DATE: August 25, 2026
TO: Board of Supervisors
SUBMITTED BY: Supervisor Buddy Mendes, District 4
Paul Dictos, CPA, Assessor-Recorder
SUBJECT: First Hearing to Add Chapter 10.33 to Title 10 of the Fresno County Ordinance Code Relating to Real Property Fraud Prevention Notices
RECOMMENDED ACTION(S):
TITLE
1. Conduct first hearing on an Ordinance adding Chapter 10.33 to Title 10 of the Fresno County Ordinance Code, relating to Real Property Fraud Prevention Notices; waive reading of the Ordinance in its entirety; and set the second hearing for September 8, 2026;
2. Designate County Counsel to prepare a fair and adequate summary of the proposed Ordinance; and
3. Direct the Clerk of the Board to post and publish the required summary in accordance with Government Code section 25124(b)(1).
REPORT
There is no Net County Cost associated with the recommended actions. The proposed Ordinance would authorize Fresno County real property owners to voluntarily record a Real Property Fraud Prevention Notice, which provides constructive public notice of owner-designated fraud-prevention and verification procedures to help deter deed fraud. The Ordinance clarifies that the Notice is not a lien, encumbrance, forfeiture, restraint on alienation, or a condition on the County Recorder’s duty to record documents otherwise entitled to recordation. The Ordinance would take effect thirty (30) days after passage of the second hearing. This item is countywide.
ALTERNATIVE ACTION(S):
Your Board may choose not to approve the recommended actions, in which case Chapter 10.33 would not be added to the Fresno County Ordinance Code and no Real Property Fraud Prevention Notice process would be established.
FISCAL IMPACT:
There is no Net County Cost associated with the recommended actions. Recording of a Real Property Fraud Prevention Notice, or any amendment, release, or revocation, will be processed using existing Recorder procedures. Fees authorized under State law and included in the County’s adopted Recorder Fee Schedule (Master Schedule of Fees, Section 2400) will apply to these documents.
DISCUSSION:
Real-property title fraud, deed fraud, and unauthorized encumbrances create a significant risk to property owners, purchasers, lenders, title insurers, escrow holders, and public land records. The Fresno County Recorder maintains and preserves public land records and provides constructive notice by recording documents as required or authorized by law. Existing safeguards, including post-recordation notifications and legal challenges, typically operate only after a fraudulent document has already been recorded, leaving owners vulnerable during real estate transactions.
California Government Code section 27201 requires the County Recorder to accept for recordation documents authorized or required by local ordinance that relate to real property, provided applicable recordings requirements are met. The proposed Ordinance adds Chapter 10.33 to Title 10 of the Fresno County Ordinance Code to authorize a voluntary Real Property Fraud Prevention Notice that may be recorded by real property owners. The Notice may state owner-designated fraud-prevention and identity-verification procedures, including steps related to verifying identity, confirming authority to sign, validating title, coordinating escrow, authorizing disbursement, or confirming a voluntary transfer or encumbrance before documents affecting the property are executed or recorded.
The Ordinance specifies that the Notice is not a lien, encumbrance, forfeiture, or restraint on alienation and does not limit any person’s ability to record an otherwise recordable document. It also does not require the County Recorder to determine the legal sufficiency, validity, enforceability, or effect of any Notice or later instrument affecting real property. A recorded Notice provides public notice of the owner’s stated verification procedures and may be considered by parties involved in real property transactions, including lenders, escrow holders, title companies, buyers, and courts, when evaluating whether an instrument was authorized by the owner.
The Ordinance further provides definitions, recordation requirements, and the legal effect of a Notice, and identifies categories of transfers and instruments, including court orders, trustee’s sales, tax sales, probate proceedings, eminent domain, and other statutory processes, that are not affected by a recorded Notice.
The Ordinance also establishes procedures for amending, releasing, or revoking a Notice through a subsequently recorded instrument, and provides for automatic termination upon specified events without any requirement of renewal. It also adopts an official Real Property Fraud Prevention Notice form as Exhibit A, which serves as a safe-harbor form for recordation.
If approved by your Board, the second hearing will be September 8, 2026. If adopted at the second hearing, the Ordinance will take effect thirty (30) days after final passage.
ATTACHMENTS INCLUDED AND/OR ON FILE:
Ordinance
On file with Clerk - Ordinance Summary
CAO ANALYST:
Mary Lu Valencia