To do a deed search, go to the recording office in the county where the property sits — in most U.S. counties that means the County Recorder, Register of Deeds, or County Clerk — and search its grantor/grantee index by owner name, street address, parcel number, or document number. Most counties offer an online portal for free or a small per-page fee, and the same database is usually available on public terminals if you visit in person. The search will show recorded deeds plus anything else filed against the property, including mortgages, liens, and easements.
Gather Your Identifiers First
The search runs faster when you arrive with the right information. The most useful identifiers are the full legal names of the parties to the transaction. In real estate records, the person transferring ownership is the grantor and the person receiving it is the grantee.
The exact street address helps, but the real shortcut is the Assessor’s Parcel Number, sometimes called a Tax ID or APN. This unique number is assigned by local tax authorities to every parcel and links tax records to deed records even when names change or addresses get reformatted. You can usually find it on a property tax bill, a prior title report, or the county tax assessor’s website.
If none of those are available, the property’s legal description works as a fallback. Legal descriptions use systems like metes and bounds (compass directions and distances) or lot and block numbers (referencing a recorded subdivision map) to define exact boundaries. These descriptions appear on prior deeds and are more precise than a mailing address, which the recording system may not even index.
If the owner is an LLC, corporation, or trust, be ready for name variations. “Smith Family Revocable Trust” may be indexed as “Smith Family Trust” or “Smith Rev Trust.” Some county portals include a separate trustee search field. For LLCs and corporations, the state’s secretary of state database can confirm the exact registered name before you search.
Find the Right Recording Office
Real estate records are kept at the county level, filed in the county where the land physically sits. The office goes by different names depending on local tradition: County Recorder, Register of Deeds, County Clerk, or something more specialized. A quick search for “[county name] recorder of deeds” or “[county name] property records” usually lands you on the right website.
Most county recording offices now have some form of online portal, though the depth of what’s digitized varies. Some counties have records scanned back a century or more; others only have documents from the last couple of decades online, with older material stored on microfilm or in physical ledger books. If the county has no online search, you’ll need to visit in person or call to request a mail-in search. The office’s website typically lists hours, contact information, and any appointment requirements.
Running the Search Online
Online portals generally let you search by name, parcel number, address, or document number. The grantor/grantee index is the most common entry point. Search the grantee index to find when someone acquired a property, or the grantor index to find when they transferred it. Entering a parcel number usually pulls up a chronological list of every document recorded against that specific piece of land, which is the fastest route to a complete picture.
Filter by date range and document type to avoid drowning in results. A single parcel can accumulate dozens of recorded documents over the decades — deeds, mortgages, lien releases, easement agreements, and more. If you only need the most recent transfer, narrowing to the last few years and selecting “deed” as the document type saves considerable scrolling.
Searching in Person
At the recording office you’ll typically find public-access terminals connected to the same database that powers the online portal. The advantage of showing up is access to older records that haven’t been digitized. In many offices, pre-digital records live in physical index books organized alphabetically by grantor and grantee name within each year. You look up the name, find the corresponding book and page number, then pull the physical volume or microfilm reel to view the actual document.
Staff can help you navigate the system but can’t give legal advice about what a document means. If you’re unfamiliar with the index layout, ask for an orientation. Most offices have written guides or posted instructions near the terminals.
Reading a Recorded Deed
When you pull up a deed, a few elements matter. The grantor and grantee names should match the parties you expect. The legal description defines exactly which land was transferred. A consideration clause states the price paid, though many deeds use nominal language like “$10 and other good and valuable consideration” rather than disclosing the actual sale price. The grantor’s signature must be present, along with a notary acknowledgment confirming the signer’s identity. The grantee typically does not sign.
At the top or bottom you’ll find a recording stamp from the county office showing the date and time the document was officially entered into the public record, plus a unique instrument number (or book and page reference in older systems). The recording stamp is what gives the document its legal priority. A deed recorded on Monday takes precedence over a competing claim recorded on Tuesday, even if the Tuesday document was signed first.
Types of Deeds You’ll Encounter
Not all deeds offer the same level of protection. The type tells you how much the grantor is guaranteeing about the title.
- General warranty deed. The strongest form. The grantor guarantees clear title against all defects, including any that arose before they owned the property. This is what most buyers want in a standard home purchase.
- Special warranty deed, sometimes called a grant deed. The grantor only guarantees against defects that arose during their own ownership. Earlier problems are the buyer’s problem. Common in commercial transactions and bank sales of foreclosed properties.
- Quitclaim deed. The grantor transfers whatever interest they have, if any, with zero guarantees. These are typically used between family members, divorcing spouses, or to clear up a technical title issue. Seeing a quitclaim in a property’s history isn’t automatically a red flag, but it’s worth understanding why it was used.
One document often confuses people during a search: the deed of trust. Despite the name, it is not a transfer of ownership. It’s a security instrument giving a lender a claim against the property until a mortgage is paid off. You’ll see these recorded alongside actual transfer deeds, and each should be matched with a corresponding release or reconveyance once the loan is satisfied.
Liens, Easements, and Other Encumbrances
A thorough search reveals more than ownership. You’ll also find encumbrances — claims or restrictions attached to the title that affect how the property can be used or sold. A lien is the most common type, a creditor’s legal claim against the property, usually tied to an unpaid debt.
Common Liens
- Property tax lien. Attaches when property taxes go unpaid. These take priority over almost everything else.
- Federal or state tax lien. Filed by the IRS or a state tax agency against all property owned by someone who owes back taxes.
- Mechanic’s lien. Filed by contractors, subcontractors, or material suppliers who performed work and weren’t paid. These can appear even if the current owner hired a general contractor who then failed to pay their subs.
- Judgment lien. Created when a court awards a money judgment against the property owner and the judgment is recorded against their real property in that county.
- Mortgage or deed of trust. The lender’s security interest, which should be released upon full repayment. Unreleased mortgages from paid-off loans are one of the most common title clouds.
Easements and Restrictions
Easements grant someone else the right to use part of the property for a specific purpose. Utility easements allowing power lines, sewer pipes, or gas lines to cross the property are nearly universal and rarely cause problems. Right-of-way easements granting a neighbor access across the land are more significant because they limit what you can build. Shared driveway easements, conservation easements that restrict development, and party wall agreements on adjoining buildings also show up in the records. Any express easement should be recorded, so a careful search will reveal them.
If you find a lien or encumbrance you don’t understand, flag it before moving forward with a purchase. An unresolved mechanic’s lien or an unreleased mortgage from a prior owner can delay or derail a closing.
Requesting Copies
Once you’ve found the document you need, most portals let you view it for free or a nominal fee and then order a copy. The distinction between the two types of copies matters.
An informational or plain copy is a simple reproduction of the document. It’s fine for your own records, research, or to share with an attorney for review. Fees typically run a few dollars per page, though the exact amount varies by county. Some portals charge a flat fee per document for digital downloads rather than pricing by the page.
A certified copy carries an official seal from the recording office confirming it’s a true reproduction of the original. Courts, lenders, and title companies generally require certified copies. These cost more, often with a base fee for the first page and additional charges per page after that. If you need the document for a legal proceeding, real estate closing, or official filing, request the certified version.
Payment is usually handled by credit card online. In-person visits may accept cash, check, or card depending on the office. Online purchases typically generate an immediate PDF download. Mail-in requests and orders for documents only available on microfilm take longer, sometimes a week or more.
When to Hand It to a Professional
Running your own search through the county index is adequate for basic research: confirming who owns a property, checking whether a specific lien was filed, or pulling a copy of a deed you already know exists. Where it falls short is comprehensiveness. A professional title search traces the entire chain of ownership, sometimes going back 40 to 60 years, and cross-references multiple indexes to catch problems a casual search would miss.
A break in the chain of title happens when there’s a gap in the ownership sequence. Maybe a deed was never recorded, or filed in the wrong county, or a name was misspelled badly enough to break the index link. These gaps can make the title unmarketable, meaning a buyer can’t get title insurance and a lender won’t fund the loan. Spotting these issues requires systematic, year-by-year tracing most one-off searchers won’t perform.
If you’re buying property with a mortgage, a professional search isn’t optional. Lenders require a lender’s title insurance policy as a condition of the loan, and issuing that policy requires a professional title search. Owner’s title insurance, which protects you as the buyer, is optional in most cases but worth considering. If someone later challenges your ownership based on a forged deed, an undisclosed heir, or a missed old lien, the title insurance company covers your legal defense and any resulting loss. The premium is a one-time payment at closing, typically between 0.5% and 1% of the purchase price. On a $350,000 home that’s roughly $1,750 to $3,500, with the professional search usually bundled in.
If a search turns up a title defect that can’t be resolved through normal channels, the legal remedy is a quiet title action. That’s a lawsuit asking a court to declare who actually owns the property and to eliminate competing claims. These cases are commonly used when there’s a gap in the chain of title, an old unreleased lien from a creditor that no longer exists, or a boundary dispute that needs judicial resolution. If the owner prevails, the court order effectively cleans the title. These cases can take months and cost several thousand dollars in legal fees.
Tips for an Efficient Search
Search the grantee index first if you want to find when the current owner acquired the property, then check the grantor index for any transfers out. Running both confirms the chain. Pay attention to name variations and misspellings. Recording offices index exactly what was typed on the document, so “John A. Smith” and “John Smith” may appear as separate entries. Wildcard searches, where the portal supports them, help catch these discrepancies.
Look beyond the deed itself. Mortgage releases, lien satisfactions, and easement agreements all affect the property’s title status. If you see a mortgage recorded but no corresponding release, that doesn’t necessarily mean the loan is still outstanding. It might just mean the release was never recorded, which is surprisingly common and usually fixable by contacting the lender.
Keep copies of everything you find. Screenshot or download every relevant document, note the instrument numbers and recording dates, and organize them chronologically. If you later hire a title professional or attorney, this file saves them time and you money.