Welcome to the Santa Cruz County Recorder Web Site!  We hope we can be of service to you.

Mission Statement:

To maintain a perpetual, comprehensive set of official records consisting of marriage licenses, birth and death certificates and all documents appropriately presented for recording.

Services we provide

  • Document Recording: Officially recording real property transactions such as deeds, deeds of trust, reconveyances, notices of completion, financing documents, maps, state and federal tax liens, and mechanics liens. 
  • Vital Records: Issuing certified copies of marriage, birth and death certificates for events occurring in Santa Cruz County.
  • Public Records Access: Providing access to recorded documents for research, including property records and historical data.
  • Collection of Fees:  The department collects recording fees, documentary transfer tax on transfers of real property and copy fees for providing copies of recorded documents

What we don’t do

  • Legal Advice: California law prohibits Recorder’s Office staff from providing legal advice, including recommendations on which forms to use or how to complete them.
  • Records Not Maintained: The Recorder’s Office does not maintain records related to divorce, wills, probate, family law, or criminal matters.
  • Title Searches and Reports: We do not conduct title searches or create/issue title reports. For these services, please consult a title company or legal professional.
  • Forms: We do not provide legal forms.

On September 9, 1850, California was admitted as the 31st state and one of the first acts of the legislature was to adopt a recording system. 

Under the Spanish and Mexican governments there were no statewide registry or recording laws, so it was necessary that some system be created by which evidence of title to, or an interest in land could be collected in a convenient and safe public place. The system allows persons intending to purchase or otherwise deal with land to be informed as to the ownership and condition of the title and be protected from secret conveyance and liens. 

The basis of the California recording system is modeled after the recording system established by the American Colonies and in use in many of the eastern states at the time California became a state. 

This system provided for the indexing of the names of parties to the document in volumes and the copying of the actual document into separate volumes. This copying was done first by hand and in later years by typing and then by filming. 

Separate sets of indexes and volumes were provided for each type of document. Government Codes § 27232 through 27254 presently list 21 different types of indexes that the Recorder shall provide for. 

This system of indexing became cumbersome as the volume of recorded documents grew and in 1921 the legislature provided that a combined General Index could be used by the Recorder to index all types of documents.