 (a) (2); recorded concurrently “in connection with” a transfer of real property that is a residential dwelling to an owner-occupier
• Exempt from fee per GC 27388.1 (a) (1); fee cap of $225.00 reached
• Exempt from the fee per GC 27388.1 (a) (1) Not related to real property

Failure to include a specified statutory exemption reason will result in the imposition of the $75.00 Building Homes and Job Act fee.

Note: This fee is collected on behalf of the State of California and funds are deposited with the State of California. The County Recorder only collects the fee on behalf of the State of California. Our staff has no discretion to exempt documents from the fee except as specifically provided by Government Code Section 27388.1.