How to find out who owns a property: records by state

Step by step

1. Start with the address. Find the county (or town, parish or borough) the property is in. The county’s website usually links both the assessor and the recorder.
2. Search the assessor’s parcel records by address. The result normally shows the owner’s name as it appears on the tax roll, the mailing address for tax bills, the parcel number and the assessed value. This answers “who owns it” in most cases.
3. Use the recorder to confirm and to see the deed. Recorder indexes are usually searched by the names of the parties (grantor and grantee), not by address. Take the owner’s name or the deed book and page from the assessor record, then look up the deed. Many recorders let you view the index free online and charge for copies.
4. Order a certified copy only if you need it for court or a lender. Certified copies cost more than plain copies in every state where the law sets both. What it costs to record a new deed is in deed recording fees by state.

If the owner is a company or a trust, the assessor shows the entity’s name. Its officers are public in the state’s business registry (usually the Secretary of State), not in land records.

Who keeps property records, state by state

“Not confirmed” means Payotte could not read the fee in an official text; the recorder’s office posts its own fee list. A statewide search marked “None” means the search is done county by county (or town by town).

State notes

• Alabama. Deeds are recorded with the county judge of probate; assessment is with the revenue commissioner. Pre-1950 land records are at the Secretary of State.
• Alaska. Recording is statewide (state office), not at county/borough level; Alaska has no counties.
• Arizona. Recorder indexes are by grantor/grantee name only; owner-by-address lookups go to the assessor.
• Arkansas. State parcel layer comes from county assessors; coverage not complete in every county.
• California. Many county assessor sites do not show owner names online; the assessor’s office answers requests.
• Colorado. State parcel data (owner name fields) is compiled from county assessors and updated annually; some counties restrict public release.
• Connecticut. Recording is at town level, not county (Connecticut has no county government); some towns suppress owner names in the state layer.
• Delaware. Three counties only, each with its own recorder and parcel search.
• District of Columbia. Deed images since 1921 are online via a privately operated portal linked from OTR’s Recorder of Deeds page.
• Georgia. GSCCCA is a state authority; name/book-page search covers all counties since at least 1999, some features (address search) are paid.
• Hawaii. Recording is statewide at the Bureau of Conveyances, not county; searching is free with an account.
• Idaho. State Tax Commission keeps no parcel data; some assessors (e.g., Ada) block owner-name searches but show owner on parcel detail.
• Illinois. Cook County Recorder of Deeds was merged into the County Clerk on Dec. 7, 2020.
• Iowa. Iowa Code § 331.604(3) requires every county to participate in the county land record information system and its statewide internet site; free account required.
• Kentucky. Clerk deed indexes are by party name; owner-by-address goes through the PVA. Certified copy is $5 under KRS 64.012, plain copy rate not confirmed.
• Louisiana. Parishes instead of counties: the clerk of court of each parish keeps conveyance records.
• Maine. Property assessment is municipal; each county registry has its own online search.
• Maryland. Deeds are free to view on Maryland Land Records (State Archives) with an account.
• Massachusetts. Property assessment is municipal; some counties have two registry districts.
• Michigan. Assessment is done by cities and townships, not counties.
• Minnesota. MnGeo publishes a statewide parcel dataset for analysis, but not all counties are included and it is not a lookup tool.
• Mississippi. MARIS state parcel map links to county viewers but has only old (2009/10) parcels for some counties.
• Missouri. Recorder indexes are by name, not by address; the assessor gives the deed book/page reference.
• Nebraska. In some counties (e.g. Lancaster) assessor and register of deeds are one combined office.
• New Hampshire. Copy charges are set and posted by each register of deeds (RSA 478:17-g, III); nhdeeds.org links the county registries but is not a .gov statewide search.
• New Jersey. The state GIS office removed owner names from its hosted parcel data under Daniel’s Law; the municipal or county tax list has them.
• New Mexico. New Mexico is a non-disclosure state: sale prices do not appear on deeds.
• New York. ACRIS covers only the five NYC boroughs (Richmond/Staten Island included); no statewide owner search.
• North Carolina. Uncertified copy prices are not in G.S. 161-10(a)(9).
• North Dakota. NDRIN (ndrin.com) is a subscription network run by the county recorders, not a .gov statewide search.
• Oklahoma. Copy fees are set by 28 O.S. 32, but no official text of it could be read.
• Pennsylvania. Copy fees vary by county class; not confirmed.
• Rhode Island. ri.gov lists which municipalities have land evidence records online (no single statewide search).
• Tennessee. TPAD covers 86 of 95 counties directly and links the others.
• Utah. The statewide parcel layer shows only the owner type, not the name.
• Vermont. VCGI also publishes weekly property transfers that may show more current ownership.
• Virginia. The statewide parcel layer has no owner names; ask the county or city assessor.
• Washington. The statewide parcel layer has no owner names; it links to each county assessor.
• Wisconsin. The parcel map is hosted by UW-Madison (wisc.edu) for the state, not on a .gov domain.
• Wyoming. W.S. 18-3-402 sets a $5 certification fee but no per-page copy fee.

What a property record will and will not tell you

• Owner’s name and mailing address: yes, on the assessor’s tax roll in nearly every state, but some counties hide names online or protect certain owners (judges, police officers and others under laws such as New Jersey’s Daniel’s Law).
• Sale price: usually on the deed or the transfer tax paid, but not in non-disclosure states such as New Mexico and Texas, where deeds do not show the price.
• Mortgages and liens: in the recorder’s index, under the owner’s name. A professional title search checks them in full before a purchase.
• Boundaries: the parcel map is a tax map, not a survey. See land survey cost.