Moreno Valley Property Deeds
Moreno Valley deed records are maintained by the Riverside County Recorder office, not by the city itself. All property transfers in Moreno Valley go through the county system. You can search these records online or visit the recorder office in person for copies. The city sits in western Riverside County and has grown rapidly since incorporation in 1984. Now over 200,000 people call this city home. That growth means lots of deed activity every year as new homes get built and existing properties change hands.
Moreno Valley Quick Facts
County Recorder Office
Riverside County Recorder is the place where Moreno Valley deeds get filed. The main office is at 4080 Lemon Street in downtown Riverside. That is about 20 miles northwest of Moreno Valley. You can also visit the Palm Desert branch at 73-710 Fred Waring Drive. Both offices handle the same deed records.
Call the recorder at (951) 486-7000 or toll-free at (800) 696-9144. Office hours are Monday through Friday from 8am to 5pm. If you mail a deed for recording, send it to PO Box 751, Riverside, CA 92502. Mail processing takes one to two weeks. Online processing is faster at about 48 hours.
For complete details about Riverside County deed recording, visit the Riverside County deed records page where you can find information about fees, online databases, eRecording options, and how to search for property documents throughout the county including Moreno Valley.
Moreno Valley does not have its own city recorder. All real estate transactions in Moreno Valley must go through the county. When you buy a home here, your title company sends the deed to Riverside County. The county stamps it with the date and time received, assigns a document number, and adds it to the public index. Then anyone can look it up.
Find Moreno Valley Deeds Online
Riverside County offers free online deed searches at their web portal. Go to the self-service site and pick your search method. You can search by name, document number, address, or legal description. The database covers many decades of records.
To search by owner name, enter last name first then first name. Use partial names if you are not sure of spelling. The system shows matching records. Click on one to see basic info like the recording date and document type. If you need the full deed image, you must pay a fee. The county charges for document copies.
Most deeds in Moreno Valley are grant deeds. This is the standard form for home sales in California. The seller grants the property to the buyer. By law, this implies two things. First, the seller has not sold to anyone else. Second, there are no surprise liens except what the deed lists. Quitclaim deeds are less common but show up in family transfers or divorce cases.
Riverside County also has a fee calculator on their website. Use it to estimate what your recording will cost. Just enter the number of pages and document type. It shows the total including the base fee, SB2 housing fee, and any other charges. This helps you budget before you submit a deed for recording.
City Transfer Tax
Moreno Valley does not have its own city transfer tax. The only transfer tax you pay is the county documentary transfer tax. Riverside County charges $1.10 per $500 of the sale price. This is double the state minimum. Some California counties only charge 55 cents per $500, but Riverside is a chartered county and sets its own rate.
To calculate the tax, divide the sale price by 500 and multiply by 1.10. For example, a $400,000 home has a transfer tax of $880. The seller usually pays this at closing, but the buyer and seller can agree to split it or have the buyer pay. Check your purchase contract to see who pays.
Transfer tax is separate from recording fees. Recording fees are based on the number of pages. Transfer tax is based on the sale price. You pay both when you record a deed. The transfer tax gets paid to the county treasury. The recording fee goes to the recorder office to cover the cost of processing and storing deeds.
What It Costs to Record
Riverside County recording fees depend on the document type and number of pages. For a standard deed with transfer tax, the first page costs less than deeds without transfer tax. Each additional page adds $3. Most residential deeds are two to three pages long.
If you need a certified copy of a deed, the county charges $8 for the first page and $1 for each extra page. Certification adds a county seal and signature. Courts and lenders require certified copies. Plain copies cost less but lack the official seal. You can order copies online or in person at the recorder office.
The county accepts payment by cash, check, money order, or credit card. If you pay by credit card, add a 2.15% processing fee. Mail-in requests should include a check or money order. Do not send cash by mail. Write your return address clearly so the county can mail the recorded deed back to you.
Other Riverside County Cities
Riverside County covers a large area from the Inland Empire to the desert. Moreno Valley sits near the western edge. Other major cities in the county include:
All these cities use the same Riverside County Recorder. If you own land in multiple cities in Riverside County, all your deeds are in the same county system. This makes searching easier than if records were split across different offices.
Note: The city of Riverside has an additional city transfer tax of $1.10 per $500, which doubles the total transfer tax rate for properties within Riverside city limits.