Kern County, California Recording Fees
Recording a deed in Kern County costs about $28 and a mortgage about $88 (a 2-page deed and a 16-page deed of trust, including the $10 real estate fraud fee), per the Kern County Assessor-Recorder's fee schedule. Kern County's fee schedule shows $15.00 for the first page and $3.00 for each additional page (one search-indexed source instead showed $13.00 for 8x11 deeds); direct fetch of the Kern County Recorder fee page returned a 403 in this session, so the exact current base rate was not independently re-verified. A $10.00 Real Estate Fraud Fee applies per document title, capped at $20 per transaction.
Fee schedule
| Item | Fee |
|---|---|
| Deed, first page | $15 |
| Deed, each additional page | $3 |
| Mortgage, first page | $15 |
| Mortgage, each additional page | $3 |
| Real estate fraud fee Per document title, capped at $20 per transaction (Gov. Code 27388). | $10 |
| Non-standard page size penalty Per page, for any page not 8 x 11 inches (up to a maximum page size of 8.5 x 14). | $3 |
| SB2 Building Homes and Jobs Act fee Per parcel, capped at $225 per transaction; exemptions apply for owner-occupied residential transfers and deeds subject to the documentary transfer tax. | $75 |
County transfer tax
No separate Kern County or city add-on beyond the base California county documentary transfer tax already captured in data/transfer/california.json ($0.55 per $500 of consideration, levied by every CA county under Rev. & Tax. Code 11911(a)); no evidence found of Bakersfield or any other Kern County city levying its own additional city documentary transfer tax. California transfer tax →
Frequently asked questions
How much does it cost to record a deed in Kern County?
$15 for the first page and $3 for each additional page, about $28 for a typical deed, per the Kern County Assessor-Recorder's fee schedule.
And the mortgage?
$15 for the first page and $3 per additional page, about $88 for a typical mortgage or deed of trust. The buyer pays this at closing.
Sources
Figures are computed from the documents above and rounded to the dollar. All sources.
Kern County closing costs → Kern County home buyer guide →
Fees as published by the recorder; e-recording and courier charges may apply. General information, not legal advice.
Kern County overview