Reviewed and updated October 7, 2026 by the SearchSystems.net editorial team. Every fact on this page was taken from the office that keeps the record, on its own website, on October 6, 2026.
The county keeps the title and the value of every parcel; the county and the eight cities keep what is built on them. A full look at a property takes both. The Clerk-Recorder, the Assessor and the Registrar of Voters are one elected office, held by Joseph E. Holland, with offices in Santa Barbara and Santa Maria.
This guide covers deeds, values, taxes, permits, evictions, Sheriff's sales and common questions.
The other Santa Barbara County guides cover the county's public records offices, arrest records, warrants, inmate search, criminal records, court records, police reports, traffic tickets, DUI and divorce records. SearchSystems also has guides for the cities of Santa Barbara, Santa Maria, Lompoc, Goleta, Carpinteria, Guadalupe, Solvang and Buellton.
Deeds, Mortgages and Liens
Deeds, deeds of trust, liens and other documents that affect title to land anywhere in the county are recorded by the Clerk-Recorder. Its Official Records Search searches the index of recorded documents by name, document type, document number or map book and page, and a copy ordered there is $10 per document, plus $2 to certify it; the index is updated Monday through Friday. The recording fees for filing a new document are on the Clerk-Recorder's fee page, and the county collects a documentary transfer tax on most sales, described on its Documentary Transfer Tax page. The office's phone is (805) 568-2250; Joseph E. Holland is the County Clerk and Recorder, by the county's Clerk-Recorder page.
Assessed Values, Proposition 13 and Appeals
The county Assessor sets the value each parcel is taxed on and keeps the parcel maps; look a parcel up by number or address with the Assessor's parcel lookup, which shows the assessed value for the 2026-27 tax year, as of January 1, 2026, and the value notice, and opens the assessor map for the parcel. Under Proposition 13 a property is assessed at its purchase price, plus any new construction, and that base value can rise by no more than 2 percent a year, so a home owned for decades is often assessed far below its market value. Each year the Assessor taxes the lower of that factored base year value and the market value on January 1; when the market falls below the base value the lower figure is used, under Proposition 8. Farmland under a Williamson Act contract is assessed at the lowest of its economic value, its factored base year value and its market value.
An owner who thinks the value is wrong can ask the Assessor for an informal review, and can file a formal Application for Changed Assessment with the Clerk of the Board, through its Assessment Appeals page, between July 2 and November 30, for a hearing before the Assessment Appeals Board. The Assessor's offices are at 105 East Anapamu Street, second floor, Santa Barbara, (805) 568-2550, and 511 East Lakeside Parkway, Suite 115, Santa Maria, (805) 346-8310.
The Tax Bill
The regular tax bill comes from the county Treasurer-Tax Collector in October. Bills, payments and refunds are handled on the county's Property Tax page, and the Auditor-Controller's tax bill lookup shows a parcel's bill for any year back to 1987-88 by parcel number.
Building Permits and Inspections
In the unincorporated county, Planning and Development issues building and land use permits through its online permitting system and shows each application's progress on its Permit Application Status Lookup. Inside the cities, each city's building division issues the permits:
- City of Santa Barbara: the Building and Safety Division, 630 Garden Street, building counter (805) 564-5485, extension 4371, CDBuildingCode@SantaBarbaraCA.gov; applications and payments go through the Accela Citizen Access portal, and past permits and plans for a property are requested through the city's Records and Archives page. The division enforces the 2025 California Building Standards Code for projects submitted after December 17, 2025, under an ordinance effective January 2, 2026, and posts a Building Permits Dashboard.
- City of Lompoc: the Building and Safety Division, (805) 875-8220, with applications filed online; see the Lompoc guide.
- Santa Maria, Goleta, Carpinteria, Buellton, Solvang and Guadalupe issue their own permits through their city halls.
Evictions
An eviction is an unlawful detainer case in the Superior Court, filed at the Anacapa Division in Santa Barbara or the Cook Division in Santa Maria, and heard in Lompoc as well. The court took 809 unlawful detainer cases in the year ending June 30, 2025, among 4,704 limited civil cases, and closed 89 percent of them within 30 days; the files are open on the court's Public Portal and the Civil Portal unless sealed. The Sheriff carries out the judgment: a writ of possession, the eviction itself, is $180 under the Sheriff's 2026 fee schedule, and a re-posting is $105. Free legal help comes from the Legal Aid Foundation, (805) 963-6754 in Santa Barbara, (805) 922-9909 in Santa Maria and (805) 736-6582 in Lompoc. See Santa Barbara County court records.
Sheriff's Sales and Levies
When a court judgment is enforced against land, a vehicle, wages or a bank account, the Sheriff's Civil Unit carries out the levy and sale, on written instructions from the judgment creditor with the fee or a court fee waiver; the unit cannot look up addresses or give legal advice. South county levies go through the Santa Barbara civil office, 1105 Santa Barbara Street, (805) 568-2900, civil@sbsheriff.org, and north county levies through the Santa Maria civil office, 312-O East Cook Street, (805) 346-7430, both open weekdays from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Under the 2026 fee schedule a bank levy is $50, a wage garnishment $45, a till tap $125, a keeper $300 for eight hours, and a levy and sale of real property or a vehicle requires a $4,000 deposit of advance fees. Current sale listings and the status of a service are on the Sheriff's Civil Unit page, which receives more than 6,000 requests for service a year.
Frequently Asked Questions
Where are Santa Barbara County deeds recorded?
With the County Clerk-Recorder, (805) 568-2250, whose Official Records Search indexes recorded documents online. A copy is $10 per document and $2 more to certify.
How do I look up a Santa Barbara County parcel's assessed value?
On the Assessor's parcel lookup, by parcel number or address, which also shows the value notice and the assessor map.
How do I appeal a property assessment in Santa Barbara County?
Ask the Assessor for an informal review, or file an Application for Changed Assessment with the Clerk of the Board between July 2 and November 30.
How do I check a building permit in Santa Barbara County?
For the unincorporated county, on Planning and Development's Permit Application Status Lookup; for the city of Santa Barbara, through the Accela Citizen Access portal and the city's Records and Archives; for other cities, through the city's building division.
How many evictions are filed in Santa Barbara County?
809 unlawful detainer cases in the year ending June 30, 2025, by the Judicial Council's count.
How much does the Sheriff charge for an eviction in Santa Barbara County?
$180 for a writ of possession under the 2026 fee schedule, plus $105 for a re-posting.