Grantor-Grantee Index: What It Is and How to Search It Step by Step
The grantor-grantee index is the county's name index of recorded property transfers. See how it works, how to search it and what it misses, step by step.
Quick answer
A grantor-grantee index is the county recorder's name index of recorded documents. It lists each document under the grantor, the person giving, and the grantee, the person receiving. A title searcher looks up a name to find the deeds, mortgages and other documents that name them, then follows each link back in the chain of title.
What is a grantor-grantee index?
It is "a tool used by most counties in the United States to record the transferring of property ownership." The grantor-grantee index is the official documentation of land transfers, and courts look to these indexes to see who owns property.
The two roles are simple. A grantor "is a person who transfers an interest in real property either by gift or by sale," and the party who receives the interest is the grantee.
Despite the name, the index lists more than deeds. Mortgages, releases, assignments, liens and many other documents are indexed by the parties named in them. That is why it is the main tool of a title search: you start with a name and find every recorded document that mentions it.
Definition
Grantor-grantee index — The county recorder's index that lists recorded documents by the names of the parties, under the grantor (the person giving or conveying) and the grantee (the person receiving).
How does a grantor-grantee index work?
Every document the recorder accepts is entered in the index under each party. The grantor side answers the question "what did this person give away?" The grantee side answers "what did this person receive?" Together they let you move through time: find who received the property, then find what that person later gave away.
Historically the index was a physical set of volumes, with transfers grouped by year and by name so that transfers can be properly researched. In recent years indexes have become digital and are organized in a variety of ways. Many counties still keep both formats side by side.
The recorder indexes what it is given. In general, a recorder files documents that meet its form requirements and does not rule on whether they are valid. The index is a map to documents, not a ruling on who owns what.
What does a grantor-grantee search screen look like?
County systems differ in layout, but the logic is the same. The table shows the fields a typical party-name search uses and what each result tells you.
| Field or result | What it means | Typical detail |
|---|---|---|
| Party type | Grantor or grantee | Searched one role at a time |
| Name | Last name first, then first name | Names are indexed in that order |
| Minimum length | A short name may not search | Many indexes require at least three characters |
| Document category | Narrow by type, or leave open to cover all | A category, or all types |
| Date range | Limit the years, or cover everything | A blank range covers the entire index |
| Result marker: (To) or (From) | Whether the name is the grantee or the grantor | (To) means the name is the grantee, (From) the grantor |
| Record date and document type | When it was recorded and what kind of document it is | Shown for each entry |
How far back does the index go?
It depends on the county. In Nevada County, California, the electronic index of recorded documents dates back to 1987, and the index of earlier documents is available in the Recorder's office on microfilm. A search that has to cross that line has to leave the electronic index.
Sonoma County, California draws its line at 1964. Documents recorded from January 1964 to the present are indexed and imaged in its computerized system, while earlier documents are indexed in handwritten books, with grantor and grantee indexes for locating older documents.
A title search that begins with a clean electronic index can hit this wall midway through a chain. The first link back may sit in a handwritten volume, and the searcher has to read it page by page. See how long a title search takes for how that affects the time.
How to search a grantor-grantee index, step by step
Start with the current owner as grantee
Search the owner's name as grantee to find the vesting deed, the document that put them on title. Note the grantor, the recording date and the book and page or instrument number.
Read the deed and copy the legal description
Open the deed image to confirm the parcel and the legal description. A name match is only a lead until the description matches the property.
Go back: search each grantor as grantee
Take the grantor on that deed and search that name as grantee to find how they got the property. Repeat until you reach your chosen starting point. This builds the chain of title.
Go forward: search each owner as grantor
For every owner in the chain, search their name as grantor from the date they took title. This finds deeds out, mortgages, liens and other documents they signed while they owned the property.
Match each mortgage to a release
For each mortgage, look for a recorded release or satisfaction. A mortgage with no release in the index may still be open.
Search name variations
Repeat with other spellings, initials, suffixes such as Jr. and Sr., maiden names and the names of any trust or company that held title.
What does a grantor-grantee index miss?
A name index finds only what is filed under the name you type. A misspelled name, an initial where the full name was written, a married name or a company that was renamed can hide a document. A common name returns many unrelated results that you have to filter by date and legal description.
It also depends on what was recorded. The gap is real: "If you purchase property but it is not inserted into the index, another person could purchase the same property and record it with the county." A deed that was signed but never recorded is invisible to the index.
And it shows only the period the index covers. Documents before the county's digital period may not be searchable by name at all. For more on what a search can and cannot show, see what an automated title search misses.
A name match is not a property match
How many documents go into a name index?
Large counties index a very large number of documents every year. In New York City, the documents recorded between October 1, 2025 and September 30, 2026 included 58,106 deeds, 46,288 mortgages, 41,299 satisfactions of mortgage and 26,681 assignments of mortgage. Each of those entries names at least two parties, so each adds rows to a name index.
That volume is why searchers narrow by document type and date range, and why an automated search uses the parcel identifier where the county has one. A name alone returns more than a person can read.
Where HeritageDeed fits
HeritageDeed reports the deeds, mortgages and liens recorded on a property in the counties on the title search coverage page. A report costs $49. In counties where the clerk indexes by name, a report ties each document to the property and marks any document it could link only by name. It is not title insurance and not legal advice.
Key takeaways
Key takeaways
- A grantor-grantee index lists recorded documents by the names of the parties, the person giving and the person receiving.
- Most counties use one, and courts look to it as the official documentation of land transfers.
- Search the owner as grantee to find the vesting deed, then each grantor as grantee to go back, and each owner as grantor to find mortgages and liens.
- Index coverage varies: Nevada County, CA goes back to 1987 and Sonoma County, CA to 1964, with earlier records on microfilm or in handwritten books.
- A name index misses misspelled names, unrecorded deeds and pre-digital records, so confirm each hit against the legal description.
- Large counties record tens of thousands of deeds and mortgages a year, so narrow by type and date.
Frequently asked questions
- What is a grantor-grantee index?
- It is the county recorder's index of recorded documents by the names of the parties. Documents are listed under the grantor, who gives or conveys, and the grantee, who receives. Most counties use it, and courts look to it as the official documentation of land transfers.
- What is the difference between a grantor index and a grantee index?
- The grantor index lists documents under the person who gave or transferred an interest, and the grantee index lists them under the person who received it. Searching the grantee index finds how someone got a property, and searching the grantor index finds what they later transferred, mortgaged or signed.
- How do I search a grantor-grantee index?
- Choose grantor or grantee, enter the name, usually last name first, and add a date range or document type if you can. In many indexes a (To) result means the name searched is the grantee and a (From) result means it is the grantor. A HeritageDeed title search runs these name searches for you.
- How far back does an electronic grantor-grantee index go?
- It varies by county. Nevada County, California's index dates back to 1987 and earlier records are on microfilm in the office. Sonoma County, California indexes by computer from January 1964 and earlier records are in handwritten index books. Ask your county recorder for its start date.
- Does the grantor-grantee index show mortgages and liens?
- Yes. Mortgages, releases, assignments, liens and other recorded documents are indexed under the parties named in them, not just deeds. Check how your county labels the parties, because the borrower is often listed as the grantor on a mortgage and the lender as the grantee.
- Can a grantor-grantee index be wrong or incomplete?
- It can miss documents that were misspelled, indexed under a different name or never recorded. A purchase that is not inserted into the index can be defeated by a later buyer who records first. The index shows what was recorded, not what is valid.
- Is a grantor-grantee index the same as a title search?
- No. The index is the tool, and a title search is the work of using it to follow a property's chain of title, check mortgages and liens, and read the documents. A search also confirms each hit against the legal description, which a name index alone cannot do.
Cite this guide
APA
HeritageDeed. (2026, October 17). Grantor-Grantee Index: What It Is and How to Search It Step by Step. https://heritagedeed.com/blog/grantor-grantee-index
MLA
“Grantor-Grantee Index: What It Is and How to Search It Step by Step.” HeritageDeed, October 17, 2026, heritagedeed.com/blog/grantor-grantee-index.
Link (HTML)
<a href="https://heritagedeed.com/blog/grantor-grantee-index">Grantor-Grantee Index: What It Is and How to Search It Step by Step</a> (HeritageDeed)HeritageDeed provides public-record search reports only. Reports do not constitute title insurance, an attorney opinion of title, or a title insurance commitment.
