Forms & Common Questions

No. Most forms are available at stationery or office supply stores. Form BOE 502-A, Preliminary Change of Ownership Report, should accompany each document that transfers title of a parcel. It can be found under forms, and is completed by the new owner. If a document is recorded that changes ownership without the form, the Recorder may charge an additional recording fee.

No. We strongly recommend that you seek legal advice before recording any document affecting title to property, but it is not required.

State law prohibits us from providing assistance or advice in the preparation of legal documents. You can contact a legal aid service listed in the yellow pages or your legal adviser for assistance in completing legal documents.

Come into our office and do an official record search under your name and find all the documents recorded in which you were a grantor or grantee. Also search under any other names, forms of your name, or business names that the liens could be recorded under. You may view the documents to determine which are liens and which are releases of liens.

Our records only reflect documents submitted for recording by other people, companies, and agencies. If you paid off a lien and no release has been recorded, you have to contact that person, company, or agency who placed the lien against you to get them to record a release.

We do not report to credit agencies, nor can we intervene for you. Documents recorded in our office are public record and are available for search by any interested parties, including credit-reporting agencies. You can dispute errors in your credit record with the credit bureau that is reporting them. Contact the bureau involved to initiate the dispute process. The three largest bureaus are Experian, Equifax, and Trans Union.

Most home purchases involve recording deeds with this office and often have the owner's mailing address. These deeds become public records and everything on the document is information that we can't legally restrict. Anyone may view the information on these deeds. Some companies regularly come into this office to look for information on recorded documents. Most deeds do not have phone numbers so phone solicitors are likely getting your phone number from another source.

There is no county agency that would have all types of records (deeds, easements, etc.) in one file per property. Everything is maintained by document number and grantor-grantee name. You can usually trace ownership history by viewing deeds in an official record search. Title companies can be used to search this type of information.

No, we only have records for events that occurred in Fresno County. For marriages, you must contact the county in which the license was issued. Call the Recorder in the county in which the event occurred to find out how you can get your record. In most cases, you have options that do not require a visit.

The original birth certificate created at the time of birth can only be obtained from the State office when adopted. The newly created adopted record with new parents would be the only one we have access to.