Putting Your House in a Living Trust in Placer County
For a Roseville, Rocklin, Lincoln, Auburn or Granite Bay homeowner, a living trust becomes real at one counter: the Placer County Clerk-Recorder on Atherton Road in Rocklin (or its Auburn office on Richardson Drive), where your trust transfer deed gets stamped into the public record. A trust that never reaches that counter doesn't own your house. Here's how recording works in this county, which fees apply to a trust transfer and which don't, and what probate would take from a typical Placer County home. Without a recorded trust, probate on a typical home here runs up to ~$34,000.
Quick facts: recording in Placer County
| Recorder | Placer County Clerk-Recorder-Registrar of Voters |
| Main office | 3715 Atherton Road, Rocklin, CA 95765 |
| Auburn office | 2954 Richardson Drive, Auburn, CA 95603 |
| Hours | Monday to Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Documents are recorded until 4:00 p.m.; anything presented after that is recorded the next business day |
| Ways to submit | In person at either counter, by mail to the Rocklin office, or electronically through an authorized e-recording submitter |
| Official fee schedule | Placer County Clerk-Recorder fee schedule |
What it costs to record a trust transfer deed here
Placer publishes its recording fee the plain way: $14 for the first page, $3 for each additional page, for a standard 8½ x 11 document. The $75 SB2 charge sits on the schedule as a separate line, and that is the number to understand before you go, because for most primary-residence trust transfers it does not apply.
| A typical trust transfer deed, itemized | |
|---|---|
| First page (base recording fee) | $14.00 |
| Each additional page | $3.00 |
| SB2, Building Homes & Jobs Act (GC §27388.1) | $75.00, waived with the exemption declared |
| Documentary transfer tax | $0 (exempt, R&T §11930) |
| What a two-page deed with its exemptions declared pays | about $17 |
- SB2 is the whole difference. The $75 Building Homes and Jobs Act fee is waived for a residential dwelling transferred to an owner-occupier, which describes most primary-residence trust transfers. The exemption has to be declared on the face of the document; a deed that says nothing pays the $75.
- Documentary transfer tax: $0. Placer's county rate is $0.55 per $500 of value, and a transfer into your own revocable trust is exempt under Revenue & Taxation Code §11930. Cite the section on the deed.
- Non-conforming pages cost more. A page that isn't 8½ x 11, or has anything stapled, taped or glued to it, is charged as non-conforming: $17 for the first page and $6 for each additional page. Clean, standard pages avoid it.
- PCOR: file it or pay $20. The Preliminary Change of Ownership Report (BOE-502-A) rides along with the deed at no charge. Present a deed without one and the county adds a $20 fee, and the Assessor has nothing telling it not to reassess you.
- Each extra title indexed adds $14. A trust transfer deed is one title; this line is for documents that record more than one.
Figures are from the county's fee schedule and recording requirements pages, read October 2026. Confirm against the official schedule the week you record.
How the deed gets recorded, step by step
- Prepare a trust transfer deed conveying the property from you to you-as-trustee, with the transfer-tax exemption (R&T §11930) and the SB2 owner-occupier exemption written on its face, and the legal description copied exactly from your current deed.
- Complete the PCOR (BOE-502-A).
- Sign before a notary. The acknowledgment and the seal have to be legible and reproducible; an unreadable seal is a common rejection.
- Submit deed + PCOR + fees at the Rocklin or Auburn counter before 4:00 p.m., by mail to Atherton Road, or through an authorized e-recording submitter (Placer accepts electronic recording through the usual national submitters), which is the fast path. In person, a document that meets the requirements is recorded while you wait.
- Receive the stamped deed back. Placer returns originals to the address in the upper-left corner of the document, roughly four to six weeks after recording. The trust holds the house from the moment of recording, not from the day the copy arrives.
This is the step Mantle's activation handles end to end: correct deed, correct exemptions, online notarization, e-recorded with Placer County, stamped copy returned and confirmed. A recorded fact, not weekend homework.
How it works · everything upfront
A conversation, not a form. She drafts your living trust, will, power of attorney and healthcare directive as you talk.
Download the documents and read every line. Change anything. Nothing is charged, and nothing expires.
An online video notary session, opened from your dashboard with your documents already loaded.
Your deed filed with the Placer County Clerk-Recorder at 3715 Atherton Road in Rocklin, the stamped copy returned to you — and your accounts walked into the trust, one by one.
Will this raise my property taxes? (The Prop 13 question)
No. A transfer into your own revocable living trust is not a change in ownership under Revenue & Taxation Code §62(d), so your Prop 13 base-year value is preserved. In Granite Bay, Loomis and the older Roseville neighborhoods, where a house bought in the 1990s may now be assessed at a fraction of what it would sell for, that base is often the most valuable thing about the property, and moving it into your own trust does not disturb it. The PCOR is how the Assessor learns the transfer is excluded; that is why it matters that it goes in with the deed.
What probate costs on a typical Placer County home
A typical Placer County home sells for roughly $700,000. Probate fees under Probate Code §10810 are calculated on gross value, not equity; the mortgage doesn't reduce the fee base:
| On roughly $700,000 gross | |
|---|---|
| 4% of the first $100,000 | $4,000 |
| 3% of the next $100,000 | $3,000 |
| 2% of the next $500,000 | $10,000 |
| Statutory fee | $17,000 |
| × 2 (executor and attorney may each take it) | up to ~$34,000 |
Against about $17 to record the deed that avoids it. Add court filing fees, the probate referee's appraisal, and a year or more of hearings: probate in Placer County is filed and heard in the Civil Division at the Hon. Howard G. Gibson Courthouse, 10820 Justice Center Drive in Roseville. Even a simple, uncontested estate runs about a year because of the four-month creditor period and the probate examiner's notes; an average one runs longer. Doing it yourself means repeated trips to Justice Center Drive, every filing a public record.
Run your own address: Mantle's free probate calculator.
Placer County FAQ
The fee schedule lists a $75 SB2 fee. Do I owe it?
Usually not for your own home. The Building Homes and Jobs Act fee is waived for a residential dwelling transferred to an owner-occupier, which is what a primary-residence trust transfer is. The exemption has to be declared on the document itself; write it in, and a two-page deed costs about $17.
Which office should I use, Rocklin or Auburn?
Either records the same documents on the same terms. Rocklin on Atherton Road is the main office and the mailing address; Auburn on Richardson Drive is the satellite. Both record until 4:00 p.m., an hour before the doors close, so a late-afternoon trip is recorded the next business day.
Can I record the deed myself?
Yes. The recipe above is complete, and either counter accepts properly formatted documents from any owner. County staff cannot prepare documents or advise on forms, so the deed has to arrive right the first time; imperfect margins, a missing PCOR, and an illegible notary seal are the common reasons a document comes back.
Does my mortgage prevent this?
No. The Garn-St. Germain Act prevents a lender from enforcing a due-on-sale clause when you transfer your home into your own revocable living trust. The loan continues on the same terms.
How long does recording take?
In person, a document that meets the requirements is recorded while you wait. E-recorded deeds through an authorized submitter typically come back stamped within a few business days. Mail is slower, and the original is returned four to six weeks after recording either way. Ownership dates from recording, not from the return of the copy.
I own a second home in Tahoe. Does the same deed cover it?
No. Each parcel gets its own deed, and the SB2 exemption is for a dwelling transferred to its owner-occupier, so a vacation home or rental in Placer County normally pays the $75 unless another exemption applies. Transferring it into the trust is still worth doing: it is the parcel most likely to be probated if it is left out.
You now know exactly how to record this yourself.
Everything above is the complete recipe: the deed, the two exemptions written on its face, the PCOR, the notary, the Rocklin or Auburn counter before 4:00 p.m. Plenty of families do it that way.
What we do is steps 3 and 4. The trust itself, and the will, the power of attorney and the healthcare directive, we draft for nothing, and you can read every line before you decide. For a flat $499 we notarize on video, record the deed with Placer County, and walk you through funding every account, one form at a time: stamped copy returned, confirmed finished. Against the ~$34,000 probate math above, the part we charge for is the cheapest line in this whole story.
Steps 1–2 free · $499 covers steps 3–4
Sources: Placer County Clerk-Recorder fee schedule, basic recording requirements and FAQ pages (read October 2026); Superior Court of California, County of Placer, Civil Division (probate) and locations pages; Redfin Placer County housing market, median sale price for the three months to September 2026; California Probate Code §10810; Revenue & Taxation Code §§11930, 62(d), 480.3; Government Code §27388.1. Mantle is not a law firm and this page is general information, not legal advice. Last reviewed October 2026.