Preliminary Change of Ownership Report (PCOR) in California: BOE-502-A
A deed or other document that transfers California real property is normally recorded together with a Preliminary Change of Ownership Report. The PCOR reports the transfer to the county assessor (who acquired what, and on what terms) so the assessor can decide whether a change in ownership occurred and whether to set a new Proposition 13 base-year value. It is a property-tax form, not a title document: it does not change who owns the property, and filing it does not by itself make a transfer taxable.
Quick answer
The transferee signs the PCOR (BOE-502-A, Rev. 19 (05-25)) and files it with the county recorder along with the deed (R&T §480.3). The form is free. Without it the recorder may charge an extra $20, and the assessor will then require the Change in Ownership Statement (BOE-502-AH), due within 90 days of the transfer. Not returning that statement within 90 days of the assessor's written request brings a penalty of the greater of $100 or 10% of the new taxes, capped at $5,000 or $20,000 when not willful (§482).
What the law says (R&T §480.3)
Revenue and Taxation Code §480.3(a) creates the form and says who signs it:
Each county assessor and recorder shall make available, without charge and upon request, a form entitled “Preliminary Change of Ownership Report,” which transferees of real property shall complete and may file with the recorder concurrent with the recordation of any document effecting a change in ownership. The form shall be signed by the transferee or an officer of the transferee certifying that the information provided on the form is, to the best of his or her knowledge and belief, true, correct, and complete. The form shall not be signed by an agent acting for a transferee.
Subdivisions (b) and (c) set the only charge for leaving it out:
(b) If a document evidencing a change in ownership is presented to the recorder for recordation without the concurrent filing of a preliminary change in ownership report, the recorder may charge an additional recording fee of twenty dollars ($20).
(c) Noncompliance with this section by the transferee shall not delay or preclude the recordation of documents if the additional fee specified in subdivision (b) is tendered.
Filing it: who, where, cost and exceptions
| Question | Answer | Statute |
|---|---|---|
| Who completes and signs it | The transferee, or an officer of the transferee; "the form shall not be signed by an agent acting for a transferee" | §480.3(a) |
| Where it is filed | With the county recorder, concurrently with the deed or other document effecting the change in ownership; the recorder sends it to the assessor | §480.3(a); §480(f) |
| What it costs | Nothing: each county assessor and recorder must make the form available "without charge and upon request" | §480.3(a) |
| If it is missing at recording | The recorder may charge an additional recording fee of $20; the deed still records once that fee is paid | §480.3(b), (c) |
| Who is not required to file it | An intermediate transferee in a series of simultaneous transfers recorded together, and a trustee issuing a trustee's deed to the lender (the mortgagee or beneficiary) under a power of sale; on a tax-defaulted property sale the tax collector's filings to the assessor count as compliance | §480.3(e), (f) |
| Current form | BOE-502-A, Rev. 19 (05-25); the Board of Equalization publishes a sample and counties distribute their own copies | BOE forms list |
§480.3 applies to changes in ownership occurring on or after July 1, 1985 (§480.3(g)). The form's current revision and the Board of Equalization's sample are on the California property tax forms page.
PCOR vs. Change in Ownership Statement: two forms, two clocks
The PCOR is the voluntary, at-recording version. The Change in Ownership Statement (BOE-502-AH, Rev. 22 (07-25)) is the one the law requires (§480(a)): the transferee “shall file a signed change in ownership statement” whenever a change in ownership occurs. The Board's forms list gives BOE-502-AH to the transferee “when requested, or if PCOR not filed”. When the statement has not been filed with the deed, §480(e) sets the deadline:
If the document evidencing a change in ownership is not recorded or is recorded without the concurrent filing of a change in ownership statement, then the statement shall be filed with the assessor no later than 90 days from the date the change in ownership occurs, except that where the change in ownership has occurred by reason of death the statement shall be filed within 150 days after the date of death or, if the estate is probated, shall be filed at the time the inventory and appraisal is filed.
The penalty runs on a different clock: 90 days from the date the assessor mails a written request for the statement (§482(a)(1)), not from the transfer. Recordation itself is never refused for a missing or incomplete statement (§480(e)).
Penalties (R&T §482)
| Failure | Penalty | Cap | Statute |
|---|---|---|---|
| Property transfer: the §480 Change in Ownership Statement is not returned within 90 days of the assessor's written request | The greater of $100 or 10% of the taxes on the new base-year value | $5,000 if the property is eligible for the Homeowners' Exemption, $20,000 if not, when the failure was not willful | §482(a)(1) |
| Legal entity: the §480.1 or §480.2 statement (BOE-100-B) is not filed with the BOE within 90 days of the change in control or ownership, or of the BOE's request, whichever is earlier | 10% of the taxes on the new base-year value (or of the current year's taxes if no change occurred) | No dollar cap stated | §482(b) |
| Any one transfer | The penalty may be imposed only one time, however often the assessor asks | — | §482(c) |
- It applies even when nothing changed hands. §482(a)(1): “The penalty shall apply for failure to file a complete change in ownership statement notwithstanding the fact that the assessor determines that no change in ownership has occurred.” An incomplete statement can also be penalized if the missing information is not supplied on a second request.
- The caps are for a failure that was not willful. The $5,000 and $20,000 limits are tied in the text to “if the failure to file was not willful”; the section states no cap for a willful failure.
- It is collected like tax. The penalty is added to the roll “in the same manner as a special assessment” and carries the same delinquency penalties as the rest of the bill (§482(d)).
- Not filing also lengthens the look-back. An assessor who learns of an unreported transfer can issue an escape assessment for more years than usual.
The other change-in-ownership forms
- After a death: BOE-502-D (Rev. 15 (07-25)). The personal representative files it before or with the inventory and appraisal if the estate is probated; otherwise the trustee or transferee files it within 150 days of the death, in each county where the decedent owned real property (§480(b)). See property tax reassessment after a death.
- Legal entities: BOE-100-B (Rev. 27 (2-24)). A change in control or ownership of a corporation, partnership or LLC that owns California real property is reported to the Board of Equalization in Sacramento, not the county, within 90 days (§480.1, §480.2).
- Claiming an exclusion. The PCOR reports the transfer; some exclusions need their own claim, such as the Prop 19 parent-child exclusion on BOE-19-P. The transfers people most often ask about: quitclaim deeds, a home into a trust, adding or removing someone from title and divorce.
County copies of the form
The Board of Equalization publishes BOE-502-A as a sample, and §480.3(a) has each county assessor and recorder make the form available, so you get your county's copy; Los Angeles's adds a county form code. Two that we checked against the BOE revision:
- Los Angeles County posts the BOE form with a county form code on page 1 (“BOE-502-A (P1) REV. 19 (05-25) ASSR-70 (REV. 10-25)”): Assessor's BOE-502-A (PDF).
- San Diego County posts a county-hosted copy at the same BOE revision: Assessor/Recorder/County Clerk BOE-502-A (PDF).
For other counties, use the form your county recorder or assessor provides; the county office directory links each county's assessor.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a Preliminary Change of Ownership Report in California?
A form the buyer or other transferee of California real property completes and files with the county recorder when the deed is recorded, so the assessor can decide whether the transfer is a change in ownership and set a new base-year value if it is. Revenue and Taxation Code §480.3(a) requires every county assessor and recorder to make it available free on request. Its form number is BOE-502-A.
Who signs and files the PCOR?
The transferee. Under §480.3(a) the form is signed by the transferee or an officer of the transferee, certifying that the information is true, correct and complete to the best of their knowledge and belief, and "the form shall not be signed by an agent acting for a transferee." The statute does not stop an agent from delivering it to the recorder with the deed; it only bars an agent from signing it.
What happens if I record a deed without a PCOR?
The recorder may charge an additional recording fee of $20 (§480.3(b)), and the deed still records if that fee is paid (§480.3(c)). The assessor will then need the Change in Ownership Statement (BOE-502-AH): if the transfer is recorded without one, it is due within 90 days of the change in ownership, or 150 days after a death (§480(e)). If the assessor mails a written request and you do not return a complete statement within 90 days, §482 adds a penalty to the tax bill.
How much is the penalty for not filing a change in ownership statement?
For a property transfer, §482(a)(1): the greater of $100 or 10 percent of the taxes on the new base-year value, not to exceed $5,000 if the property is eligible for the Homeowners' Exemption or $20,000 if it is not, "if the failure to file was not willful". The 90 days run from the date the assessor mails a written request. The penalty can apply even if the assessor finds no change in ownership occurred, can be imposed only once per transfer (§482(c)), and is collected like any other property tax (§482(d)).
Is a PCOR needed for a transfer into a living trust or between spouses?
Yes. §480.3 covers any recorded document effecting a change in ownership, and without the PCOR the recorder may charge the $20 fee. The PCOR reports the transfer so the assessor can apply any exclusion, such as a transfer into the transferor's own revocable trust (§62(d)) or between spouses (§63). Filing it does not make the transfer taxable; the exclusion is what keeps the Prop 13 base-year value.
Is the PCOR a public record?
The Board of Equalization's 2026 forms list (Letter to Assessors 2026/004) marks BOE-502-A confidential. When a change in ownership statement is filed with the recorder, the recorder transmits it to the assessor (§480(f)).
Learn More
Sources: Revenue and Taxation Code §§480, 480.1, 480.2, 480.3 and 482, current text from the Legislature's bulk data (quotations verbatim); Board of Equalization forms list for the revisions of BOE-502-A, 502-AH, 502-D and 100-B and Letter to Assessors 2026/004 for the form's confidential marking; the Los Angeles and San Diego county copies as posted by those offices. Educational information, not legal or tax advice.
Last reviewed: November 2026.