Our Mission
Our Mission is to fairly and accurately identify and assess all taxable property in San Francisco and record, secure, and provide access to property, marriage, and other records.
Together, we work to ensure the financial stability of San Francisco. We seek to be a model of good government and antiracism by advancing our values of fairness, care, equity, and excellence in service to our diverse constituents and communities.
The Office of the Assessor-Recorder is responsible for fairly and accurately executing property assessment functions in accordance with the State Constitution and State and local laws. Our core responsibilities include identifying all taxable property in the City and County of San Francisco, establishing a taxable value, and applying all legal exemptions. Property broadly includes real property as well as personal property owned by businesses.
The Office is also responsible for recording documents and securing public records. We ensure each document meets recording requirements and make them accessible to the public. We record over 400 different types of documents annually, including deeds of trust, reconveyances, liens, maps, and public marriage certificates.
Additionally, the Office is responsible for collecting any transfer tax due upon a change in property ownership. We perform audits to ensure the correct property value basis for taxation. In all that we do we seek to advance the values of fairness, care, equity, and excellence in service to our diverse constituents and communities.
Our Policies and Disclosures
Racial Equity Action Plan
The Office of the Assessor-Recorder's Racial Equity Action Plan aims to proactively advance equity in the Department's internal and external work including recruitment, culture, training, community engagement, advocacy, and the review and evaluation of our operations. Our work is guided by our Racial Equity Action Plan.
View the full Racial Equity Action Plan here (updated December 2020) focused on internal racial equity priorities.
View the Racial Equity Progress Report here (May 2, 2022) for updates on the implementation of the Phase One Equity Action Plan.