Frequently Asked Questions

Our records begin in 1784. We were part of Westmoreland County before that date.

The following types of documents are recorded in our office:

• Adjudications
• Agreements including Easement, Right of Way, Oil and Gas, and other types of agreements
• All Deeds
• All Mortgages, including mortgage assignments, extensions, releases, and postponements
• Articles of Agreement for sale of land
• Charters of non-profit corporations
• Declarations of trust
• Decrees awarding real estate or quieting titles to real estate
• Election to take against will
• Leases
• Military Services Discharges (DD-214)
• Notice of Bankruptcy
• Oath, bond and commission for notaries public, county officers and all others who receive their commissions for the State
• Plans
• Powers of Attorney
• Releases
• Satisfaction Pieces
• Secured Transactions
• Severance agreements

For a complete list of documents and recording fees, visit our Fee Schedule page.

All papers presented to us for recording must be original documents, properly executed, signed, dated and acknowledged before a Notary Public with the notary’s signature and date of expiration of the commission, before they can be accepted for recording. The use of a embossed notary seal is now optional for PA acknowledgements. All recordings fees and transfer taxes are payable at the time of recording.

If the document has met all the necessary requirements, the office will accept it for recording. It will be assigned an Instrument Number, a Volume and Page number. The document will also be printed with the time of recording, price, and other information. The instrument, volume and page number will be printed on each page. Then the recorder’s certification will be stamped on the document as well. Receipts are issued at the time of recording.

If the necessary requirements have not been met, the document will be rejected for recording until it is corrected. View a complete list of recording requirements. Please note that the recording of any document is not an approval of the contents of that document. The Recorder’s Office merely records what is presented to us and in no way do we certify that the contents are correct.

When documents have been officially recorded, they are scanned and indexed into the office’s computer system. Documents are then available to the public on our public search stations that are located in the office. Documents recorded before January 1, 2001 are available in books in the office. Learn more about accessing these documents online.

The original documents are returned to the address that is noted on the document at the time of recording. Documents are returned after all necessary recording procedures have been completed.

Yes. Our index and images are now available for most documents using the U.S. Land Records website. The index for most documents from 1950 to present is a free search. The images for most documents from 1950 to present are a pay per access service.

You are welcome to come into the office for copies. They are 50 cents per page. You can print a copy for most documents from 1975 to present using the search stations available in the office. You will pick up the copy from our staff. They will also be available to make copies of the records prior to 1975.

In 2017 we added the Archive Viewer to our public stations and online as explained above. Certified copies are 50 cents per page, plus $3 for the certification.

In the recorder of deeds office we index by name. We have a legal description and municipality also indexed. The physical address or the tax assessment parcel number is not usually on the documents.

We suggest you visit the Fayette County Tax Assessment Property Search webpage, and for current information, visit the Tax Assessment Office Mapping Room, or call them at 724-430-1350, ext. 229.

We do have plans in the Recorder of Deeds Office. Plans are indexed by the property owner's name and municipality. Not everyone has a plan, subdivision, survey or map filed in our office. Please visit the Fayette County Tax Assessment Property Search webpage, and for current information, visit the Tax Assessment Office Mapping Room, or call them at 724-430-1350, ext. 229.

Once you have found your information at the Assessment Office, make sure you have a list of names of the surrounding property owners, the Deed Book and Page numbers or Record Book and Page numbers of those deeds so you can continue to search in our office.

Subdivisions are recorded in our office. We will be glad to show you how to use our indexes to look at the ones on file. Other questions not dealing with recorded subdivisions can be directed to Planning Zoning and Community Development. You can visit the Office of Planning, Zoning and Community Development on the fourth floor of Fayette County Courthouse, or call at 724-430-1210.

We do not file liens or judgments in our office, but we do record mortgages that might be part of what you are looking for. The information you can view in our office will include the name of the person, the institution they borrowed from, the amount they borrowed, what property the mortgage is on, and if the mortgage is satisfied. To find information on a lien or judgment, visit the Prothonotary's Office on the first floor of the Fayette County Courthouse, or call the office at 724-430-1272.