County of Sonoma, California
Clerk • Recorder • Assessor • Registrar of Voters.
The brief list below shows some of the recent changes that currently affect recorded documents. Please contact us if you need more information about these changes.
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.
More information about the Recording Fee Increase. (PDF: 58 kB)
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 § 1 1 8 9 of the Civil Code.
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 § 1 7 9 8 point .8 9.
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 § 1 1 8 9 of the Civil Code.
Important Notice:
The staff of the Recorder'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.
Our current featured artist is Jack Stuppin.
Sonoma Vines,
by Jack Stuppin Image of a landscape painting showing the mountains and grapevines of Sonoma County.