Closing costs in Ohio: what buyers and sellers pay

Why there is no single “typical” total

Some closing costs are fixed by a public office: the county conveyance fee and the county recording fee. Others are set by private companies and vary: lender charges, title insurance, escrow or closing fees, surveys, inspections and brokerage compensation. Prorated taxes and insurance deposits depend on the house, the closing date and the loan.

So your total depends mostly on your loan, your contract and your closing date. The variable pieces appear on two federal forms. The lender must give you a Loan Estimate within three business days of receiving your application, on a standard form every lender must use. You must receive the Closing Disclosure at least three business days before you close (Consumer Financial Protection Bureau). For a walk-through of each line, see closing costs explained.

Line by line: what each cost is

Lender charges. Origination, appraisal, credit report and underwriting fees are set by the lender and the companies it hires. No Ohio rate table applies. Compare them across lenders on the Loan Estimate.

Conveyance fee and transfer tax. The county auditor collects these on the deed. Franklin County’s calculator lists $3 per $1,000 of the sale price: $1 set by the State of Ohio and $2 set by the Franklin County Board of Commissioners. The minimum is $3, and non-exempt transfers also carry a $0.50 transfer tax. If the seller (grantor) receives the homestead exemption at the time of transfer, the fee drops to $1 per $1,000. Details are on our Ohio transfer tax page.

Recording fees. The Franklin County Recorder lists $34 for the first two pages and $8 for each additional page, plus $20 if a document does not meet the standardization requirements and $4 for each marginal reference indexed. The fees are set under Ohio Revised Code § 317.32, as the Recorder’s page notes. Other counties set their own schedules, so check the county where the home sits.

Title insurance and escrow. I found no official Ohio schedule of title premiums, so none is quoted here. Ask each title company for a written quote, and compare it with the title charges on your Loan Estimate. See title insurance explained.

Attorney, survey and inspection. These are priced by each provider. See what a land survey costs and home inspection cost. Whether you need an attorney is covered in Ohio real estate attorney.

Prepaids and prorations. Franklin County collects real estate taxes a year in arrears: the 2026 tax year, for example, is collected in 2027 (Franklin County Auditor). How the buyer and seller split the current year’s tax is set by your contract. If your lender requires tax and insurance reserves, they fund your escrow account. For the bill itself, see Ohio property tax.

Who pays what in Ohio

The sources I read do not assign these costs by statute or by an official statewide contract form, so the purchase contract controls. The one hint in public sources is the conveyance fee: Franklin County ties its reduced rate to the grantor’s homestead status, which points to the seller as the party charged. On brokerage compensation, see real estate commission.