What are you actually trying to find?

A common source of confusion is that a property has several different government records. A deed is not the same thing as an assessment record, tax bill, planning map or court case. Choosing the correct system first can save a significant amount of time.

How to search San Francisco County Recorder deed records online

San Francisco’s Recorder system is particularly useful when you already know a person’s name, a document number, document type, approximate recording date or the property’s Block and Lot number. The public system has been used for records from 1990 forward, and the Assessor-Recorder reports that free online viewing of public recorded documents is now available. :chatgpt-content-reference{index=”1″}

Find the San Francisco Block and Lot number before searching deeds

San Francisco commonly identifies real property by Block and Lot. This is the local form of the Assessor Parcel Number, or APN. Because recorded-document tools are designed around recorded parties and parcel identifiers rather than a consumer-style address lookup, the Block and Lot number is often the cleanest bridge between an address and its deed history.

How to read a San Francisco recorded-document result

How to get a copy of a San Francisco deed or recorded document

You do not always need a certified copy. If you are reviewing your own history, researching a transaction or confirming that a document was recorded, an online view or ordinary copy may be enough. A lender, court, government agency, estate matter or other formal transaction may specifically require a certified copy.

Current published mail-copy fees

The official mail form says to make the permitted check or money order payable to the San Francisco Assessor-Recorder, not to send cash, and to allow up to five business days after the order is received for processing. :chatgpt-content-reference{index=”4″}

What if the San Francisco deed was recorded before 1990?

The modern online Recorder index is designed around records from 1990 forward. For earlier documents, plan on an in-person records search at the Assessor-Recorder’s City Hall office or contact the office for guidance before visiting. The office historically provides public terminals as well as access to older microfilm and microfiche record systems. :chatgpt-content-reference{index=”5″}

Deeds, deeds of trust, liens and reconveyances are not the same record

The Assessor-Recorder’s property-transfer guidance specifically describes grant deeds, quitclaim deeds, deeds of trust, reconveyances, substitutions of trustee and liens as common records connected with real property. :chatgpt-content-reference{index=”6″}

How to record a deed with the San Francisco County Recorder

Searching an existing deed and recording a new deed are different tasks. Recording transfers a submitted instrument into the official public record after the Recorder determines that it meets applicable recording requirements. The Recorder does not act as your attorney and does not decide which deed form or ownership structure is best for you.

San Francisco deed recording fees

San Francisco’s Recorder Division fee schedule effective July 1, 2025 lists a $14 base first-page recording fee for a standard document title using conforming 8.5-by-11-inch pages. Certain instruments subject to the real-estate-fraud fee, including deeds of trust and reconveyances in applicable situations, have a listed first-page fee of $17. Each additional conforming page is listed at $3. :chatgpt-content-reference{index=”9″}

San Francisco documentary transfer tax

Recording fees and transfer tax are separate. A deed can have relatively modest Recorder page fees while the transfer itself creates a much larger documentary transfer-tax obligation.

These tiers and the requirement for a Transfer Tax Affidavit when tax is due or an exemption is claimed appear on the Recorder Division schedule revised in June 2025. :chatgpt-content-reference{index=”10″}

Why you may not find the deed you expected

San Francisco County Recorder office address, hours and contact

The current Assessor-Recorder department information identifies Joaquín Torres as Assessor-Recorder and lists the Room 190 office, 628-652-8100 main number, assessor@sfgov.org email address, 8:00 a.m.–5:00 p.m. regular hours and 8:00 a.m.–4:00 p.m. in-person recording window. :chatgpt-content-reference{index=”11″}

Recorder vs. Assessor vs. Tax Collector vs. Planning

The fastest way to complete a San Francisco deed search

For most users, the shortest path is simple: find the parcel, search the official Recorder, inspect the document, then buy only the copy you actually need.

1. If you know only the address, use the San Francisco Property Information Map to obtain the Block and Lot.
2. Open the official San Francisco Recorder search.
3. Search by Block/Lot, party name, document number, document type or recording period.
4. Confirm the correct deed using the parcel, grantor/grantee, document number and date.
5. Search later filings for liens, deeds of trust, reconveyances, releases or newer transfers.
6. Purchase or certify a copy only when your lender, court, attorney, title company, government agency or transaction requires it.
7. For records before 1990, contact or visit the Assessor-Recorder at City Hall, Room 190.