Trustee's Deed and Deed of Reconveyance — Exemptions

California law creates narrow but important exceptions for two instruments:

Trustee's Deed — a deed resulting from a decree of foreclosure or a nonjudicial foreclosure pursuant to Civil Code §2924
Deed of Reconveyance — a document releasing a deed of trust when a loan obligation is satisfied

These two instruments are exempt from:
1. The thumbprint requirement in the notary's sequential journal (Government Code §8206(a)(2)(G) explicitly excludes them)
2. The restriction on using proof of execution by a subscribing witness for real property instruments (Government Code §27287 excludes them from the general prohibition)

The rationale is institutional: these documents arise from lender or trustee actions, not from individual consumers signing away property rights, so the protective measures designed for consumer transactions are less necessary.

Exam Tip: When a question asks whether a thumbprint is required for a "trustee's deed resulting from foreclosure," the answer is no — it is explicitly exempt. This is one of very few exceptions to the thumbprint rule. Many test-takers assume all real property documents require thumbprints, which makes this a high-value distinction to know cold.