Recording Fee Increase Passes Assembly

Assembly Bill 2224 (Hadwick), increasing maximum recording fees, has passed the Assembly on a vote of 72-0 and is pending in the Senate. The bill would set fees at  $15 for recording the first page and $4 for each additional page, but the fees cannot exceed the reasonable costs of the recording services.

Recorders that collect these fees must implement an Electronic Recording Delivery System (ERDS) by January 1, 2028. There are only a handful of counties that do not currently have an ERDS.

Existing law requiring recorders to charge additional fees for specified items is deleted. Also removed is a requirement that $1 of the recording fee for each additional page be deposited in the county general fund. Instead, all fees collected by the recorder are to be restricted, dedicated to, and solely utilized for the recorder’s office.

Assembly Bill 2224 also makes permanent certain provisions of the Electronic Recording Delivery Act (ERDA) that are set to expire at the end of the year, and which allow a recorder to contract with specified entities for digital records conditioned on proof of general liability coverage.