Assembly BillVetoedGovernment
AB 1430: County recorders: fees.
What AB 1430 does, verified March 9, 2026
This bill aims to amend the government code to regulate county recorder fees. The proposed fee for recording and indexing an instrument, paper, or notice would be $15 for the first page and $4 for each additional page, with no fee exceeding the reasonable costs of the county recorder's office. The funds collected would be dedicated to and solely utilized for the county recorder's office. The bill would also increase the amount available for modernizing the creation, retention, and retrieval of information in each county's system of recorded documents. Additionally, the bill would eliminate the requirement for an additional fee to convert the county recorder's document storage system to micrographics and extend the authority to use the fee for restoration and preservation of archival mediums indefinitely.
Bill journey
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Last action: Consideration of Governor's veto stricken from file. (2026-01-22)Alert me
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| Jan. 22, 2026 | Consideration of Governor's veto stricken from file. |
| Jan. 22, 2026 | Stricken from file. |
| Oct. 06, 2025 | Consideration of Governor's veto pending. |
| Oct. 06, 2025 | Vetoed by Governor. |
| Sep. 22, 2025 | Enrolled and presented to the Governor at 3 p.m. |
Latest bill textEnrolled version, September 12, 2025 · 1,847 words
| Enrolled September 12, 2025 |
| Passed IN Senate September 10, 2025 |
| Passed IN Assembly May 23, 2025 |
| Amended IN Assembly March 17, 2025 |
CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2025–2026 REGULAR SESSION
Assembly Bill
No. 1430
| Introduced by Assembly Member Bennett |
February 21, 2025 |
An act to amend Section 27361 of, and to amend and repeal Section 27361.4 of, the Government Code, relating to local government.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 1430, Bennett. County recorders: fees.
Existing law establishes the office of county recorder and requires the county recorder to accept for recordation any instrument, paper, or notice that is authorized or required to be recorded, subject to the collection of specified fees. Existing law prohibits the fee for recording and indexing an instrument, paper, or notice from exceeding $10 for recording the first page and $3 for each additional page, which charges are to reimburse the county for the costs of services rendered. Existing law requires $1 of each $3 fee for each additional page to be deposited in the county general fund.
This bill would set the fee for recording and indexing at $15 for recording the first page and $4 for each additional page, but would prohibit the fees from exceeding the reasonable costs of the county recorder’s office for providing these services. The bill would provide that these funds are to be dedicated to, and solely utilized for, the county recorder’s office, as specified. The bill would delete the provision requiring $1 of each $3 fee for each additional page to be deposited in the county general fund.
Existing law specifies that $1 for recording the first page and $1 for each additional page shall be available solely to support, maintain, improve, and provide for the full operation for modernized creation, retention, and retrieval of information in each county’s system of recorded documents.
This bill would increase the $1 amount for each additional page to $3.
Existing law authorizes the county board of supervisors to provide for an additional fee of $1 for each instrument, paper, or notice of record to order to defray the cost of converting the county recorder’s document storage system to micrographics. Existing law, until January 1, 2026, authorizes the $1 fee to also be used for restoration and preservation of the county recorder’s permanent archival microfilm, to implement and fund a county recorder archive program, or to implement and maintain or utilize a trusted system for the permanent preservation of recorded document images.
This bill would delete the January 1, 2026, repeal date, thereby making these provisions operative indefinitely. The bill would replace a reference to “archival microfilm” with “archival mediums” and would repeal related provisions. The bill would include related legislative findings concerning county recorder fees.
By imposing new duties on counties relative to recording fees, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program.
The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement.
This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.
The people of the State of California do enact as follows:
SECTION 1.
(a) The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:(1) The fee for recording and indexing every instrument, paper, or notice required or permitted by law at the county recorder’s office was last adjusted in 2010.
(2) The county recorder is a fee-for-service department where fees charged are intended to cover the cost of services provided to the public at no additional expense to a county’s net county cost.
(3) Recording fees have not been aligned to inflationary factors or the state’s minimum wage increases, creating significant budget challenges for counties. Absent an adjustment, the ability to provide services to the public at the usual standard and to maintain standards for timeliness and quality are at risk.
(b) It is the intent of the Legislature to ensure the most effective and efficient process related to California’s land title system both for the public and for county recorders by adjusting the base recording first and second page fees in alignment with inflationary factors to ensure effective and expeditious processing for real property records.
SEC. 2.
Section 27361 of the Government Code is amended to read:27361.
(a) (1) The fee for recording and indexing every instrument, paper, or notice required or permitted by law to be recorded shall be fifteen dollars ($15) for recording the first page and four dollars ($4) for each additional page, to reimburse the county for the costs of services rendered pursuant to this subdivision.(2) Notwithstanding paragraph (1), the fees imposed by paragraph (1) shall not exceed the reasonable costs of the county recorder’s office for providing these services.
(b) In addition to the fees imposed by subdivision (a), the recorder may charge additional fees as follows:
(1) If the printing on printed forms is spaced more than nine lines per vertical inch or more than 22 characters and spaces per inch measured horizontally for not less than three inches in one sentence, the recorder shall charge one dollar ($1) extra for each page or sheet on which printing appears, except, however, the extra charge shall not apply to printed words that are directive or explanatory in nature for completion of the form or on vital statistics forms. Fees collected under this paragraph are not subject to subdivision (c).
(2) If a page or sheet does not conform to the dimensions described in subdivision (a) of Section 27361.5, the recorder shall charge three dollars ($3) extra per page or sheet of the document. The funds generated by the extra charge authorized under this paragraph shall be available solely to support, maintain, improve, and provide for the full operation for modernized creation, retention, and retrieval of information in each county’s system of recorded documents. Fees collected under this paragraph are not subject to subdivision (c).
(c) Notwithstanding Section 68085, one dollar ($1) for recording the first page and three dollars ($3) for each additional page shall be available solely to support, maintain, improve, and provide for the full operation for modernized creation, retention, and retrieval of information in each county’s system of recorded documents.
(d) (1) In addition to all other fees authorized by this section, a county recorder may charge a fee of one dollar ($1) for recording the first page of every instrument, paper, or notice required or permitted by law to be recorded, as authorized by each county’s board of supervisors. The funds generated by this fee shall be used only by the county recorder collecting the fee for the purpose of implementing a social security number truncation program pursuant to Article 3.5 (commencing with Section 27300).
(2) A county recorder shall not charge the fee described in paragraph (1) after December 31, 2017, unless the county recorder has received reauthorization by the county’s board of supervisors. A county recorder shall not seek reauthorization of the fee by the board before June 1, 2017, or after December 31, 2017. In determining the additional period of authorization, the board shall consider the review described in paragraph (4).
(3) Notwithstanding paragraph (2), a county recorder who, pursuant to subdivision (c) of Section 27304, secures a revenue anticipation loan, or other outside source of funding, for the implementation of a social security number truncation program, may be authorized to charge the fee described in paragraph (1) for a period not to exceed the term of repayment of the loan or other outside source of funding.
(4) A county board of supervisors that authorizes the fee described in this subdivision shall require the county auditor to conduct two reviews to verify that the funds generated by this fee are used only for the purpose of the program, as described in Article 3.5 (commencing with Section 27300) and for conducting these reviews. The reviews shall state the progress of the county recorder in truncating recorded documents pursuant to subdivision (a) of Section 27301, and shall estimate any ongoing costs to the county recorder of complying with subdivisions (a) and (b) of Section 27301. The board shall require that the first review be completed not before June 1, 2012, or after December 31, 2013, and that the second review be completed not before June 1, 2017, or after December 31, 2017. The reviews shall adhere to generally accepted accounting standards, and the review results shall be made available to the public.
(e) Except as provided in subdivision (g) of Section 6103.8, the fee authorized by this section shall not be charged to those entities exempted from the payment of recording fees under Section 6103 or 27383.
(f) Unless otherwise specified, all fees collected pursuant to this section shall be dedicated to, and solely utilized for, the recorder’s office.
SEC. 3.
Section 27361.4 of the Government Code, as amended by Section 16 of Chapter 77 of the Statutes of 2021, is amended to read:27361.4.
(a) The board of supervisors of any county may provide for an additional fee of one dollar ($1) for filing every instrument, paper, or notice for record for any of the following purposes:(1) To defray the cost of converting the county recorder’s document storage system to micrographics and for restoration and preservation of the county recorder’s permanent archival mediums.
(2) To implement and fund a county recorder archive program as determined by the county recorder.
(3) To implement and maintain or utilize a trusted system, as defined by Section 12168.7, for the permanent preservation of recorded document images.
(b) The board of supervisors of any county may provide for an additional fee, other than the fees authorized in subdivisions (a) and (c), of one dollar ($1) for filing every instrument, paper, or notice for record provided that the resolution providing for the additional fee establishes the days of operation of the county recorder’s offices as every business day except for legal holidays and those holidays designated as judicial holidays pursuant to Section 135 of the Code of Civil Procedure.
(c) The board of supervisors of any county may provide for an additional fee, other than the fees authorized in subdivisions (a) and (b), of one dollar ($1) for filing every instrument, paper, or notice for record provided that the resolution providing for the additional fee requires that the instrument, paper, or notice be indexed within two business days after the date of recordation.
(d) Except as provided in subdivision (g) of Section 6103.8, the fees authorized by this section shall not be charged to those entities exempted from the payment of recording fees under Section 6103 or 27383.
SEC. 4.
Section 27361.4 of the Government Code, as amended by Section 17 of Chapter 77 of the Statutes of 2021, is repealed.SEC. 5.
No reimbursement is required by this act pursuant to Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California Constitution because a local agency or school district has the authority to levy service charges, fees, or assessments sufficient to pay for the program or level of service mandated by this act, within the meaning of Section 17556 of the Government Code.Text of AB 1430 as enrolled, from the official record. Connect Plus keeps every version and highlights what changed.Compare versions