California § 27297.7 - On or before January 1, 2027, each county within the state shall establish a reco

§ 27297.7. On or before January 1, 2027, each county within the state shall establish a reco

(a) On or before January 1, 2027, each county within the state shall establish a recorder notification program, in accordance with this section, and the board of supervisors of each county shall adopt an authorizing resolution for these purposes. (b) (1) Following adoption of an authorizing resolution by the board of supervisors, the county recorder shall, within 30 days of recordation of a deed, quitclaim deed, mortgage, or deed of trust, notify by mail the party or parties executing the document. The notification shall be sent to the address for mailing tax bills that was established prior to the recording of the document. (2) The recorder may require, as a condition of recording, that a deed, quitclaim deed, mortgage, or deed of trust indicate the assessor’s identification number or numbers that fully contain all, or a portion of, the real property described in the legal description. If the description contains more than one assessor’s parcel, all assessor’s parcels shall be indicated. If assessor’s identification numbers are required, they shall be listed on the first page of the document. The recorder may rely on the assessor’s identification numbers as indicated on the document. The form of the entry shall be substantially as follows: Assessor’s Identification Number __-__-__. (3) In addition to the mailed notice required by paragraph (1), the county recorder may establish an electronic notification program that notifies parties upon recording of a deed, quitclaim deed, mortgage, or deed of trust. (c) This section shall not apply to the recordation of any document where the federal government, or state, county, city, or any subdivision of the state is the grantee. (d) The failure of the county recorder to provide the notice as permitted by this section shall not result in any liability against the recorder or the county. In the event that the notice is returned to the recorder by the postal service as undeliverable, the recorder is not required to retain the returned notice. (e) Where the county recorder contracts with any party or parties for the performance of the processing or the mailing of the notice, or both, as authorized by this section, the contract shall be awarded by competitive bid. The county recorder shall solicit written bids for the contract in a newspaper of general circulation in the county, and all bids received shall be publicly opened and the contract awarded to the lowest responsible bidder. If the county recorder or their designee deems the acceptance of the lowest responsible bid is not in the best interest of the county, all bids may be rejected. (f) In addition to any other recording fee, the board of supervisors may authorize the county recorder to collect a fee from the party filing a deed, quitclaim deed, mortgage, or deed of trust for the cost of implementing the program pursuant to this section. The fee shall not exceed the reasonable costs of services of the county to provide a recorder notification program and to comply with this section. This fee shall not be charged until at least 120 days following the establishment of the fee and public notification of the fee and the effective date. (g) This section shall not apply to a county that operates a notification program pursuant to Section 27297.6.