The fees, forms and wording the Humboldt County recorder publishes for a deed into a revocable living trust, quoted from the county.
“Govt Code 27388.1 (a) (2) ... documents recorded concurrently "in connection with" a transfer of real property that is an owner occupied residential dwelling”
County source
“First page | $13 Each additional page | $3”
County source
“Documents believed to be exempt from paying the $75 Building Homes and Jobs Act fee must have an exemption on the face of the document when submitted for recording. ... Govt Code 27388.1 (a) (2) ... documents recorded concurrently "in connection with" a transfer subject to the documentary transfer tax (DTT); ... Govt Code 27388.1 (a) (2) ... documents recorded concurrently "in connection with" a transfer of real property that is an owner occupied residential dwelling; ... Failure to declare an exemption before the document is submitted for recording will result in the imposition of the $75 Building Homes and Jobs Act fee.”
County source
“Building Homes & Jobs Act fee ... each title/parcel without exemption | $75”
County source
“State law requires the transferee (buyer) of real property to file a completed Preliminary Change of Ownership Report concurrently with the recordation of any document effecting a change in ownership. ... the recorder will charge an additional fee of $20.”
County source
“every document transferring an interest in real property shall have written upon its face a declaration stating the amount of Documentary Transfer Tax and the area in which the property is located. ... The statement must be completed to show either the amount of Transfer Tax due, which is payable at the time of recording, or the word "None" or $0 and a valid Revenue and Taxation Code allowing for the exemption.”
County source
Yes, $75 per parcel, unless the deed is exempt and the exemption is declared on it. For a home you live in, the exemption that can apply is Gov. Code 27388.1(a)(2)(B), a transfer of real property that is a residential dwelling to an owner-occupier. The statute does not define 'owner-occupier,' so whether a deed into your own trust qualifies is decided when the deed is prepared.
Change in ownership exclusion for trusts, Revenue and Taxation Code section 62(d)
"Any transfer by the trustor, or by the trustor’s spouse or registered domestic partner, or by both, into a trust for so long as" ... "(1) the transferor is the present beneficiary of the trust, or (2) the trust is revocable". Section 62 opens with: "Change in ownership shall not include:"
Official text
Property Tax Rule 462.160, subdivision (b)(2)
“(b) EXCEPTIONS. The following transfers do not constitute changes in ownership:” ... “(2) Revocable Trusts. The transfer of real property or an ownership interest in a legal entity holding an interest in real property by the trustor to a trust which is revocable by the trustor. However, a change in ownership does occur at the time the revocable trust becomes irrevocable unless the trustor-transferor remains or becomes the sole present beneficiary or unless otherwise excluded from change in ownership.”
Official text
Preliminary Change of Ownership Report, Revenue and Taxation Code section 480.3(b)
"If a document evidencing a change in ownership is presented to the recorder for recordation without the concurrent filing of a preliminary change in ownership report, the recorder may charge an additional recording fee of twenty dollars ($20)."
Official text
All California counties · Estate planning with The Flaig Law Firm
Quoted from Humboldt County and California government sources, checked November 1, 2026. Legal information, not legal advice for a specific property. The Flaig Law Firm, APC, Donald W. Flaig, Esq., 5707 Corsa Avenue, Suite 104, Westlake Village, CA 91362.
The Flaig Law Firm prepares the deed that moves your home into your living trust, with the transfer tax statement, the SB2 declaration and the PCOR, and records it with the recorder in the county where your home sits.
