How to Do a Title Search in California

Introduction

To do a title search in California, start with the property's Assessor's Parcel Number and legal description, then go to the recorder in the county where the land sits and trace each owner backward through the grantor and grantee indexes. Pull every deed, deed of trust, reconveyance, lien and foreclosure notice you find. Then check the county tax collector for unpaid or supplemental taxes, ask the HOA about dues, and compare your results with the Preliminary Title Report before anyone closes or funds a loan.

Key Takeaways

California title work is county work. The state writes the rules, but the records sit in 58 separate counties, each with its own indexes and search tools.

• Search by owner name, not street address. California recorders index documents by grantor, grantee and recording date.

• Use the APN to tie recorder documents to assessor and tax collector records.

• Match every deed of trust with a recorded reconveyance, and look for any Notice of Default or Notice of Trustee's Sale.

• Check for mechanics liens tied to recent work, because California sets tight recording and enforcement windows.

• Confirm both spouses signed whenever community property was sold or encumbered.

• Read the tax bill for supplemental taxes, Mello-Roost special taxes and assessments that a deed search will not show.

• Treat the Preliminary Title Report as an offer to insure, not a promise that title is clean.

The rest of this guide follows the order a careful examiner would use. The title team at Scalance Global runs this same sequence on California files for lenders and investors.

Start With the APN and the Legal Description

Every California parcel carries an Assessor's Parcel Number, the identifier the county assessor uses for mapping and valuation. You will find it on the property tax bill, on the assessor's parcel maps and usually on the most recent deed. The APN is not a legal description, and it can change when parcels are split or merged, so copy the full legal description from the current vesting deed as well.

Collect the owner's name exactly as it appears on title, plus any former, trust and entity names. Recorders index by name, so a trust nobody mentioned can hide a whole branch of the chain. If you want the general method first, our US title search walkthrough covers the basics. This post sticks to what changes once the property is in California.

Find the Right County Office

California has 58 counties, and each one organizes its recording function a little differently. State law lets many counties consolidate offices, including combining the assessor, recorder and county clerk into a single department, which is why you will see office names like Assessor/Recorder/County Clerk in San Diego County. The assessor, recorder and tax collector each hold a different piece, so plan on checking all three.

Los Angeles County shows why local rules matter. Real property documents there are recorded by the Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk, known as the RR/CC, while the Assessor is a separate office. The RR/CC says it does not provide online access to its real estate records or indexes, so index searches happen in person, by appointment, at its Norwalk headquarters, where records reach back to 1851. Other counties do run online index portals, so check each recorder's website first.

Build the Chain of Title in the Grantor-Grantee Index

Look up the current owner as a grantee to find the deed that put title in their hands, note who the grantor was, then search that grantor as a grantee for the deed before it. Keep stepping back until you reach a starting point your underwriter accepts.

Then run it forward. Search each owner as a grantor for the full period they held title to catch the deeds of trust, easements, leases, partial conveyances and agreements they signed. A gap in dates, a changed spelling or a deed out of an unknown trust is the moment to slow down. Our piece on title issues that delay closings shows what these gaps turn into.

Know the California Deed Types

The grant deed is the standard conveyance in a California sale. Under Civil Code section 1113, the word "grant" carries two implied promises from the seller: that they have not already conveyed the same estate to someone else, and that the estate is free of encumbrances they created or allowed.

A quitclaim deed passes whatever interest the signer happens to have, with no promises at all. One from a stranger to the chain deserves a question. Interspousal transfer deeds move property between spouses, often so one spouse can hold title alone for a loan or as part of a divorce. Revenue and Taxation Code section 11927 exempts divorce-related divisions of community property from documentary transfer tax, but only if the deed carries a signed recital claiming the exemption.

Section 11911 lets a county impose a tax of $0.55 for each $500 of consideration when the value conveyed exceeds $100, and lets a city inside that county add half that rate, with a credit against the county tax. Some charter cities levy their own transfer taxes, so check the city too. You can rough out the numbers with our transfer tax calculator and budget the filing side with the recording fee calculator.

Deeds of Trust, Reconveyances and Foreclosure Notices

California home loans are typically secured by a deed of trust, which names a trustee with a power of sale. For every deed of trust, look for a matching full reconveyance. Civil Code section 2941 gives the beneficiary 30 days after payoff to send the trustee the documents needed to reconvey, and gives the trustee 21 days after receiving them to record the reconveyance. A paid loan with no reconveyance is still an open item that may need curative work.

Foreclosure in California is usually non-judicial. Civil Code section 2924 requires the trustee or beneficiary to record a Notice of Default in the county where the property sits, and at least three months must pass after that recording before the Notice of Trustee's Sale can be given. A Notice of Default with no rescission, or a Notice of Trustee's Sale with no trustee's deed, means a sale may still be pending. Lenders can follow our foreclosure title search checklist and map dates with the foreclosure timeline calculator.

Mechanics Liens Under California Rules

California's mechanics lien statute is strict about timing. Under Civil Code section 8412, a direct contractor must record a claim of lien after finishing its contract and before the earlier of 90 days after the work of improvement is completed or 60 days after the owner records a notice of completion or cessation. Section 8414 gives other claimants, such as subcontractors and suppliers, the earlier of 90 days after completion or 30 days after that notice.

Enforcement is just as tight. Section 8460 says the claimant must file an action to enforce within 90 days after recording the lien, or the lien expires and becomes unenforceable, unless a recorded extension of credit applies. An old claim with no lawsuit behind it may be dead under the statute, but ask the title officer how it will be treated or get a release. Also ask about recent work, since a valid claim can still be recorded after your search.

Community Property and Who Has to Sign

In California, community property shapes whose signatures you need. Family Code section 1102 requires both spouses to join in any instrument that sells, conveys or encumbers community real property, or leases it for longer than a year. Title in one spouse's name does not settle the question, so read how each owner took title and look for interspousal deeds or dissolution judgments.

The same section sets a deadline for challenges. An action to void an instrument signed by one spouse alone, on property recorded in that spouse's name, must be filed within one year after the instrument is recorded. A recent deal signed by only one married owner is worth flagging for the examiner, especially on a refinance or a pre-funding diligence review.

Property Taxes, Prop 13 and Supplemental Bills

Under Proposition 13, the general property tax rate is 1 percent of assessed value plus any rate needed for voter-approved debt, and annual increases in assessed value are capped at 2 percent. Property is reassessed to market value when it changes ownership or when new construction is completed. That reassessment flows through the supplemental assessment process, which produces bills on top of the regular annual bill, so a recent buyer may owe more than the last annual statement suggests.

Secured property taxes are paid in two instalments. The first is due November 1 and becomes delinquent after December 10, and the second is due February 1 and becomes delinquent after April 10, with a 10 percent penalty on each late instalment. Ask the tax collector about current and prior year status, then prorate the numbers with our prorated property tax calculator. If the parcel is complicated, our property tax services team can pull the full picture.

Mello-Roos, Special Assessments and HOA Liens

Many newer California neighbourhoods sit inside a Mello-Roo's community facilities district or carry bond assessments under the Improvement Bond Act of 1915. These liens are collected with property taxes, and Civil Code section 1102.6b requires sellers to make a good faith effort to obtain and deliver each agency's disclosure notice. Read every line of the tax bill, not just the total. Our post on property tax for real estate investors covers budgeting for these charges.

California homeowners associations can secure unpaid assessments with a recorded lien. Civil Code section 5720 bars an association from foreclosing on delinquent assessments under $1,800, not counting fees, interest and similar charges, unless the assessments are more than 12 months delinquent. Order a payoff or demand statement from the association and search the index for any recorded lien in the association's name.

The Natural Hazard Disclosure Is Not a Title Document

Under Civil Code section 1103.2, the seller provides a Natural Hazard Disclosure Statement covering FEMA special flood hazard areas, dam inundation areas, high or very high fire hazard severity zones, wildland fire areas, earthquake fault zones and seismic hazard zones. The statute describes it as a disclosure between seller, seller's agent and buyer, and says it is not to be used by lenders or insurers for any purpose. Our ancillary services can coordinate it alongside other reports.

Reading the Preliminary Title Report

The Preliminary Title Report, often called the prelim, is what most California transactions run on. Insurance Code section 12340.11 defines it as an offer to issue a title policy subject to the listed exceptions. It is not an abstract of title and is not a representation about the condition of title. Treat each exception as a decision: accept it, clear it, or ask for an endorsement.

Line up your chain and lien notes against the prelim. If you found something it does not mention, raise it. If it lists something you missed, pull the document. Our title services cover this reconciliation on files where the team needs a second set of eyes.

CLTA Versus ALTA Coverage

California owners generally choose between a standard coverage policy, commonly issued on CLTA forms, and an extended coverage policy, commonly issued on ALTA forms. The California Department of Insurance explains that a standard policy mainly covers defects found in the public record, plus a limited set of off-record risks. An extended policy adds coverage for unrecorded liens, easements, encroachments and boundary conflicts, and the insurer will usually require a survey.

Lenders specify the policy they need, and endorsements can add coverage for specific risks. Premiums are based on the amount insured, so the title insurance calculator is a useful starting point when you compare quotes.

When to Order a Professional Search

A do it yourself search is fine for early research, but not when money is about to move. Order a professional search when a loan is being funded, when the chain runs through a trust, probate or foreclosure, when you find an unreleased deed of trust or a mechanics lien, or when a married owner signed alone. The same goes for counties like Los Angeles, where index searches happen in person.

Volume changes the math too. Investors buying across several counties, or servicers reviewing portfolios, save time by handing the work to a dedicated team. Scalance supports default and foreclosure searches and REO resale support for that kind of work.

At that scale, it also helps to read how teams are automating title operations without losing examiner judgment.

Frequently Asked Questions

Are deeds public records in California?

Yes. The Los Angeles County RR/CC confirms that deeds are public record in California. How you view or order copies varies by county.

Can I ask a California county to remove my information from recorded documents?

Generally not. The Los Angeles County RR/CC states that records deemed public cannot be masked or removed from its database unless a court orders it.

Where do I find a will connected to a California property?

Not at the recorder. In Los Angeles County, for example, the RR/CC directs people to the Clerk of the Superior Court, where wills are filed.

Who usually pays for title insurance in California?

It depends on local custom, not state law. The Department of Insurance notes that sellers customarily pay the owner's policy premium in Southern California, buyers often pay in Northern California, and buyers pay for the lender's policy in almost every county.

Is escrow handled the same way across California?

No. According to the Department of Insurance, title companies in Northern California tend to handle both title and escrow in the same transaction, while in Southern California escrow is often run separately by banks, escrow companies or title companies. Our settlement services work within both setups.

What is a title plant?

The Department of Insurance describes a title plant as a database of organized property records that title companies compile and use to perform title searches. You generally reach it through a title company rather than the county.

Conclusion

A California title search comes down to a few habits: start with the APN and the legal description, work the grantor and grantee indexes in the right county, and read every deed of trust, notice and lien against California's own statutes. Add the tax collector, the HOA and the prelim, and you have a file a lender can rely on. When the chain gets complicated, bring in a professional. If you want a hand with a California file, Scalance Global .

This article is for general information only and is not legal, tax or title advice. California law changes, and every property is different, so consult a licensed attorney or title professional about your situation.