ATTENTION: Effective January 1, 2018, certain recordable documents will be charged an additional $75 fee to support the Building Homes & Jobs Act. Please read here for more information.

With integrity and commitment to customer service, the Office of the Assessor-Recorder is responsible for recording and preserving official documents related to marriage, real property, and business functions.

The Assessor-Recorder will record only those documents as permitted by State law. Once recorded or filed, the documents and certificates are made available for examination by interested parties upon request.

Reminder: Documents are examined only to determine if they meet “Recording Requirements,” which are very different from legal requirements. It is highly recommended that you speak with an attorney, title company representative, or other authorized individual for assistance. Only documents permitted by law may be recorded.

Documents may be submitted to our office in one of three ways:

In Person: To our City Hall location (1 Dr. Carlton B. Goodlett Place, Room 190, San Francisco, 94102). Payment for recording fees and transfer taxes (if applicable) may be made by cash, checks (with preprinted name and address), credit card, or money order payable to SF Assessor-Recorder. Note that our recording window is open from 8:00 AM to 4:00 PM.

By Drop Box: The Assessor-Recorder drop box is located outside City Hall at 1 Dr. Carlton B. Goodlett Place (the box is in the window at the Grove Street entrance). The drop box is checked daily and documents are taken directly back to Assessor-Recorder staff to process. Documents submitted via drop box will be examined and recorded (if acceptable) within 24 hours of receipt. Please ensure that your documents are securely packaged with payment. Payment for recording fees and transfer taxes (if applicable) may be made by checks (with preprinted name and address), or money order payable to SF Assessor-Recorder.

By Mail: To our City Hall location (1 Dr. Carlton B. Goodlett Place, Room 190, San Francisco, 94102). Payment for recording fees and transfer taxes (if applicable) may be made by cash, checks (with preprinted name and address), or money order payable to SF Assessor-Recorder.

Electronically: Electronic Recording (e-recording) is the process of recording documents via a secure internet portal that would otherwise be sent by mail or courier to the San Francisco County Assessor-Recorder’s Office. E-recording is an efficient and secure means to submit documents to our office for recordation electronically. Once recorded, documents are returned to the submitter the same day, usually in less than an hour, and payment of recording fees and taxes are made the following day via ACH wire transfer. E-recording was previously limited to title companies, title insurers, financial institutions, and government entities. However, the regulations governing e-recording were recently updated in response to AB2143 (2016), which opens up e-recording to entities that can demonstrate at least $1 million in general liability insurance. These new regulations went into effect on January 1, 2020.

We are excited to now offer e-recording to all entities that demonstrate the minimum insurance requirements and who enter into a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with our office and one of our nine partner e-recording Agents. A list of authorized e-recording Agents is included in the Forms/Attachments tab. The San Francisco County Assessor-Recorder’s Office does not impose a surcharge for e-recording; the fees are the same for paper documents submitted over the counter or by mail as those arriving through e-recording. However, Agents charge Submitters a fee for the convenience of e-recording. Each Agent’s fee structure is different, so you are encouraged to inquire with the Agent for pricing.

Reminder: Although we would like to give you as much information as possible, under California law, our document examiners are PROHIBITED from providing legal advice or assisting in document preparation. (Section 6125 of the Business and Professions Code).
Our hours are 8:00 am to 4:00 pm, Monday to Friday, except legal holidays.
We are located in Room 190 at City Hall (1 Dr. Carlton B. Goodlett Place, San Francisco).
When recording documents in person, payment for recording fees and transfer taxes (if applicable) may be made by cash, Visa, MasterCard, checks (with preprinted name and address), or money order payable to SF Assessor-Recorder.
Electronic Recording (e-recording) is the process of recording documents via a secure internet portal that would otherwise be sent by mail or courier to the San Francisco County Assessor-Recorder’s Office. Note that only Title Companies, Title Insurers, Banks, and Government Entities, may submit documents via e-recording. Please check with your title company, title insurer, or bank to see if they are authorized to submit in San Francisco County.

The Assessor Parcel Number(s) is the same as the Assessor Block and Lot Numbers. You can find these numbers on your property tax bill. Another easy way is to use the Property Search Tool, type in your property address, then click SEARCH.

A Deed is the written document that transfers title of land or real property between the grantor and the grantee. The grantor is also known as the transferor or seller or the party transferring an interest in land or real property. The grantee is also known as the transferee or the buyer or the party receiving an interest in land or real property.
An Affidavit of Death is the written document that is sworn to or affirmed before an officer who has the authority to administer an oath or affirmation (for example, a notary public). Otherwise, it may be signed under penalty of perjury that the contents are true and correct. This document verifies the death of a decedent as a former interest holder for a specifically described real property.
A Deed of Trust is the loan document that involves three parties: Trustor (Borrower), Beneficiary (Lender such as a bank or mortgage company), and Trustee (Third Party who has the power to sell the property if the borrower does not pay the mortgage). This document shows the land or real property used as collateral, interest rates, loan amount, and other terms.
A Substitution of Trustee is the written document that is used to change the trustee in a Deed of Trust.
A Reconveyance is the written document that the trustee executes when a loan is paid off.
A Subordination Agreement is the written document that the lender executes when it gives a new loan priority over an existing loan.
An Assignment of a Deed of Trust is the written document that transfers the beneficial interest in a deed of trust from one party to another party. In other words, it transfers a lender’s rights for money to another party.
A Notice of Default is a notice showing that the borrower under a deed of trust is not paying the mortgage.
An Abstract of Judgment is a lien for money payment by a judgment creditor against the judgment debtor.
It is possible that you may execute a mechanic’s lien and then have it recorded it in our office. A Mechanic’s Lien is a lien created in favor of person(s) who provided labor, materials, supplies, etc., to a work of improvement upon land or real property. Forms are not provided by our office.

The Assessor-Recorder’s Office is not authorized to release any Federal, State, Mechanic, Local Liens or Abstracts of Judgment from your real property or your name without a Release of Lien issued by the party that recorded the lien. Please do not contact the Assessor-Recorder’s Office to dispute any lien issues unless the lien was placed by the Assessor-Recorder for Delinquent Transfer Taxes. You may obtain copies of any document recorded in our office either in person or by a written request (copying charges apply).

Our official records date back to April 1906 and our maps date back to 1850. For any historical records, please contact the San Francisco Public Library or the San Francisco Historical Society.