Background
The San Diego County Assessor/Recorder/County Clerk (ARCC) department consists of three divisions, the Administration Division,
the Assessor Division, and the Recorder/County Clerk Division. The department is the result of the combination of three distinct
county offices: the San Diego County Assessor (established 1849), County Recorder (established 1850), and County Clerk (established
1849.)
The responsibilities of the Assessor's office are rooted in the Constitution of the State of California (1849). Section 13
of Article XI notes that “assessors and collectors of town, County, and State taxes, shall be elected by the qualified electors…
in which the property taxed… is situated.” Chapter 43 of the statutes of the 1850 California legislature (California Stats.
1850, Ch. 43) passed “An Act concerning the office of the County Assessor,” which addressed several administrative points,
among them term of office, appointment of deputies, compensation, and other administrative provisions. Further clarification
regarding the duties of the County Assessor were provided in California Stats. 1852, Ch. 3 which mandates the location, identification,
and valuation of all vacant land, improved real estate, and business property. This was later expanded to include certain
manufactured homes, boats, and aircraft. Additionally, the Assessor's office maintains comprehensive records on all taxable
properties within the boundaries of the San Diego County, including the maintenance of maps of all real property parcels.
Similarly, California Stat. 1850, Ch. 58, “An Act establishing Recorders’ Offices, and defining the Duties of the Recorder
and County Auditor,” was passed on April 4, 1850. The California state legislature implemented a recording system to document
and preserve evidence of title to, or interest in, land. The County Recorder was tasked with the permanent recording and preservation
of Official Records, defined in California Government Code section 27300 as “… permanent archival record of all instruments,
papers, and notices as accepted for recording by a county recorder.” Over time, the responsibilities of the recorder evolved,
adapting to changing needs and merging with the duties of other related officials. For example, in 1872, the County Recorder
was designated the local registrar for birth, death, and marriage records. In July 1905 a state agency, currently the California
Department of Public Heath – Vital Records unit, became the primary record holder of birth, death, and marriage records.
The primary purpose of the recording system was to provide a public record of property ownership within the county and to
document transfers or encumbrances affecting properties. Certain transactions in personal property were also included in the
public record. This system allowed individuals intending to purchase land, the opportunity to determine the ownership and
condition of a property's title in a public setting. The adopted system was based on practices in many Eastern states in 1850,
which involved indexing the names of parties involved in land transactions to one volume while copying the actual document
text into separate volumes. Distinct sets of indexes and volumes were allocated for each type of document, as defined by California
Government Code sections 27232 through 27254. However, in 1921 the legislature authorized the use of a combined General Index
for all types of documents.
Section 7 of Article VI of the Constitution of the State of California (1849) established the office of the County Clerk while
California Stats. 1850, Ch. 110 defined the duties of the office. The County Clerk served as the ex officio clerk of the court
of sessions and probate court, attending each session of the county courts for which they held responsibility, they issued
all writs, entered orders, judgments, and decrees, maintained dockets for all courts, and managed and disposed of records
in accordance with the law. Additionally, the County Clerk administered oaths and accepted bonds for public officials. For
a brief period beginning in 1866 with the Registry Act (California Stats. 1866, Ch. 265), the County Clerk was also responsible
for recording a list of every eligible voter in the county.
The Registration Act of 1858 established the first statutory provisions for the registration of marriages in California. This
Act established a State Registrar of Vital Statistics charged with preparing and providing County Recorders with forms and
books to register marriages. This Act was repealed in 1860, and there was no statutory guidance for the registration of marriages
until the creation of a State Board of Health in 1869. However, it was not until 1872 that Section 3074 of the California
Political Code charged County Recorders with keeping a register of marriages, complete with an index. This change led to more
complete and uniform record keeping, as reflected in the San Diego County Recorder historic marriage records collection.
Beginning on July 1, 1905, registering marriages was standardized with the establishment of the state Bureau of Vital Statistics.
The local registrar, the County Recorder, receives a Certificate of Registry of Marriage from persons performing marriage
ceremonies who then delivers the original certificate to the State Registrar. The State Registrar was thereby established
as the primary record holder, and any local copies retained in the County were secondary copies (California Stats. 1905, Ch.
CX). Subsequent legislation consolidated initial registration with various Health Departments, with copies filed with the
County Recorder. The Health and Safety Code was established in 1939 and continues to serve as the location for all statutes
concerning vital records and statistics. Current statutes are in the Health and Safety Code, Division 102, Sections 102100-103925.
As of June 2024, the California Department of Public Health – Vital Records is the designated state agency.
County Clerks are responsible for the issuance of public and confidential marriage licenses and the Clerk is the local registrar
of confidential marriages, maintaining a permanent index of all confidential marriages registered. The County Recorder is
the local registrar of public marriages under the direction of the State Registrar. The document issued by the Clerk is considered
a license until it is registered with the Recorder, at which point it becomes a marriage certificate.
Confidential marriage licenses in California were established in 1878, although they were not frequently requested until after
1972 when the California legislature broadened the law to allow laypeople, not just clergy, to perform confidential marriages.
No witnesses are needed for a confidential marriage license, and it is not a public record, in accordance with California
Family Code, Section 500-511. The County Clerk is the primary record holder for confidential marriage certificates.
In 1990, an amendment to the San Diego County Charter was proposed with the intent of consolidating the responsibilities of
the County Clerk and County Recorder into a single entity. A special election was called, and this merger was subsequently
approved by the voters, leading to its implementation in 1991. A further amendment was proposed in 1993, aiming to consolidate
the Recorder/County Clerk with the Assessor. This amendment was also approved by the voters, resulting in the establishment
of the Assessor/Recorder/County Clerk under the leadership of a single elected official in 1995.
Today, the County Clerk in San Diego County continues to perform essential functions as defined in California Government Code
sections 26801 through 26810, including the acceptance of filings for fictitious business names and notary public oaths and
bonds, the issuance of marriage licenses, and conducting civil marriage ceremonies.
Note that the original geographic boundaries of San Diego County included territory in present-day Imperial (formed 1907),
Riverside (formed 1893), Inyo (formed 1866, expanded 1872), and San Bernardino (formed 1853) Counties.