How to get a property deed in Philadelphia

Maybe you’re getting ready to sell your house, or maybe you inherited the family seaside cottage from that beloved uncle. But, before you take action, you’re going to need the property deed to the house.

Without a property deed in your name, you don’t really have any legal right or ownership to the home — including when inheriting a property or selling it to someone else. When you have a deed in your name, you can sell the home, apply for mortgages, home repair programs and equity loans, and be eligible for government programs, including real estate tax breaks and utility assistance.

According to James Leonard, the commissioner of records for the city and a real estate lawyer, homeowners should make sure their property’s deed is recorded in their name with the Department of Records.

“For programs that relate to your property, typically folks are going to want to see proof of property ownership,” Leonard said. “In Philadelphia, that’s a real problem, because we know now from a recent study by the Pew Charitable Trusts that we have over 10,000 properties where the deed is not in the heir’s name.”

This is what’s called a tangled title. Meaning that you live in a property that you “own” or have a right to own, but your name is not on the deed. In most cases, this situation occurs when the person whose name is on the deed dies, and the deed is not transferred to a living family member.

Leonard advises that when a deed needs to be recorded or transferred to someone else — it should be prepared by a lawyer, title agent, or real estate professional. However, getting a copy or looking up one in public records is a simple process.

A property deed is an official document that states the rightful owner of a property. The deed is recorded and stored with the county Department of Records.

Deeds are usually three to four pages. A deed states clearly the property address, grantor (the person selling the property), grantee (the person buying the property), the date the deed was recorded, and other identifying information about the property.

Anyone. If you have claim to a property, bought a house, or are selling one, you are able to record deeds at the Department of Records. People in the U.S. who don’t have citizenship can also use the services of the Department of Records — you don’t need ID or a Social Security number to record a deed.

In addition, the people involved with the deed — such as the new and previous owner — don’t need to be present for the recording of a deed. According to Leonard, 93% of the documents being recorded with the department are recorded online and by third-party entities, such as title companies.

When buying, selling, transferring, or updating a deed to a house, it’s the new owner’s responsibility to record this transaction with the Department of Records. Usually a title agent or legal representative will do this on your behalf when you’re finishing up buying or transferring a home.

Keep in mind that even when making changes to a deed or transferring ownership of one, you have to have a new deed recorded.

When recording a deed, it has to be prepared first — which, according to Leonard, involves knowing the ins and outs of state law and understanding the technical requirements of recording a deed. It’s possible for someone to prepare his or her own deed, but mistakes made on the documentation could result in the deed not being recorded or containing errors. This can lead to issues later on.

Have a lawyer, title company, or real estate professional prepare a deed to be recorded for you, according to Leonard.

To transfer a deed from a deceased relative, you have to first probate the deceased person’s will, which is the court-supervised process for finalizing someone’s last will and testament.

Probating a will is a separate process from transferring a deed, which happens at the Register of Wills. A deed can’t be transferred from a deceased person until the will has been probated.

There are a few different costs depending on how you record the deed. You can pay with cash, money order, and business or certified check. Personal checks and credit or debit cards are not accepted.

If you’re transferring a deed between family members — such as a spouse, parent, child, sibling, grandparent or grandchild — you don’t have to pay the realty sales tax.

Keep in mind that you have to make three separate payments: for the recording fees, city tax and state tax. For the recording fees and city tax, make money orders and checks payable to “City of Philadelphia.” For the state tax, make money orders and checks payable to “Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.”

Contact a lawyer, title company, or real estate services organization. The Department of Records refers people to legal assistance on its website. But you can go to any law firm, title or real estate company that offers deed preparation services.

The person preparing your deed will ask you and the other party for information and documents to include in the deed preparation.

Contact Community Legal Services (CLS), Philadelphia Legal Assistance (PLA), or SeniorLAW Center (SLC) to see whether you are eligible for low-cost or free legal services.

If you need help looking for a lawyer, you can use the Philadelphia Bar Association’s referral service.

Your deed is then recorded and will be searchable within the next four weeks.

Deeds are public records — anyone can look up or get a copy of them. The Department of Records has access to records dating to 1973, and the City Archives has records from before 1973.

You can search for and request copies of a deed in-person, online, or by mail.

Provide as much of the following as possible:

If you’re looking for a deed that is from 1973 or earlier, you can call the City Archives at 215-685-9401, email archives.info@phila.gov or visit their office at 548 Spring Garden St.

$2 a page for a copy of a deed, and a flat $2 extra if you want the document certified. You can find out the exact number of pages for the document you are requesting in advance by calling 215-686-2292 or emailing deedcopy.info@phila.gov.

Pay by cash, money order, business or certified check. Make checks and money orders payable to “City of Philadelphia.” Personal checks, credit or debit cards are not accepted. If you overpaid, the Department of Records will notify you and send a form to request a refund for the amount you overpaid.