How to Find the Deed to Your House and Get a Copy
Where the deed to your house is recorded, how to search for it by name or parcel when you only have an address, and what plain and certified copies cost.
Quick answer
Your deed is recorded with the county office that keeps land records where the house sits: the recorder, county clerk, clerk of court or register of deeds. Look up the parcel and owner at the assessor, search the recording office's index by owner name or parcel, then order a copy. Certified copies cost more than plain ones.
What is the deed to your house, and who keeps it?
The CFPB describes it simply: "When you purchase your home, you receive a document usually called a deed, which shows the seller transferred their legal ownership, or "title" to their home, to you" (CFPB, What is owner's title insurance?).
Two things are worth separating. The paper you were handed at or after closing is the original. The county's recorded copy is the public record, and it is what everyone else relies on. If you cannot find your original, you have not lost your house: the recorded copy is still there, and a certified copy of it serves most purposes. Our deed vs title guide explains why the deed is evidence of ownership rather than ownership itself.
If you have a mortgage, the deed is still in your name. The lender's interest is a separate recorded document, the mortgage or deed of trust, which is released once the loan is paid.
Definition
Deed — The signed document that transfers ownership of real property from the seller (grantor) to the buyer (grantee). Once recorded, a copy becomes part of the county land records.
How do you find the deed to your house, step by step?
Identify the county and its recording office
Deeds are recorded in the county where the land sits. The office has different names: county recorder, county clerk, clerk of the circuit court, or register of deeds. Our guide to what a county recorder does explains the variations.
Look up your parcel at the assessor or appraisal district
Enter your address in the assessor's property search. Note the parcel number, the owner name exactly as recorded, and any deed book and page or document number listed for the last sale. That reference often takes you straight to the deed.
Search the recording office index
Search by your name as grantee (the person receiving title), by parcel number where the county indexes one, or by the book and page you found. Narrow by the year you bought the house.
Open the image and check it is the right document
Confirm the legal description, the parties and the recording date. A purchase can produce several documents on the same day, such as the deed and a mortgage. You want the deed.
Download or order a copy
Many offices sell plain copies online per page. For court, a lender or an agency that asks for one, order a certified copy.
Can you search property deeds by address?
Rarely directly. Recording offices index by names and recording data, not street addresses. The Cook County Clerk says that "Recorded land records can be retrieved by searching for PIN, grantor, grantee, and by other indexed detail" (Cook County Clerk, Recordings). In Florida, the statute that puts every county's official records index online limits that index to "grantor and grantee names, party names, date, book and page number, comments, and type of record" (Fla. Stat. 28.2221).
That is why the assessor step comes first. The assessor works by address and parcel and usually shows the owner, so it gives you the name or reference that the recording office can search. For finding the owner of someone else's property, see how to find out who owns a property.
How much does a copy of a deed cost?
Fees are set by statute or by each office. Examples we read on 2026-10-04:
| Where | Plain copy | Certified copy |
|---|---|---|
| Harris County, Texas (County Clerk, online) | $0.10 per page purchased; searching the index is free | $5.00 certification plus $1.00 for up to 10 pages and $0.10 per page after, per document |
| Florida (clerk of the circuit court) | $1.00 per page for standard-size pages | Plus $2.00 per page to certify a non-court record |
| North Carolina (register of deeds) | Set by each register and posted in the office | $5.00 for the first page, $2.00 for each additional page |
Do you need a certified copy of your deed?
Usually not for your own reference. The Harris County Clerk defines the two: "A noncertified copy is a duplicate of an original document that has been recorded in the County Clerk's Office," while a certified copy is one the clerk, as official custodian, certifies as part of the official public records (Harris County Clerk, Document Search Portal FAQ).
Ask for a certified copy when a court, a government agency or a lender asks for one. Online images also carry limits. Florida's statute says information retrieved electronically under its online access law is not admissible in court as an authenticated document unless another law provides otherwise, and Durham County, North Carolina, notes that its online database is provided for convenience while the certified record is at the Register of Deeds office (Durham County Register of Deeds).
Are deeds public record?
Yes. Recording a deed is what makes it public, and anyone can search the index and buy a copy. Some information is protected: Florida requires county recorders to keep certain exempt home addresses out of the online index, and Harris County does not show restricted documents online. The deed itself remains in the official record.
Public access cuts both ways. Anyone can see your deed, and anyone can try to record a fake one. Some counties offer alerts: Durham County, North Carolina, for example, runs a Recording Notification Service that emails residents when documents are recorded in their name (Durham County, Real Estate Records).
Finding the deed is not checking the title
Key takeaways
Key takeaways
- Your deed is recorded in the county where the house sits, with the recorder, clerk or register of deeds.
- Recording offices index by name and recording data, so start at the assessor to get the owner name and parcel.
- A lost original is not a problem in itself; the recorded copy is the public record.
- Plain copies cost little, such as $0.10 a page online in Harris County; certified copies cost more, such as $5 plus $2 a page in North Carolina.
- If you have a mortgage, the deed is still yours; the lender holds a separate recorded mortgage or deed of trust.
Frequently asked questions
- Where can I get a copy of the deed to my house?
- From the county office that records land documents where the house sits, usually online or at the counter. Search the index by your name or parcel number, then buy a plain copy or order a certified one.
- When you have a mortgage, who holds the deed?
- You do. The deed puts title in your name. The lender's claim is a separate recorded mortgage or deed of trust, which is released when the loan is paid.
- What if I lost the original deed to my house?
- Ownership does not depend on the paper you hold. The recorded copy is the public record, and you can order a certified copy from the recording office if you need proof for a court, agency or lender.
- Can I find a deed online for free?
- Often you can search the index for free; the Harris County Clerk, for example, charges nothing to search its electronic index. Viewing or downloading images may require registration or a per-page fee, depending on the county.
- How do I look up a property deed by address?
- Use the assessor's property search to turn the address into a parcel number and owner name, and note any deed book and page it shows. Then search the recording office index by that name, parcel or book and page.
- Is the deed the same as the title?
- No. The deed is the document that transfers ownership; title is the ownership itself. Checking whether the title is clear means also looking at mortgages, liens and the chain of earlier deeds.
Sources
Primary records and official documentation cited in this article.
- 1CFPB, What is owner's title insurance?
- 2Cook County Clerk, Recordings
- 3The Florida Senate, Fla. Stat. 28.2221 Electronic access to official records
- 4The Florida Senate, Fla. Stat. 28.24 Service charges by clerk of the circuit court
- 5Harris County Clerk, Document Search Portal FAQ
- 6North Carolina General Assembly, G.S. 161-10 Uniform fees of registers of deeds
- 7Durham County Register of Deeds, Online Public Records Search
- 8Durham County Register of Deeds, Real Estate Records
HeritageDeed provides public-record search reports only. Reports do not constitute title insurance, an attorney opinion of title, or a title insurance commitment.