You are NOT on the Lancaster County official website, you are on Deeds.com, a private website that is not affiliated with any government agency.
NOTICE: Due to a burst water pipe at the government center, the Lancaster Recorder's Office is temporarily closed while repairs are made. The Recording Office has temporarily re-located to the Planning Department on the 3rd Floor. The staff are now working from home June 5–7 and are eRecording at this time.
The Lancaster County Recorder of Deeds is responsible for recording and maintaining the real property documents for the county.
Recording Fees
The base fee for recording a deed or mortgage is $70.25 for the first four pages. Note: Statement of Value is counted as an additional page when determining recording fees.
The base fee for most other documents is $58.75 for the first four pages.
BASE fee for other miscellaneous documents
maximum of 4 pages
Powers of Attorney, and Deputations is $18.50
Each individual page, after the first four, is $2. Each additional name after the first four is 50 cents.
No refunds will be given in this office.
Certifications of a document are $10 and copies are 25 cents a page. Service Charge $5
If you have questions about recording fees and realty transfer taxes due upon recording, contact the Lancaster County Recorder of Deeds at 717-299-8238.
Document Formatting Requirements
* All documents submitted for recording must be accompanied by a document cover sheet generated on the Lancaster County Recorder of Deeds website. An e-mail address should be included on the cover sheet so that recording information can be e-mailed back to the submitter.
* Documents must be legible and should be able to be reproduced digitally. Do not use staples for your document. If it cannot be reproduced, it will be sent back to the submitter. This will bring about a $5 re-submission fee.
* The document must be acknowledged by a notary public. The acknowledgement date cannot predate the execution date of the document.
* The acknowledgement must include the state, county, date, persons/corporate officers appearing, notary signature, and the notary expiration date. The use of the notary seal is now optional for Pennsylvania acknowledgements. The acknowledgement will be considered defective if any of the above requirements are missing. The notary stamp must be legible, and clear and free from any writing or typing. It is a violation of Chapter 12 of the Pennsylvania Notary Law to write or type any information on the Notary Stamp.
* If a document is for property in more than one locality, it must state the percentage (in whole numbers) of the division of local transfer tax.
* Numerical amounts must match written amounts on deeds and mortgages.
* A certified grantee/mortgage address, including Zip code, is needed for deeds and mortgages. For this purpose, a P.O. Box is not accepted; however, a deed or mortgage may note that taxes are to be mailed to a P.O. Box.
* The Tax Parcel ID numbers with District Code must appear on all deeds.
* Unless an exemption is clearly stated in a deed, a transfer tax and/or a Statement of Value form must accompany all transfers, including an easement. The Statement of Value form must be fully completed. It counts toward the total page count of a document.
* If foreign language documents are submitted for recordation, they must include written English translations that will be recorded along with the document.
* For documents that refer back to an original document, the book and page number of the original mortgage or deed must be referenced on the new instrument.
* If multiple documents are being used to constitute one transaction, the proper order in which they are to be recorded must be clearly identified. Any re-recording fees resulting from an improper order of documents will be paid for by the party submitting the instruments for recording.
* A return name and address must be listed on the document.
Re-Recorded and Corrective Documents
* Re-recorded documents must have new acknowledgements, and an explanation of the reasons for re-recording must be supplied.
* A corrective deed must include a Statement of Value and an explanation of why the deed is being corrected.
* If an incorrect property location is given in the legal description of a deed and transfer tax is collected, it is the submitter's responsibility to record the deed with the correct location. The customer must pay the correct real estate transfer tax, and is also responsible for obtaining a refund from the municipality, school district, and state.