How to see what is actually recorded on your home
Three ways to check your own property records, from a free county search to a full title report. What each one shows, what it costs, and how to ask for it. Home Fraud Defense does not sell any of them.
Why you would want to
Deeds, mortgages, liens, and releases are recorded at the county. Anyone can look at them, including you, and most owners never do. Checking your own record is how you find out whether a document was recorded against your property that you did not authorize, whether a loan you paid off was actually released, and whether the county still shows you as the owner.
Free tools, including the Property Visibility Report on this site, are built from county data that counties publish on their own schedules. A document recorded this week can take weeks to appear in that published data. The Property Visibility Report is a good free public-record visibility starting point, but when you need to know what is definitively on recordnow, these are the three ways to find out.
The three options
Your county recorder holds recorded deeds, deeds of trust, liens, and releases. Your county assessor holds ownership and valuation records. This is the source every commercial database is built from, so it is the closest thing to current that the public can reach. Even here there is a short lag, because a newly recorded document has to be indexed before it becomes searchable, usually a few days.
Many counties put both searches online at no charge, by owner name or parcel number. Some still require a visit or a paid subscription. Copies of the documents themselves usually carry a small per page fee.
One limit worth knowing. The recorder is not the only place a claim against you can live. Judgments are often filed with the court clerk, and some tax liens are filed with the state rather than the county. A recorder search alone will not always surface those.
Find your county's recorder and assessor search pages on our State Resources page.
A property profile is a short summary a title agency produces from its own records: current vesting, legal description, sales history, and open loans. Many agencies will run one on request. What is included varies from agency to agency, so ask before you assume it covers liens.
A profile is a courtesy document rather than a title product. It generally carries no guarantee, and agencies typically disclaim responsibility for its contents.
This is a title agency running its own search and giving you a written result. It comes in tiers. An ownership and encumbrance report, usually shortened to O&E, is the light version covering current ownership and what is recorded against the property. A standard title search adds mortgages and a fuller public records check. A preliminary title report is the deep version, covering chain of title, easements, tax status, and the exceptions the agency would take if it were issuing a policy.
Not every agency will open an order for a homeowner with no transaction pending, and product names differ between agencies. Describe what you want to see rather than asking for a product by name.
One thing to understand about a preliminary report. In most states it is treated as an offer to issue a title policy rather than a warranty about the condition of your title, and the agency's responsibility generally arises under the policy, not under the report. It is the most thorough search you can buy short of a commitment, and it is still a report of what was found.
What it costs
Price tracks how deep the search goes, not what the product is called. Two agencies can use the same name for very different amounts of work, so ask what is included before you compare quotes.
| Report | Typical range |
|---|---|
| Ownership and encumbrance report (O&E)Current ownership, basic tax status, property details | $29 – $100 |
| Standard title searchMortgages, basic liens, a standard public records check | $75 – $250 |
| Preliminary title reportChain of title, easements, full encumbrance analysis. The version ordered before a closing. | $275 – $500 |
| New abstract of titleOnly when a complete chronological paper trail has to be newly compiled. Rare for a homeowner check. | $1,000 and up |
Ranges compiled from published figures by Redfin, Rocket Mortgage, HomeLight, Guaranteed Rate, and U.S. Title Records, reviewed September 2026. These quoted ranges are illustrative published estimates that vary by location and agency. Most of those figures describe a search ordered as part of a purchase, where the fee is bundled into closing costs under title services. A homeowner ordering on their own, with no transaction pending, may be quoted differently. Prices vary by state and by agency, so treat these as a starting point and call two or three agencies near you.
What each one shows
| County search | Property profile | Title search or preliminary report | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Current owner of record | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Recorded deeds and transfer history | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| How title is currently held (vesting) | Readable from the deed | Yes | Yes |
| Open mortgages and deeds of trust | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Recorded liens and unpaid taxes | If you know what to search for | Varies by agency | Yes |
| Judgments filed with the court, not the recorder | Usually not | Usually not | In the deeper tiers |
| Easements and chain of title | Readable, with work | No | Yes |
| Exceptions a title company would take | No | No | Yes |
| Cost | Free | Usually free | $29 – $500 |
Contents vary by agency and by state, so confirm what is included before you order. None of these is legal advice, and none of them determines whether anything on the record is fraudulent. County offices are authoritative; no tool can decide whether a record is fraudulent. They tell you what was recorded.
What to say when you call a title agency
Homeowners are not a title agency's usual customer, so the request goes better when it is specific.
"I own a home at [address] in [county]. I am not buying, selling, or refinancing. I want to see what is currently recorded against my property."
"Do you produce a property profile for owners, and what does it include?"
"If I need recorded liens and tax status as well, what would you charge for an ownership and encumbrance report, or for a full preliminary report?"
If the first agency will not open an order without a transaction, ask the next one. Practice varies.
What a title report is not
- It is not a guarantee that your title is clear. It states what the agency found and, in a preliminary report, what it would except from a policy.
- It is not title insurance. A policy is a separate purchase, and in most states that is where the agency's responsibility actually sits.
- It is not legal advice. If something on it concerns you, that is a conversation with a real estate attorney.
- It does not tell you whether a recorded document is fraudulent. It tells you what was recorded.
- It reflects the agency's records as of the date on the report, not the moment you read it.
We name no preferred provider. Any licensed title agency in your area can do this work, and you are free to choose whichever one you want.