California Code, Government Code - GOV § 27300

(a) “Official record” means the permanent archival record of all instruments, papers, and notices as accepted for recording by a county recorder.

(b) “Public record” means a record that is in an electronic format and is an exact copy of an official record except that any social security number contained in the copied record is truncated.  The public record shall have the same legal force and effect as the official record.

(c) “Truncate” means to redact the first five digits of a social security number.

(d) “Truncated social security number” means a social security number that displays only the last four digits of the number.