Frequently Asked Questions

Yes. We will review the work on or about January 1, and you will be assessed on the value of the work completed.

No. Only the value of your new addition will be added to your current assessed value.

The goal is to maintain an accurate and up-to-date voter registration file.

No. The law requires us to mail this card to each voter.

You can register online or complete a voter registration card at any library, post office, or DMV.

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Please use the contact information in the listings above, or contact the Yolo County Elections Office at (530) 666-8133 or email the elections department.

The Voter's Choice Act (VCA) is ideal for Yolo County because it modernizes elections to reflect the choices voters are already making on how, when, and where they vote.

All voters will receive a Vote by Mail ballot, and instead of being limited to voting at one polling place on Election Day, voters will now be able to vote…

• By returning their ballot through the postal service using our pre-paid postage envelope
• By dropping your Vote by Mail ballot in one of many Ballot Drop Boxes securely and conveniently located throughout the county (see note)
• In person at any Vote Center in Yolo County (as early as 10 days before Election Day)
• At our office at 625 Court Street, Suite B-05, Woodland, CA 95204 (as early as 29 days before Election Day).

(Note) Actually, you can drop off your Vote by Mail ballot at any official ballot drop box in California and the Yolo County Elections Office will receive your ballot.

With the passage of Assembly Bill 37 in 2021, all registered voters in California will be mailed an official ballot. A voter is not required to vote on the ballot mailed to them. With the Voter's Choice Act (VCA), voters have greater flexibility in where and when they cast a ballot in person. Traditionally, voters could only vote in person at a specific location in their residential neighborhood during the 13 hours polling places were open on Election Day or at the elections office. The VCA opens opportunities for voters to vote at any Vote Center in the county. The Vote Centers will even be open on weekends.

Voters often choose to vote on the ballot mailed to them because of the convenience or because something unexpected came up in their lives. Getting the ballot mailed to you gives you more options.

There are four ways to return your ballot:

• By dropping off your ballot at any open official Ballot Drop Box in California. For more information see the Ballot Drop Boxes and Locations page.
• By dropping off your ballot at any open Voting Location (Vote Center or Polling Place) in California, including our Mobile Vote Center.
• By dropping off your ballot at any open U.S. Postal Service blue collection box or post office. The return identification envelope does not require postage (stamps). Please note the time of pick-up if you are dropping it off on Election Day, as the return identification envelope must be postmarked on or before Election Day.
• By mailing your ballot through your local letter carrier to be postmarked on or before Election Day. The return identification envelope does not require postage (stamps).

A "Vote Center" is a universal polling place where any registered voter in Yolo County may vote. Simply stated, with Vote Centers, there is no wrong place to vote.

• Voting Locations-Vote Centers
• Yolo County's Mobile Vote Center

You do not have to use the ballot that is mailed to you. Each Vote Center will have at least three accessible ballot marking devices (called Touch Writers) so all voters can cast a ballot privately and independently.

Voters can still bring up to two people to assist them during the voting process at a Vote Center, including a poll worker, as long as the person helping is not the voter's employer or union representative.

Vote Centers will also offer bilingual resources.

Voters can use our Remote Accessible Vote-by-Mail (RAVBM) system to get an accessible vote-by-mail ballot that uses their own screen reader technology to assist the voter in marking the ballot privately and independently.

Please call the Yolo County Elections Office at 530-666-8133 to find out more about the accessible voting equipment, Remote Accessible Vote-by-Mail, and what language assistance is available at the Vote Centers near you.

It's not that different at all from how we voted in the November 2020 general election and the September 2021 recall election. Adopting the Voter's Choice Act (VCA) officially moved Yolo County from assigned polling places last used in the March 2020 primary election. The VCA also carries specific requirements for the number of vote centers, the number of official ballot drop boxes, and the number of informational mailings to voters.

Voters find out vote centers through an outreach campaign that includes direct contact efforts and indirectly through advertisements, social media posts, and various community events if they can be safely restarted again in the future.

• The Yolo County Elections Office will contact each voter by mail at least two times, in addition to the regular County Voter Information Guide and the Vote-by-Mail ballot mailing packet.
• The Yolo County Elections Office is creating public service announcements and working closely with media outlets such as local newspapers, radio stations, and television. We are issuing Press Releases to let media outlets know about the change so they can help get the word out. We also plan to use our social media outlets to get the word out, with our Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube accounts.
• The Yolo County Elections Office participates in community events throughout the year and works with local community, disability, and language-specific groups and service organizations to educate the public. If you know of any events that you would like the Yolo County Elections Office to participate in, please email the election department with more information.

The Yolo County Elections Office drafted an Elections Administration Plan that provided a detailed roadmap to implementing the Voter's Choice Act (VCA). Currently, we are working on the 2024 renewal of the Election Administration Plan and are open to questions and comments at any time. Read the Yolo County Draft Election Administration Plan on our website. Please email the elections department to ask questions, make suggestions, provide comments, and voice concerns.

Online requests are processed within the same day or next business day. Service county requests are completed with 20 minutes. Mail/Fax requests are processed within 1 to 2 business days.

Visit the California Department of Public Health website to select the applicable form and process to be completed.

The parent missing from the birth record must first contact Yolo County Child Support Services through the Colusa, Sutter, Yolo Regional Child Support Agency to begin the process to Establish Parentage or Paternity. 

Contact 530-666-8680 or by email yolo-edrs@yolocounty.gov for information and to schedule an appointment.

Our office issues certified authorized copies of records with all required stamps and signatures, and other security features to meet passport application requirements. 

An apostille for a vital record issued by our office is obtainable through the California Secretary of State.

You must contact the county the marriage license was purchased, or where the birth or death occurred. You may also purchase from the California Department of Public Health.

A Dissolution of Marriage (Divorce Decree) is filed in the Yolo County Superior Courts, Civil Division, at 530-406-6704.

Property Records are indexed by the names of the grantor/grantee on the document. Public searches may be performed online or at our office lobby kiosk. Document references are required for copy requests.

Original documents are not generally accepted for any legal purpose. They cannot be used to prove identity. You will need a certified copy of the recorded document for any legal purposes. To purchase a certified copy of a document recorded in Yolo County visit Copies & Searches.

Grant Deeds are used to transfer title of a real property. This is done at the time of purchase and can be later recorded to add or remove individual's names after purchase. This is known as the "title" document. Deeds of Trusts are loan documents given at the time of purchase resulting in an obligation to pay the loan or foreclosure may result. The Deed of Trust is also recorded with refinancing.

A document titled Reconveyance or Substitution of Trustee and Reconveyance is the document recorded when the property has been paid in full. A new deed will not be issued or recorded.

A Substitution of Trustee and Deed of Reconveyance is a legal document that evidence security interest is being release by a lender. In most cases, the document shows that a loan has been paid off. Property owners may even receive this document if they have refinanced a loan.

The Clerk-Recorder does not create liens. Various taxing agencies prepare and record liens and releases with the County Recorder which is why our name appears on your credit report. You will need to view or obtain a copy of the lien to locate the agency placing the lien against you. You may then speak to the agency about the lien. It is important that you review our records for a recorded release of lien as credit reporting agencies sometimes fail to include them on your credit report. If you locate a release, you may provide a certified copy to the credit bureau to have it reported as released.

The Clerk-Recorder Official Public Records are indexed by name. There can be multiple people with the same name in the county. You will need to prove to the party questioning the lien that it does not belong to you by providing a copy of the lien with your differing identifying information highlighted.

The Last Will and Testament is not a recordable document. It may be filed with the Probate Court. 

Mobile home documents are filed with the Department of Housing and Community Development. For information visit California of Housing & Community Development or call 1-800-952-8356.

A deed and title similarly refer to the ownership of a property, but title refers to your ownership of a property, a deed is the physical document used to prove and transfer that ownership.