Recording Requirements 

All courier services, third-party representatives, attorney services and messengers must drop off Deeds, Deed of Trust, Leases, and Notice of Default submitted for recording.

A certified copy for a fee of $6 for the first page and $3 for each additional page may be requested and received immediately upon recording of the document.

All applicable fees must be paid at the time of recording. All documents and fees can be reviewed on the Property Document Recording Fees page

Document Recording Requirements

Each document presented for recording must include or comply with the following general requirements:

1. The property must be located in Los Angeles County. (C.C. § 1169)
2. The document must be authorized or required by law to be recorded. (G.C. § 27201)
3. Signatures must be original unless the document is a certified copy issued by the appropriate custodian of the public record. (G.C. § 27201b, G.C. § 27279, Evidence Code § 1530)
4. Include the name of the party requesting the recording and a name and address where the document can be returned. (G.C. § 27361.6)
5. The document must be properly acknowledged, unless exempt. California requires an (all-purpose acknowledgement). (G.C. §27201, 27289, 27285, 27287, 27288; C.C. § 1189)
6.  The Assessor's Parcel Number is required on notice of default, notice of trustee's sale, deeds, trust deeds and mortgages. (G.C. § 27297.6)
7. The notary seal must be legible for a microfilm reproduction. (G.C. § 8207)
8. When recording documents affecting a change in the ownership of real property, include a completed Preliminary Change of Ownership Report. These forms can be obtained from the County Assessor’s Office as well as the County Clerk-Recorder's Office.
9. Documents must be clearly legible in order to produce a readable photographic record. This pertains to the document text, notary seals, certificates and other attachments, such as legal descriptions. (Gov. 27361.7)

10. Standard page size is 8.5 by 11 inches. Other page sizes incur additional recording fees. For recording space requirements, the first page of the document must reserve a minimum of 2.5 inches down from the top of the page, of which the left 3.5 inches across is used by the party requesting recording to enter name and address to which the document is to be returned following recording. The remainder of this space is reserved for use by the Registrar-Recorder to enter the official recording information.

    With regard to the vertical sides of the page, a minimum of 0.5 inches must be left blank on each side of the document. If the first page of a document does not comply with these legal requirements, attach a separate page to the front of the document that meets these spacing criteria and which includes the title or titles of the document.

In-Person Appointment

Appointments can be scheduled up to three (3) weeks in advance.

Recording by Mail

For mailed in documents, an examiner will review submitted document for proper completion, collect the appropriate fees and taxes, and record your document.

The original document will be mailed to you after we complete the process of adding your document to our database for archival retention.

Make payable to the Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk and mail to:

A certified copy for a fee of $6 for the first page and $3 for each additional page may be requested and received immediately upon recordation of the document.

All applicable fees must be paid at the time of recording.

Payment Options

We accept:

• Cash
• Check: Make payable to the Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk. Valid identification of the signer is required at time of purchase.
• Money order: Make payable to the Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk.
• Debit/Credit card: American Express, Discover, MasterCard, and Visa ($1.75 service fee and maximum limit of $15,000)
• Apple Pay and Samsung Pay: ($1.75 service fee and maximum limit of $15,000)

We do not accept:

• E-Checks
• Temporary checks
• Foreign checks (with the exception of Canada and Mexico) 

If an E-Check, temporary or foreign check is received, the request will be rejected and sent back to the submitter requesting a new method of payment.

For more information on the recording process, call (800) 201-8999.