A deed search for property records traces a property’s ownership history through public land records to confirm who legally owns it and what claims, debts, or restrictions are attached. You can do much of the work yourself at the county recorder’s office or through an online portal, provided you start with the right identifiers and know how the records are indexed.
Gather Your Identifiers First
Before you sit down at a county terminal or log into a records portal, collect the pieces of information the databases actually use as keys. Getting these right is what separates a productive hour from an afternoon of pulling the wrong file.
The single most useful identifier is the parcel identification number, sometimes called the assessor’s parcel number. Every property has one, assigned by the local tax assessor, and it stays with the parcel even when the street address changes or the property is sold. County databases use it as the primary index key. You can usually find it on a previous tax bill, a property tax statement, or the county assessor’s website.
Next, get the full legal names of past owners, spelled correctly. Grantor-grantee indexes are alphabetical, and a misspelling in the original recording (or in your search) is enough to hide a transfer entirely.
Finally, get the property’s legal description, which is more precise than a street address and comes in a few forms:
- Lot and block, used for properties in recorded subdivisions and identified by lot number, block number, and plat name. This is the most common format in suburban and urban areas.
- Public Land Survey System (PLSS), used in roughly 30 states, which locates land on a grid of townships, ranges, and sections. A typical description reads something like “T. 2 N., R. 3 E., sec. 9, SE¼.”
- Metes and bounds, used for older properties (particularly in the original 13 colonies and Texas), which trace boundary lines from a starting point using compass bearings, distances, and natural landmarks.
If you don’t have a legal description, the county assessor’s office or its website can usually generate one from the parcel number or street address.
Where Property Records Are Kept
Deeds and other land documents are recorded and stored by a local government office, most often called the County Recorder, Register of Deeds, or Clerk of Court, depending on the region. Whatever the name, the office maintains the public record of every property transfer, mortgage, lien, and easement within its jurisdiction.
The Recorder’s Office in Person
Every recording office keeps physical or microfilmed copies of its land records, and many have a dedicated research area with public-access terminals and bound index books. Staff can point you to the right index but will not interpret documents or give legal advice. Bring a form of payment for copies, and expect at least an hour if you’re tracing a full chain of title.
Online County Portals
A growing number of counties have digitized their records and made them searchable through a web portal. Availability varies widely. Some counties offer free online access to records going back decades; others charge per search or by subscription; many smaller or rural counties haven’t digitized at all. Online databases are often limited to more recent filings, so a property with a long history may still require a courthouse visit. A phone call to the recorder’s office will confirm what’s available remotely.
Federal Tax Liens
One thing that might not be where you’d expect it: federal tax liens filed by the IRS are recorded with the local county, not in a separate federal database. When someone owes back taxes, the IRS files a Notice of Federal Tax Lien in the county where the property sits, and it appears alongside other recorded documents. The IRS itself directs people to confirm lien filings with the local recording office.
How to Run the Search
Once you’re in front of the records, the method depends on how the county indexes its documents.
Grantor-Grantee Index
Most counties organize land records using a grantor-grantee index, essentially an alphabetical list of every person who has transferred property (the grantor) and every person who has received it (the grantee). You search by name, find the relevant entry, and it points you to the book and page number where the actual document is recorded. From there, you identify the next owner in the chain and search that name to find the following transfer. Working the links from one owner to the next is called chaining the title.
The weakness of this system is that you’re searching by name, not by property. Common names like “John Smith” force you to cross-reference legal descriptions to confirm you’re on the right parcel. Misspellings in the original filings can also cause transfers to slip through the cracks.
Tract Index
Some counties use a tract index instead of, or alongside, a grantor-grantee index. A tract index organizes every recorded document by legal description or parcel number rather than by the names of buyers and sellers. That lets you pull every document ever recorded against a specific piece of land in one place, which is faster and less prone to the name-matching errors that plague grantor-grantee searches. Many counties now combine both systems, enhanced by GIS mapping.
Digital Portal Searches
County websites with online portals typically let you search by owner name, parcel number, or address, and filter by document type. Common filters include warranty deeds, quitclaim deeds, mortgages, liens, and easements. After locating an entry, the system usually displays a scanned image of the recorded document. Note the recording date, document number, and book and page reference. Those details let you verify the document’s place in the chain and request official copies if needed.
How Far Back to Go
There’s no universal rule, but industry practice and state law offer guidance. Many states have marketable record title acts that extinguish most competing claims older than a set period, commonly 30 to 40 years. A typical residential title search covers at least that span. If you’re doing a search for your own information rather than for a closing, even reviewing the last two or three transfers can reveal most active liens and encumbrances.
Reading the Deed Once You Find It
Pulling up a deed image is only half the job. You need to read it carefully, because this is where most DIY searchers get tripped up. Check every deed for:
- Grantor and grantee names. Confirm the spelling matches the parties involved and that the grantor on this deed matches the grantee from the previous transfer. A mismatch breaks the chain of title.
- Legal description. The property description should be consistent across all deeds in the chain. Small transcription errors in lot numbers, compass bearings, or section references happen more often than you’d expect and can create real problems down the line.
- Type of tenancy. If multiple owners appear, look for language indicating whether they hold the property as joint tenants with right of survivorship, tenants in common, or (for married couples in some states) community property. This affects what happens when one owner dies.
- Encumbrances and exceptions. Many deeds include a clause listing existing easements, covenants, or restrictions that transfer with the property. A utility easement across the back yard is routine; a right-of-way allowing a neighbor to cross your driveway is something you’d want to know about.
- Notarization and signatures. A deed must be signed by the grantor and notarized to be valid for recording. Missing signatures or acknowledgments can create defects that are expensive to fix.
Deed Types You’ll See in the Chain
The type of deed in the chain of title tells you something about the risk each past buyer accepted.
- General warranty deed. The strongest protection for the buyer. The seller guarantees clear title and the right to sell, and promises to defend the buyer against claims from any point in the property’s history. This is the standard deed in most residential sales.
- Special warranty deed. The seller only guarantees against title problems that arose during their own ownership. Defects predating the seller are the buyer’s problem. Common in commercial transactions and bank sales of foreclosed properties.
- Quitclaim deed. The seller transfers whatever interest they have, with zero guarantees about whether that interest is valid or complete. Typically used between family members, divorcing spouses, or to clear up minor title issues.
A quitclaim deed in the middle of an otherwise clean chain of warranty deeds is worth pausing over. Sometimes it’s a quick transfer between spouses adding a name to the title. Other times it signals a seller who couldn’t or wouldn’t guarantee ownership.
What a Records Search Can and Can’t Reveal
A thorough search will surface recorded liens, past transfers, and filed easements. Watch for:
- Outstanding liens, including mortgages that were never properly discharged, contractor liens from unpaid renovation work, or judgment liens from lawsuits. These don’t disappear when the property changes hands unless they’re resolved.
- Recording errors like misspelled names, incorrect legal descriptions, or missing signatures, which can cloud a title even when the underlying transaction was legitimate.
- Gaps in the chain. If a transfer was never recorded, there’s a break in the public chain of title, and a later buyer relying on the record won’t see it.
- Unknown encumbrances such as easements or use restrictions recorded decades ago and easy to overlook in a long history.
What a public records search will not show you: a forged signature that looks valid on its face, a missing heir who didn’t know they inherited the property, or a surveying error that puts a fence three feet onto the neighbor’s land. Those defects are invisible in the record, which is why title insurance exists as separate protection.
What It Costs
If you search records yourself through a free county portal or in person at the recorder’s office, the search itself costs nothing. Fees come in when you need copies. Uncertified copies for personal research generally run a dollar or two per page. Certified copies, which carry an official seal and are accepted in court proceedings, cost more, with certification fees varying by jurisdiction. Some counties offer electronic delivery of scanned documents, which is the fastest option when available.
A professional title search performed by a title company or abstractor typically costs $75 to $200 for a standard residential property, depending on the property’s age and complexity. Properties with many transfers, subdivision histories, or potential boundary issues take more time and cost more. The fee usually covers the search and a written report of findings, not the resolution of any problems discovered.
When to Hire a Professional
A DIY search works fine if you’re trying to find out who owns a property, confirm a recording date, or pull a copy of your own deed. Where it falls short is completeness. Professional title searchers know where to look for obscure encumbrances, how to interpret legal descriptions across different survey systems, and when a gap in the chain actually matters versus when it’s harmless. They do this hundreds of times a year and catch things a first-timer won’t.
For any transaction involving a purchase, sale, or refinance, lenders require a professional title search and typically require lender’s title insurance as a condition of the loan. Owner’s title insurance is separate and optional, and it covers you against defects that weren’t caught in the search or that are genuinely invisible in the public record. A one-time premium, typically around 0.4% of the purchase price, covers you for as long as you own the property.