Look Up Property Records in Santa Cruz County, CA
This service isn't handled by the County Clerk. Here's where to go instead.
$10 is a ceiling, not a price. Gov. Code § 27361(a): the fee for recording and indexing “shall not exceedten dollars ($10) for recording the first page and three dollars ($3) for each additional page”. Because § 54985(c)(6) keeps the recorder's fees outside the board of supervisors' general power, every dollar above that ceiling needs its own statute — which is why a California first-page total is an odd number, and why it differs from county to county without anyone having chosen a rate.
- $10 first page, $3 each additional — the cap on recording and indexing (Gov. Code § 27361(a))
- $3 per page — a page that does not meet the § 27361.5 dimensions (Gov. Code § 27361(a)(2))
- $1 per page — printing denser than nine lines per vertical inch (Gov. Code § 27361(a)(1))
- $1 — each cross-reference to a previously recorded document needing extra indexing, after the first (Gov. Code § 27361.2)
- $1 — converting the document store to micrographics — ends when the conversion is paid for (Gov. Code § 27361.4(a), only if the board adopted it)
- $1 — an office open every business day (Gov. Code § 27361.4(b), only if the board adopted it)
- $1 — indexing within two business days (Gov. Code § 27361.4(c), only if the board adopted it)
- $1 — social-security-number truncation — needed board reauthorisation in 2017 to continue (Gov. Code § 27361(d)(1), only if the board adopted it)
- up to $1 — the electronic recording delivery system (Gov. Code § 27397(c)(1), only if the board adopted it)
- $75 per title per parcel, capped at $225 per transaction — Building Homes and Jobs Act (SB 2); exempt where documentary transfer tax is paid on the same transfer, among other exemptions (Gov. Code § 27388.1)
Copies are priced differently again. A copy of a recorded document is set by the board at cost (§ 27366), as is a certificate under seal (§ 27364) — but a copy of a birth, death or marriage certificate made by the recorder is the registrar'sfee, not the recorder's (§ 27365).
In Santa Cruz County the Santa Cruz County Recorder’s Office records deeds and other documents — not the County Clerk whose address this page carries, which is a separate office here. The Santa Cruz County Recorder’s Office's own page ↗
⚠️ This office does not process deed recording. Use the agency linked above. The office below is your county's County Clerk — useful for other services.