Snohomish County Recorder Information

Land records in Snohomish County are recorded by the County Auditor. The office is held by Garth Fell.

Beginning March 2, 2026, a free account is required to access the online recorded documents search. Most documents recorded since July 1976 are available online; documents recorded before 1976 are on microfilm at the Customer Service Center. An $8 per-hour search fee may apply for pre-1976 documents or when significant staff time is required.

Checked September 2026 against official publications. Sources: RCW Chapter 36.22 County auditor · About the Auditor's Office · Search Recorded Documents

These government fees are separate from any Deeds.com service fees. Confirm current charges with the recorder's office.

Added at recording

Other charges

Fee schedule effective July 27, 2025.

StatewideCertified copies: first page 8.5 x 14 inches or less, $3; each additional page, $1. Multiple transactions in one instrument: each title or transaction requiring separate indexing is charged the first-page fee; additional page fees are collected only once. Plats: 50 cents per lot (cemetery plats 25 cents per lot), plus $1 for each acknowledgment, dedication, and description, minimum $25 per plat. Searching records: $8 per hour. A cover sheet is charged as an additional page.

Assignment Deed of Trust; Substitution or Appointment of Trustee; Resignation and Appointment of Successor Trustee: $301.00, each additional page $1.00, each additional title or reference number $301.00. City, State or County Lien or Release of Lien: $18.00. Water, Sewer or Wage Lien or Release of Lien: $18.00. Employment Security Lien or Release of Lien: $15.00. Name Change Order: $203.50. Military Separation Record (DD-214): no fee. Plat, Short Plat, Condominium, Binding Site Plan, Amendment (18" x 24"): $423.50; map return fee $3.50. Survey or Amendment To Survey (18" x 24"): $423.50, each additional page $5.00, each additional owner's name $1.00 (Snohomish County Code Ch 4.32.010). Affidavit of Boundary Line Adjustment: $403.50, each additional page $1.00. Label indicating a Conformed Copy: $1.00 per label.

Paying the office

By mail: check, money order, or cashier's check, with the exact recording fee. In person: check, money order, Visa, or Mastercard. Recurring or frequent customers may establish an escrow account to draw fees from.

Transfer tax

Real estate excise tax (state). 1.1 percent of the portion of the selling price that is less than or equal to five hundred thousand dollars; 1.28 percent of the portion greater than five hundred thousand dollars and equal to or less than one million five hundred thousand dollars; 2.75 percent of the portion greater than one million five hundred thousand dollars and equal to or less than three million dollars; three percent of the portion greater than three million dollars. Timberland or agricultural land: 1.28 percent of the selling price. Thresholds are adjusted every fourth year by the Department of Revenue. The tax is collected when the document is recorded. (statewide, RCW 82.45.060)

StatewideThe Department of Revenue publishes adjusted selling price thresholds for the state graduated rates: through December 31, 2026, $525,000 or less at 1.10%, $525,000.01 - $1,525,000 at 1.28%, $1,525,000.01 - $3,025,000 at 2.75%, $3,025,000.01 or more at 3%; for sales beginning January 1, 2027, $551,000, $1,551,000, and $3,051,000. REET is due and payable to the county treasurer in the county where the property is located. A $5.00 state technology fee is applied to the total due for every transfer, and an additional $5.00 affidavit processing fee is applied if an exemption is claimed. Counties and cities may add a local real estate excise tax under chapter 82.46 RCW, including a rate not exceeding 0.25 percent of the selling price (RCW 82.46.010(2)) and, in lieu of the tax in RCW 82.14.030(2), an additional rate not exceeding 0.5 percent (RCW 82.46.010(3)).

Snohomish County levies an excise tax on each sale of real property in the unincorporated areas of the county at the rate of one-quarter of one percent of the selling price, and an additional excise tax at the rate of one-quarter of one percent of the selling price (Snohomish County Code 4.12.005). Collected by the Snohomish County Treasurer, which reviews conveyance documents before recording.

Checked September 2026 against the sources below. Some of them are not official publications, so confirm with the recorder's office. Sources: RCW Chapter 36.22 County auditor · RCW 36.18.010 Auditor's fees · RCW 65.04.048 Additional fee for certain documents not meeting requirements · RCW 82.45.060 Tax on sale of property · Real estate excise tax | Washington Department of Revenue · Snohomish County Auditor Schedule of Fees, Effective July 27, 2025 · Record a Document · 4.12.005 Real estate excise tax | Snohomish County Code

Confirm current requirements with the recorder's office before submitting documents.

StatewideAn instrument may be recorded if a minor portion of a notary seal, incidental writing, or minor portion of a signature extends beyond the margins. First page: one-inch margin on the bottom and sides.

StatewideThe first page must show, immediately below the three-inch top margin, the title or titles of the instrument; reference numbers of documents assigned or released; the names of the grantor(s) and grantee(s); and an abbreviated legal description (lot, block, plat, or section, township, range, and quarter/quarter section), each with a page reference where additional information appears. No attachments, except firmly attached bar code or address labels, may be affixed to the pages. Instruments, except those generated by governmental agencies, may not contain a social security number, a date of birth identified with a particular person, or the maiden name of a person's parent so as to be identified with a particular person. Documents that do not meet legibility requirements must not be recorded as a nonstandard recording; an emergency nonstandard recording requires a cover sheet and a signed statement.

If a document does not meet standards, the Recording Division returns it for reformatting. The first page must include the assessor's property tax parcel or account number, listed separately from the legal description and other text.

Forms filed along with a transfer

• Real Estate Excise Tax Affidavit Statewide Washington Department of Revenue (filed with the county treasurer)
  Generally, whenever there is a transfer of ownership or title to real property by conveyance, deed, grant, assignment, quitclaim, or any other document that results in a transfer

Submitting documents

Certain conveyance-type documents, including but not limited to deeds, easements, and transfer on death deeds, must be reviewed by the Snohomish County Treasurer's Office to determine whether excise tax is due prior to recording. The Treasurer's Office hours of operation differ from the Auditor's Office. eRecording submitters charge an additional fee.

Checked September 2026 against official publications. Sources: Real estate excise tax | Washington Department of Revenue · RCW 65.04.045 Recorded instruments—Requirements · RCW 65.04.047 Recorded instruments—Cover sheet · Record a Document · Document Format Requirements