Recording Requirements

This list may not be comprehensive.

Every document MUST be accompanied by a cover page generated on our website. Please adhere to our NO STAPLES policy.

  1. Notary acknowledgment dates cannot predate the document date.
  2. Notary acknowledgments must include the following: state, county, date, persons/corporate officers appearing, notary signature, and the notary expiration date. The use of the notary seal is optional for PA notaries. If any of the above are missing, the acknowledgment will be considered defective.
  3. The notary stamp must be clear and legible. Writing or typing information on the stamp is a violation of Chapter 12 of the PA Notary Law.
  4. All documents must indicate municipality, county, and state where the property is located.
  5. Documents presented for recording with property in more than one municipality must clearly state in the document the percentage, in whole numbers, of the division of local transfer taxes.
  6. Numerical amounts must match written amounts on deeds and mortgages.
  7. Deeds, mortgages, and assignments are required to have a signed certified grantee/mortgagee address with a zip code. For deeds, P.O. boxes may not be used as certified addresses. However, you may note that tax bills should be mailed to a P.O. box.
  8. The tax parcel ID numbers with district code must appear on all deeds.
  9. Transfer taxes and/or the Statement of Value forms must accompany all transfers unless exemption is clearly stated in the deed, such as for family transfers. The Department of Revenue requires that statement of value form(s) must be fully completed, and this will count as a page to the document count.  Realty Transfer Tax Statement of Value Form
  10. Statements of Value must be submitted with easement agreements and are included in the page total.
  11. All foreign language documents must include written English translations to be recorded along with the original document.
  12. Checks submitted for payment of taxes and fees must be in the correct amount. NO REFUNDS WILL BE GIVEN! Returned checks will be charged a $25.00 fee.
  13. Personal checks are not accepted for amounts over $75.00 and are not accepted for the payment of transfer tax. Cash, certified checks, corporate checks, money orders, and credit cards are accepted to record documents. Please keep in mind a 2.5% fee for all credit card transactions over $50.00 and $1 for all transactions under $50 will apply.
  14. Re-recorded documents must-have new acknowledgments and an explanation as to why they are being re-recorded. A corrective or confirmatory deed must include a Statement of Value and an explanation as to why the deed is being corrected. Please attach a complete copy of the old deed to be corrected or confirmed.
  15. Book and page numbers/instrument numbers of mortgages must appear on all documents that refer back to the original document.
  16. Multiple documents constituting one transaction must be prepared in the proper order for recording. Any re-recording expenses resulting from an improper order of documents will be paid for by the party submitting the instruments for recording. Please limit multiple documents to a maximum of 10 documents per transaction.
  17. This office does not accept blanket assignments or blanket releases for recording.
  18. If a customer recites the incorrect property location in the legal description of a deed and transfer tax is collected, it is the responsibility of the customer to record the deed with the correct location. THE CUSTOMER MUST PAY THE CORRECT REAL ESTATE TRANSFER TAX, AND IS RESPONSIBLE FOR OBTAINING A REFUND FROM THE MUNICIPALITY, SCHOOL DISTRICT, AND STATE IF INCORRECT.
  19. All documents submitted by mail or a courier service are required to have a self-addressed, stamped envelope with sufficient postage and be the correct size for the documents to be returned.
  20. We do NOT accept blank checks.
  21. Where no fee is specified, the fee shall be set by the Recorder of Deeds.
  22. It is the responsibility of the submitter to ensure that no personal information (i.e. Social Security Numbers, bank account or loan numbers, etc.) appear on documents. Documents containing personal information may be redacted at the discretion of the Recorder.
  23. If the document has satisfied the recording requirements and all fees and taxes are paid, we will accept the document for recording.