The fees, forms and wording the Imperial County recorder publishes for a deed into a revocable living trust, quoted from the county.
“FIRST DOCUMENT PAGE exactly 8 ½” x 11” | GC 27361, GC 27361.4a, ICCO 2.16.080 | $14.00 ... Additional page exactly 8 ½” by 11” | GC 27361 | $3.00”
County source
“Building Homes and Job Act Fee ... SB 2, (per title not to exceed $225.00) Cover Sheet SB2 | GC 27388.1 | $75.00”
County source
“Any real estate instrument, paper, or notice recorded in connection with a transfer subject to the imposition of a documentary transfer tax as defined in Section 11911 of the Revenue and Taxation Code. ... Any real estate instrument, paper, or notice recorded in connection with a transfer of real property that is a residential dwelling to an owner-occupier.”
County source
“Preliminary Change of Ownership- report omitted | R&T 480.3 | $20.00”
County source
“State law requires the transferee/buyer of a property to file a "Preliminary Change of Ownership Report" (PCOR) with the Imperial County Recorder when recording certain documents. ... A $20 fee will be charged if the completed form is not filed”
County source
“A statement and/or appropriate Revenue and Taxation code shall be revealed on the face of all documents to be recorded that are exempt from Transfer Tax. ... 5 R&T 11930 Conveyance Transferring Interest into or out of a Living Trust This conveyance transfers an interest into or out of a Living Trust.”
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 Imperial 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.
