Transfer-on-Death Deed Requirements in California

At a glance

California is one of the states that lets you keep your home out of probate with a transfer-on-death deed — but it is also one of the most demanding about how you sign one, and the entire law comes with an expiration date. Get the formalities right and your home passes to the person you named the moment you die, with no probate case; get them wrong and the deed is simply void, and the house passes by your will or by the intestacy rules instead.

How to sign it

California's execution rules are stricter than most states'. Under § 5624, a revocable TOD deed "is not effective unless" three things all happen:

• you sign and date it (you are the "transferor"; the person who will inherit — the "beneficiary" — never signs and does not even have to know about the deed);
• two witnesses, present at the same time, watch you either sign the deed or acknowledge that you already signed it, and they sign too; and
• a notary public acknowledges your signature.

The two-witness requirement is the part people miss. It was added in 2022 (by Senate Bill 315); before that a notary alone was enough, and many older form deeds and out-of-state templates still leave the witness lines off. All three steps — your dated signature, two same-time witnesses, and the notary — are mandatory. Miss any one and the deed is not effective.

Recording requirement

Signing and notarizing the deed does nothing by itself. Under § 5626, the deed "is not effective unless the deed is recorded on or before 60 days after the date it was acknowledged before a notary." You record it with the county recorder in the county where the property sits. Two clocks run at once:

• The 60-day clock. If you sign and notarize on March 1, you have until roughly the end of April to get it on record. Record it on day 61 and it is void — even if the recorder accepts it — and you would have to sign a fresh deed and start over.
• The before-death rule. The deed must be recorded while you are alive. A TOD deed found in a drawer after you die, never recorded, transfers nothing.

Eligible property and owner

A California TOD deed is not for every property. Under § 5610, "real property" here means a parcel "improved with one to four residential dwelling units," or a residential condominium or common-interest-development unit; it does not include "a parcel of agricultural land that is greater than 40 acres in size." Commercial buildings, bare land, and property held by an LLC fall outside the statute.

The deed also passes only your own interest. If you own the home with someone else in joint tenancy or as community property with right of survivorship, § 5664 makes the TOD deed void at your death — the co-owner's right of survivorship controls instead. A co-owner who wants to name a TOD beneficiary has to record a separate deed for their own share.

Beneficiary survival and what passes

Under § 5652, the beneficiary's interest "is contingent on the beneficiary surviving the transferor," and a beneficiary "that fails to survive the transferor lapses." So if the person you named dies before you and you never record a new deed naming someone else, the gift fails and the home drops into your estate. If you name more than one beneficiary, they "take the property as tenants in common, in equal shares."

Whoever inherits takes the home subject to what is already on it: the deed passes the property subject to any recorded "lien, encumbrance, easement, lease, or other instrument" and "without covenant or warranty of title." A TOD deed does not wipe out the mortgage — your beneficiary inherits the house and the loan against it.

Creditor and Medi-Cal reach

A TOD deed avoids probate; it does not put the home beyond your debts. During your life, § 5650 says the recorded deed "does not create any legal or equitable right in the beneficiary" and the property stays "subject to process of the transferor's creditors, as if no revocable transfer on death deed were executed or recorded" — you can still sell it, mortgage it, or lose it to your own creditors. After you die, § 5672 makes each beneficiary "personally liable ... for the unsecured debts of the transferor," and § 5674 caps that liability at the property's "fair market value at the time of the transferor's death ... less the amount of any liens and encumbrances." For people who die on or after January 1, 2017, Medi-Cal estate recovery uses a narrower definition: § 14009.5(f)(3), (g) limits the recoverable estate to probate-estate assets. A home that passes outside probate by an effective TOD deed is generally outside that estate-recovery definition. This does not erase the separate creditor liability above.

What trips people up

• The 60-day recording window is a hard deadline, not a target. The single most common way a California TOD deed fails is being recorded late (or never). Record it right after the notarization while it is in front of you.
• A will cannot revoke a recorded TOD deed. You revoke it the same way you make it — with a recorded instrument: a statutory revocation form under § 5644 (which itself must be recorded within 60 days of notarizing), a later recorded TOD deed for the same property, or a deed transferring the property out of your name during life. Writing "I revoke my TOD deed" in your will does not work, because the will is never recorded in the land records.
• Joint-tenancy homes. If your house is held in joint tenancy with a spouse or child, § 5664 voids the TOD deed at death — survivorship wins. People who add a child to title as a joint tenant and also sign a TOD deed often end up with a deed that does nothing.
• The 2032 sunset. The whole statute (§ 5600(c)) "shall remain in effect only until January 1, 2032, and as of that date is repealed" unless the Legislature extends it. Deeds validly recorded before that date keep working, but the tool itself may not exist in a few years — a reason many California families use a living trust instead.

Common questions

Does my beneficiary have to agree, or even know? No. You do not have to tell the beneficiary or deliver the deed to them; their consent is not part of signing or recording it.

Can I change my mind? Yes, any time before you die. Record a revocation form, record a new TOD deed naming someone else, or transfer the property away during life. Each of those must be recorded to count.

Does the deed save on property taxes or avoid a reassessment? No — it does not change the tax picture. A transfer to your beneficiary can trigger a property-tax reassessment under Proposition 19 like any other change of ownership; whether an exclusion applies is a separate question this page does not cover.

Is a TOD deed better than a living trust? They do different jobs. A TOD deed is cheaper and simpler for one qualifying home, but it names only a primary beneficiary, works only for qualifying residential property, leaves the beneficiary exposed to the owner's unsecured debts within § 5674's limit, and expires with the statute in 2032. A trust can hold many assets and name backups. Which fits depends on your situation.

Statutes and sources

• Cal. Welf. & Inst. Code § 14009.5(f)(3), (g) — for deaths on or after January 1, 2017, Medi-Cal estate recovery defines the estate as probate-estate assets. Accessed 2026-10-09: https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?lawCode=WIC&sectionNum=14009.5.

• Cal. Prob. Code § 5600 (scope and 2032 sunset) — https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?lawCode=PROB&sectionNum=5600. (accessed 2026-07-11)

• Cal. Prob. Code § 5610 (eligible "real property") — https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?lawCode=PROB&sectionNum=5610. (accessed 2026-07-11)
• Cal. Prob. Code § 5624 (execution: sign, two witnesses, notary) — https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?lawCode=PROB&sectionNum=5624. (accessed 2026-07-11)
• Cal. Prob. Code § 5626 (recording within 60 days) — https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?lawCode=PROB&sectionNum=5626. (accessed 2026-07-11)
• Cal. Prob. Code § 5644 (statutory revocation form) — https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?lawCode=PROB&sectionNum=5644. (accessed 2026-07-11)
• Cal. Prob. Code § 5650 (no effect during life; owner's creditors reach it) — https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?lawCode=PROB&sectionNum=5650. (accessed 2026-07-11)
• Cal. Prob. Code § 5652 (survival, multiple beneficiaries, subject to liens) — https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?lawCode=PROB&sectionNum=5652. (accessed 2026-07-11)
• Cal. Prob. Code § 5664 (void if title in joint tenancy at death) — https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?lawCode=PROB&sectionNum=5664. (accessed 2026-07-11)
• Cal. Prob. Code § 5672 (beneficiary liable for owner's unsecured debts) — https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?lawCode=PROB&sectionNum=5672. (accessed 2026-07-11)
• Cal. Prob. Code § 5674 (liability capped at net value received) — https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?lawCode=PROB&sectionNum=5674. (accessed 2026-07-11)