The fees, forms and wording the Ventura County recorder publishes for a deed into a revocable living trust, quoted from the county.
Nearest recorder office to the firm’s Westlake Village office: 2100 East Thousand Oaks Boulevard, Suite A, Thousand Oaks, CA 91362 (East County Office, Civic Arts Plaza). County source
“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 GOV 27388.1(a)(2)(B)”
County source
“First page (limited to sheet 8.5" x 11") ... GOV 27397.1 $14.00 ... Each additional page ... 3.00”
County source
“Any real estate instrument, paper, or notice recorded in connection with a transfer subject to the imposition of a documentary transfer tax GOV 27388.1(a)(2)(A), or ... 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 GOV 27388.1(a)(2)(B), or”
County source
“a valid declaration of exemption must be shown on the face of the document or on a cover page ... If no valid exemption is declared, the fee will be applied.”
County source
“Every document evidencing a conveyance of real property must have a Preliminary Change of Ownership Report (PCOR) or pay an additional $20.00 fee.”
County source
“Documents Recorded without Preliminary Change of Ownership Report ... RTC 480.3 20.00”
County source
“EXAMPLES OF PROPERTY TRANSFERS EXEMPT FROM DOCUMENTARY TRANSFER TAX ... The following statements are examples of exemption recitals that must be placed on the face of the document for the conveyance to be acceptable for recording ... Conveyance to revocable family trusts for the benefit of the Grantors. R&T11930”
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
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Quoted from Ventura 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.
