Ohio Mortgage Release: The 90 Day Rule, the $250 Penalty and Recorder Fees
An Ohio lender must record a mortgage release within 90 days of payoff or owe $250, and more after notice. What the recorder charges and how to read the record.
Quick answer
Ohio Revised Code 5301.36 gives a mortgagee 90 days from satisfaction to record a release with the county recorder. If it does not, the mortgagor and the current owner can recover $250 in damages. After a written notice and 15 more days, damages can reach $100 a day up to $5,000, plus attorneys' fees.
What does the Ohio 90 day mortgage release rule require?
Section 5301.36 of the Ohio Revised Code, titled Entry of satisfaction, sets the deadlines and the penalties.
Ninety days to record the release
Within ninety days from the date of the satisfaction of a mortgage, the mortgagee must record a release evidencing the satisfaction in the appropriate county recorder's office and pay the recording fees. The mortgagee may, by contract with the mortgagor, recover the cost of the recording fees.
$250 in damages
If the mortgagee does not comply, the mortgagor and the current owner of the real property can recover damages of $250 in a civil action. The statute says this does not limit other legal remedies.
A written notice comes next
When the ninety days have run and the release is still not recorded, the current owner has to give the mortgagee written notice, in the form the statute prints, that the release has not been entered of record.
Fifteen more days, then up to $5,000
The statutory notice warns that failure to record the release within 15 days of receiving it may lead to a civil action for reasonable attorneys' fees and costs, plus damages of $100 for each day of noncompliance, not to exceed $5,000 in total.
How does a release or satisfaction show up in Ohio records?
Ohio counties handle satisfactions in one of two ways. Under the statute, a county recorder leaves space on the margin of the record when recording a mortgage, and a satisfaction can be entered there or by the owner of the claim, with the same effect as a recorded release. A recorder who has elected to require every satisfaction to be recorded as a separate instrument under section 5301.28 does not use the margin.
For a title searcher this means a mortgage that looks open in an index may still carry a marginal satisfaction, and a county that uses separate releases will show the release as its own document. A search reads both. A mortgage with neither a marginal entry nor a recorded release is still a lien of record, even if the loan was paid years ago.
The way each county's index cross references documents also differs. The Hamilton County Recorder links many documents to the Auditor's parcel number and cross references a mortgage and its release, with electronic records beginning in 1988 and parcel links in 2003. The Lucas County Recorder's records begin in 1985 and carry marginal notations that connect a mortgage, its assignments and its release. In Delaware County the electronic records begin with deeds from 1978 and mortgages from 1983. Montgomery County's begin in 1980.
What does an Ohio county recorder charge to record a document?
Section 317.32 sets the recorder's fees. For most instruments recorded by photocopy or a similar process, the base fee and a housing trust fund fee are equal.
| Item | Base fee | Housing trust fund fee | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| First two pages | $17 | $17 | $34 |
| Each additional page or fraction | $4 | $4 | $8 |
| Document preservation surcharge | Up to $5, if the county charges it | Up to $5 |
What does that cost on a real closing?
A three page deed costs $34 for the first two pages plus $8 for the third, which is $42 before any preservation surcharge. A twelve page mortgage costs $34 for the first two pages and $8 for each of the ten that follow, which is $34 plus $80, or $114.
A release is usually a short document. A two page release costs $34. That cost is the mortgagee's under section 5301.36(B), unless the mortgagor agreed by contract to reimburse it. The county auditor, not the recorder, collects the real property transfer fee on a conveyance presented to the auditor, which is a separate charge in the same closing.
What should an Ohio title check look for?
Start from the parcel at the county auditor, which keeps the owner of record, the parcel number and the legal description. Then read the county recorder's records for deeds, mortgages, releases and liens. Court judgments are different: a judgment becomes a lien on the debtor's land in a county when a certificate of judgment is filed with the clerk of the court of common pleas, not with the recorder.
HeritageDeed searches the recorder in these Ohio counties: Franklin, Cuyahoga, Hamilton, Montgomery, Lucas, Stark, Greene and Delaware, plus seven smaller counties listed on the Ohio page. It does not search judgment liens, and it does not search delinquent property taxes held by the county treasurer.
Frequently asked questions
- How long does an Ohio lender have to record a mortgage release?
- Ninety days from the date the mortgage is satisfied. Ohio Revised Code 5301.36(B) requires the mortgagee to record the release in the county recorder's office and pay the recording fees.
- What happens if an Ohio lender does not record the release?
- The mortgagor and the current owner can recover $250 in a civil action. After the owner sends the statutory notice and the lender still waits 15 days, the lender can face attorneys' fees plus $100 a day, up to $5,000.
- How much does an Ohio county recorder charge to record a deed?
- Under R.C. 317.32, $34 for the first two pages and $8 for each additional page, made up of a base fee and an equal housing trust fund fee, plus a document preservation surcharge of up to $5 in counties that charge it.
- Who pays to record the mortgage release in Ohio?
- The mortgagee must pay the recording fees. The statute lets the mortgagee recover them from the mortgagor only if the contract between them says so.
- Is a paid mortgage still a lien if no release was recorded in Ohio?
- It remains of record until a release or a marginal satisfaction is entered. The paid loan gives the owner a claim against the lender, but the lien shows in a title search until the record is cleared.
- Where are Ohio judgments recorded?
- A judgment becomes a lien on the debtor's land in a county when a certificate of judgment is filed with the clerk of the court of common pleas of that county under R.C. 2329.02, not with the county recorder.
Legal references
Statutes and rules cited in this article.
- 1Ohio Revised Code 5301.36 (entry of satisfaction)
- 2Ohio Revised Code 5301.28 (satisfaction by separate instrument)
- 3Ohio Revised Code 317.32 (recorder's fees)
- 4Ohio Revised Code 319.54 (auditor's fees on conveyances)
- 5Ohio Revised Code 2329.02 (judgment lien on lands)
Cite this guide
APA
HeritageDeed. (2026, November 10). Ohio Mortgage Release: The 90 Day Rule, the $250 Penalty and Recorder Fees. https://heritagedeed.com/blog/ohio-mortgage-release-90-days-recorder-fees
MLA
“Ohio Mortgage Release: The 90 Day Rule, the $250 Penalty and Recorder Fees.” HeritageDeed, November 10, 2026, heritagedeed.com/blog/ohio-mortgage-release-90-days-recorder-fees.
Link (HTML)
<a href="https://heritagedeed.com/blog/ohio-mortgage-release-90-days-recorder-fees">Ohio Mortgage Release: The 90 Day Rule, the $250 Penalty and Recorder Fees</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.
