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California · Sacramento Valley · #301 Most Populous County in the US
Yolo County, California
UC Davis's innovation corridor in the Sacramento Valley — from the University of California Davis campus (the world's leading agricultural research university) to West Sacramento's burgeoning arts district across the river from Sacramento, Winters' farm-to-table wine trail, and Woodland's Yolo County Fair, in a county that feeds the nation through world-class agricultural research. Property tax, courts, public records, and senior services for Yolo County residents.
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Yolo County's assessment ratio means effective tax rates are low — but incorrect appraisals still cost money. Ownwell manages the appeal with no upfront cost.
Office: Yolo County Office of Emergency Services – (530) 666-8645 | yolocounty.org/oes
Alert System: Yolo Alert; CA Alert; NOAA Weather Radio
Shelter Info: Yolo County Fairgrounds (Woodland); school facilities; contact OES; UC Davis sheltering coordination
FEMA Region: Region 9
Notes: Sacramento Valley county west of Sacramento; Woodland is county seat; Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta levee risk (the Cache Creek and Yolo Bypass run through the county); flooding (Sacramento River; Yolo Bypass – a massive floodway running parallel to the Sacramento River through much of Yolo County is one of the most important flood control structures in California); wildfire risk (eastern Vaca Mountains); earthquake risk; UC Davis is California’s premier agricultural research university and a major county presence
Roads & Utilities
ROADS & TRANSPORTATION
County Roads: Yolo County Public Works – (530) 666-8054
Transit: Yolobus (Yolo County Transportation District) – (530) 666-2877 | yolobus.com; connects Woodland, Davis, West Sacramento, Winters, Esparto; UC Davis Unitrans (student/community bus system operated by ASUCD – one of the few student-operated transit systems in the US); Amtrak Capitol Corridor (Davis Station – one of the most heavily used stations on the Capitol Corridor; Woodland Station)
Airport: Sacramento International Airport (SMF) – in Sacramento County but serves Yolo County directly (10 miles east); Executive Airport
Notes: I-80 runs east-west through Davis (the main Sacramento-to-Bay Area freeway); SR-113 connects Davis to Woodland; SR-16 connects Woodland to Esparto and Cache Creek; US-50 through West Sacramento; I-5 runs through West Sacramento; Davis is one of America’s most bicycle-friendly cities – UC Davis’s extraordinary cycling culture has made Davis internationally recognized as a cycling city
Business & Permits
BUILDING & PERMITS
Office: Yolo County Planning and Public Works – (530) 666-8775 | yolocounty.org/planning
Services: County permits; Woodland (active), Davis (active), West Sacramento (active), Winters, Esparto have separate permits
Notes: West Sacramento is one of Sacramento region’s most active development markets (proximity to downtown Sacramento; river frontage development; bridge connections being added); Davis has strict growth controls (Measure J requires voter approval of significant new development) but infill and ADU construction; Woodland growing modestly; University Research Park development at UC Davis; agricultural processing facilities
Veterans Services
VETERANS SERVICES
Office: Yolo County Veterans Services – (530) 666-8618
VA Medical: VA Northern California (Mather) – approximately 20 miles east via I-80; most accessible VA medical center in the region; Davis VA CBOC
Services: Benefits claims, VA healthcare enrollment; Sacramento VA accessible; UC Davis military veteran students
Notes: Sacramento VA Mather is easily accessible from Davis and Woodland via I-80; Davis has a significant veteran student population at UC Davis; active VSO chapters in Woodland and Davis; West Sacramento veteran community
Libraries
LIBRARIES
System: Yolo County Library – (530) 666-8005 | yolocountylibrary.org; 8 branches; Davis Public Library (city separate – well-developed); West Sacramento Library (separate)
Branches: Arthur F. Turner (West Sacramento), Clarksburg, Esparto, Knights Landing, Winters, Woodland, Yolo, Zamora
Services: Books, e-books, public computers, Wi-Fi, genealogy, agricultural heritage, children’s programs; UC Davis Shields Library (research library – public access; outstanding agricultural and scientific collections)
Notes: UC Davis’s Peter J. Shields Library is one of the finest research libraries in California with particular strength in agriculture, biology, and environmental sciences; the public libraries reflect Davis’s highly educated university community; Yolo County Library’s agricultural heritage collections document the county’s rich Central Valley farming history; the Esparto and Winters branches serve rural agricultural communities
Parks & Recreation
PARKS & RECREATION
State Parks: Cache Creek Natural Area (BLM – not strictly state but public; Cache Creek Canyon – excellent hiking, camping, swimming, gold panning in the Coast Range hills west of Woodland); Putah Creek Riparian Reserve (UC Davis manages – excellent birding; one of the finest managed riparian areas in the Sacramento Valley)
County: Yolo County Cache Creek Regional Park; Cold Canyon Reserve (Winters area – BLM); Lake Berryessa (Napa County but accessed from Winters – spectacular reservoir)
UC Davis: The Arboretum at UC Davis (a gorgeous 100-acre botanical garden along Putah Creek winding through campus; free and open to the public; extraordinary collection of California native plants and drought-tolerant plants from around the world); Mondavi Center for the Performing Arts (world-class performing arts venue on campus); UC Davis Farmers Market (the outstanding Saturday Farmers Market is one of the best in California); Shrem Museum of Art (UC Davis – opened 2016 in a striking building; significant UC Davis art collection)
Notable: Davis’s bicycle culture (over 100 miles of bike paths; Davis was the first city in the US to add bike lanes; 20%+ bicycle mode share – the highest of any US city; International Bicycle City designation); Winters and the Capay Valley (organic farming capital of California; Full Belly Farm; Cache Creek Casino Resort)
Notes: Davis is one of America’s most distinctive and beloved university cities – its bicycle culture (highest bike mode share of any US city at approximately 20%), progressive politics, farmers market culture, and UC Davis’s agricultural research excellence create a community unlike any other; the UC Davis Arboretum is a genuine treasure; the Winters/Capay Valley organic farming community is nationally significant as a center of sustainable agriculture (Full Belly Farm is one of the most celebrated CSAs in California); Lake Berryessa (accessible from Winters) is a beautiful reservoir in the Vaca Mountains; the Yolo Bypass Wildlife Area (managed wetlands in the Yolo Bypass floodway) provides spectacular winter waterfowl viewing and is the most accessible major wetland wildlife area to Sacramento
GIS & Maps
GIS & MAPS
GIS Portal: Yolo County GIS – yolocounty.org/gis | (530) 666-8775; USGS Sacramento River flood maps; Yolo Bypass hydrology; UC Davis GIS education program (nationally recognized)
Notes: Active GIS; Yolo Bypass flood management mapping; Cache Creek watershed mapping; Sacramento River levee mapping; UC Davis’s GIS education program is nationally recognized and contributes mapping expertise to the county; agricultural field mapping; West Sacramento development mapping
Animal Services
ANIMAL SERVICES
Shelter: Yolo County Animal Services – (530) 668-5287; Yolo County SPCA
Services: Stray intake, adoptions, owner surrenders, spay/neuter; agricultural animal management; wildlife (Yolo Bypass wildlife – thousands of waterfowl, sandhill cranes, Swainson’s hawks – the most important Swainson’s hawk nesting area in California is in Yolo County)
Notes: Yolo County contains the most important Swainson’s hawk nesting habitat in California – the county’s grain fields (alfalfa, rice, corn) provide critical foraging habitat for these migratory raptors; Swainson’s hawks (California-listed as threatened) nest in valley oaks in Yolo County and forage in adjacent fields; the Yolo Bypass Wildlife Area’s winter waterfowl populations (hundreds of thousands of ducks and geese; sandhill cranes) are extraordinary; the bypass’s managed wetlands are maintained specifically to provide waterfowl habitat
Environmental & Waste
ENVIRONMENTAL / WASTE MANAGEMENT
Solid Waste: Yolo County Department of Community Services – (530) 666-8852; Yolo County Central Landfill (one of California’s most progressive landfills – methane capture and conversion to electricity; organics composting); city collection programs
Recycling: Yolo County is a California leader in recycling and waste reduction; CalRecycle SB 1383 compliance; methane capture from landfill; organic waste composting
Environmental: California SWRCB; Central Valley RWQCB; USACE (Yolo Bypass – USACE operates the Fremont Weir which controls flow into the Yolo Bypass); DWR (Sacramento River management); Putah Creek Council; UC Davis (major environmental research institution – its Environmental Science and Policy program is nationally recognized); Yolo Bypass Wildlife Area (CDFW)
Notes: The Yolo Bypass is one of the most important flood control structures in California – it is a 59,000-acre floodway that absorbs Sacramento River peak flows during floods, protecting Sacramento and downstream communities; it runs parallel to the Sacramento River through most of Yolo County; the California Department of Fish and Wildlife manages the Yolo Bypass Wildlife Area (approximately 16,000 acres of managed wetlands within the bypass) providing critical habitat for migratory birds, Swainson’s hawks, and Sacramento River salmon (the bypass flooding allows salmon to forage in the floodplain – a practice being promoted to improve salmon survival); UC Davis’s agricultural research is globally significant – the university invented many of the pest management, irrigation efficiency, and crop variety advances that define modern California agriculture; Putah Creek restoration (a partnership between UC Davis, the Putah Creek Council, and water districts) has restored flow and habitat in Putah Creek and dramatically improved native fish populations; Yolo County’s agricultural operations include some of California’s most progressive organic farms (Capay Valley), tomato processing facilities, and rice farming (in the Yolo Basin – flooded rice fields provide critical waterfowl habitat in winter)
About Yolo County
Yolo County is one of California’s most agriculturally productive and intellectually distinctive counties – anchored on one end by the university town of Davis and on the other by the traditional agricultural county seat of Woodland, with vast fields of tomatoes, rice, sunflowers, and wine grapes stretching across the Sacramento Valley between them.
Davis (population ~68,000) is one of the most unusual college towns in America. UC Davis (enrollment ~39,000) is one of the most comprehensive research universities in the world – with particular global recognition in veterinary medicine (consistently ranked #1 in the world), agriculture and food science, environmental science, and engineering. The university’s research programs define the local economy and give Davis its distinctive character: intensely educated, politically progressive, and physically organized around bicycles to a degree unusual even by California standards.
Davis has more bicycles per capita than almost any other city in the United States, an extensive network of dedicated bike paths (the Davis Bike Loop), and a city planning history that has been studied internationally as a model of bicycle-oriented urban design. The city’s Farmers Market (one of California’s finest) and the broader food culture reflect UC Davis’s agricultural research identity. Sacramento – California’s state capital – is 15 miles east, making Davis an increasingly popular residence for Sacramento-area workers and state government employees seeking a different urban character.
The Congress Parkway Bridge in Davis hosts the largest free-roaming bat colony in the western United States – approximately 250,000 Mexican free-tailed bats roost under the bridge from spring through fall, and their nightly emergence (one of the most spectacular wildlife events in California) has become a major community attraction.
Woodland (the county seat, population ~60,000) is a traditional Sacramento Valley agricultural city with a beautifully preserved Victorian commercial downtown and a large Latino community. The Woodland Opera House (built 1896, restored) is one of California’s finest surviving Victorian-era performance venues.
Winters – at the base of the Coast Range on the county’s western edge – is a growing boutique wine and agritourism destination, home to the Berryessa Snow Mountain National Monument gateway.
County government is a five-member Board of Supervisors with a County Administrator. Separately elected: Assessor, Auditor-Controller, Clerk-Recorder, District Attorney, Sheriff-Coroner, and Treasurer-Tax Collector.
All Services
Browse every category and topic available for this county.
The Yolo County Assessor-Recorder at 625 Court Street, Suite 102, Woodland, CA 95695, phone 530-666-8135, assesses at 1% base rate with Prop 13’s 2% annual cap. Assessment appeal period: July 2–November 30 with the Yolo County Assessment Appeals Board. No CA estate or inheritance tax.
Recommended
Yolo County assessment appeal: July 2–November 30. Davis UC Davis-anchored market sustained appreciation. No CA estate or inheritance tax. Ownwell manages the appeal with no upfront cost.
Courts & Legal
Superior Court (Probate): The Yolo County Superior Court at 725 Court Street, Woodland, CA 95695, phone 530-406-6700, handles probate, estate administration, and all civil and criminal matters. County Recorder maintains property records at 625 Court Street. Records searchable online.
Marriage & Vital Records
Marriage licenses, divorce records, and birth & death certificates are handled by the following office(s):
CLERK-RECORDER (Deeds, Marriage Licenses)
625 Court St., Room 105, Woodland, CA 95695
(530) 666-8130
County Clerk
(530) 666-8133
Genealogy
County-level record sources
Yolo County Superior Court (marriage licenses, will and estate case files – see Probate section above)
Local societies
Davis Genealogical Club, Yolo County, CA
Probate & Estate
Losing someone and having to deal with courts and paperwork at the same time is hard. This section won’t make that easier, but it should tell you what to expect, what it costs, and where to go – so at least you’re not walking in blind.
Where to go
Yolo County Superior Court 1000 Main Street, Woodland, CA 95695 Hours: Monday–Friday, 8:00 a.m.–4:00 p.m.
The current courthouse, completed in 2015, consolidated what had grown to seven separate court buildings into a single 14-courtroom facility.
Step 1: figure out which path applies
California recently increased its small-estate thresholds substantially, so check this first – more estates now qualify to skip full probate than in past years.
Small Estate Affidavit (personal property) – for estates with personal property valued at $208,850 or less (for deaths on or after April 1, 2025; holds through March 31, 2028). No court filing needed – present the signed affidavit directly to the bank or institution holding the property. Must wait at least 40 days after the death, and no probate proceeding can already be pending.
Petition to Determine Succession to Real Property, Primary Residence – for a decedent’s primary California residence valued at $750,000 or less (Judicial Council Form DE-310). Requires a 40-day wait, notice to heirs, and a probate referee appraisal.
Affidavit for Real Property of Small Value – for other (non-primary-residence) California real property valued at $69,625 or less (Form DE-305). Requires a 6-month wait.
Formal Probate – required when the estate exceeds these thresholds. California typically uses the Independent Administration of Estates Act (IAEA), letting the personal representative handle most matters without a court hearing for each step.
California is a community property state – a surviving spouse already owns their half of community property, and can often use a simplified Spousal Property Petition (Form DE-221) instead.
If using the small estate affidavit (personal property)
Wait at least 40 days after the death.
Confirm total qualifying California personal property (excluding trust assets, joint tenancy, POD/TOD accounts, and beneficiary-designated accounts) is $208,850 or less, using date-of-death values.
Complete the affidavit under Probate Code § 13100.
Present it with a certified death certificate directly to the bank or institution – no court filing required. Collecting property this way makes you personally liable for the decedent’s unsecured debts up to the value received (Prob. Code § 13109).
IF USING THE PRIMARY RESIDENCE PETITION OR SMALL REAL PROPERTY AFFIDAVIT
Confirm the property qualifies and the applicable waiting period has passed (40 days for the primary-residence petition; 6 months for the small real property affidavit).
File the petition (Form DE-310) or affidavit (Form DE-305) with the Yolo County Superior Court.
A probate referee appraises the property; heirs receive notice.
Once approved, the property transfers without full probate administration.
If formal probate is required
Deliver the original will (if any) to the court clerk within 30 days of learning of the death (Prob. Code § 8200).
File a Petition for Probate (Form DE-111) to admit the will and request appointment as personal representative.
The court issues Letters Testamentary (Form DE-150) or Letters of Administration.
If Independent Administration authority is granted, the personal representative can act on most matters without separate court hearings.
Notice to creditors and an inventory/appraisal (with a probate referee) follow, along with payment of debts and taxes.
The estate closes with a final petition for distribution.
What it costs
Small estate affidavit / real property affidavits: no court filing fee for the personal-property affidavit; filing fees apply to the DE-310 primary-residence petition and DE-305 small real property affidavit.
Formal probate filing fee: several hundred dollars, varying somewhat by county.
Personal representative and attorney compensation: statutory fee schedule based on estate size (Prob. Code §§ 10800–10810) – a percentage that declines as the estate grows.
No California state estate tax or inheritance tax.
Probate filings, estate administration, and guardianship matters are handled by the following office(s):
Public Safety & Arrests
Arrest records, inmate search, and law enforcement services are handled by the following office(s):
SHERIFF
140 Tony Diaz Dr., Woodland, CA 95776
(530) 668-5280
Elections & Voting
Voter registration, polling locations, and elections information are handled by the following office(s):
CA Voter Registration
Health & Human Services
Offices & Contacts
Health services, social services, and assistance programs are handled by the following office(s):
Health Dept
(530) 666-8645
Medi-Cal
(800) 300-1506
Tribal Health
Yocha Dehe Wintun Nation (Cache Creek Casino)
Public Health Information
PUBLIC HEALTH
Office: Yolo County Health and Human Services Agency – (530) 666-8645 | yolocounty.org/hhsa
Services: Immunizations, WIC, STI testing, environmental health, vital records, restaurant inspections; behavioral health; UC Davis student health coordination; agricultural worker health
Hospital: UC Davis Medical Center (Sacramento County – but primarily serves Yolo County residents for complex care; world-class Level I trauma center); Dignity Health Woodland Memorial Hospital – (530) 662-3961; Kaiser Permanente (Davis/Woodland area)
Notes: Woodland Memorial is the county’s primary community hospital; UC Davis Medical Center (across the Sacramento River in Sacramento County) is the regional trauma and specialty center; UC Davis student health (Student Health and Counseling Services at UCD) serves a large student population; agricultural worker health (Yolo County has significant agricultural labor, including Esparto and the Capay Valley); behavioral health demand is significant; West Sacramento has significant homeless population health challenges
Editorial independence: CountyOffices maintains strict editorial independence from our affiliate partners. Our content is researched from official government sources. Affiliate relationships do not influence our recommendations or the information we publish.
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