Perry County Deed Records

Perry County deed records are filed with the Register and Recorder in New Bloomfield, Pennsylvania. Wendy Welfley serves as the Register of Wills, Recorder of Deeds, and Clerk of Orphans' Court for the county. The office preserves land records, records military discharges, and collects realty transfer taxes on behalf of the Commonwealth. Searching Perry County deed records can be done in person at the courthouse or online through the Landex system, which has offered free index searching since e-recording began in the county in 2009.

Perry County Deed Records Overview

Perry County was formed in 1820 from Cumberland County, and deed books in the county start from that founding year. The county seat is New Bloomfield, where the Register and Recorder office operates from the Perry County Courthouse at 2 East Main Street. Recorded instruments include deeds, mortgages, releases, easements, and subdivision plats. The Pennsylvania State Archives holds digitized records for the county, including Deed Books from 1820 to 1866 covering volumes A through N, plus grantor and grantee indexes running from 1820 to 1950.

Online access to Perry County deed records is available through landex.com. The Webstore option allows infrequent users to pay per document without setting up an account. Index searching is free, so you can verify what documents exist before committing to a paid download. The Landex system provides 24/7 access to indexed data and document images for records available in digital form. E-recording has been available in Perry County since 2009, with partners including Simplifile, CSC, and EPN.

For FamilySearch researchers, the catalog entry for Perry County includes deed books from 1820 to 1866 and indexes from 1820 to 1950 available on microfilm at the Perry County Courthouse. These historical records are essential for tracing land ownership chains that go back to the county's earliest years.

Perry County Register and Recorder

Wendy Welfley leads the Perry County Register and Recorder office, which combines the roles of Register of Wills, Recorder of Deeds, and Clerk of Orphans' Court into a single office. Chief Deputy Darlene Zeigler and Second Deputy Tiffany Kreps support the office operations. The office is open Monday through Friday from 8:00 AM to 4:00 PM. The recorder acts as an agent for realty transfer tax collection and maintains all land records for the county. Military discharge papers are also accepted and recorded at no fee.

Searching Perry County Deed Records

The Landex Webstore at landex.com/webstore is the primary online tool for searching Perry County deed records. The index search is free. Once you find the record you need, you can add it to your cart, pay a small per-document fee plus a $5.00 processing charge, and download the document immediately in PDF format. This system gives you real-time access to records from the Perry County Recorder's office without having to visit New Bloomfield in person.

The Perry County Register and Recorder page at perryco.org provides office details, recording requirements, and links to online access options. This is the starting point for anyone who needs to file a new deed or retrieve a recorded document.

Landex provides online access to Perry County deed records with free index searching. Documents are available for download after payment through a straightforward four-step process: search, add to cart, checkout, and download.

CourthouseDirect also aggregates Perry County property data. This is a useful secondary resource for researchers who want to cross-reference property records or identify the correct book and page before visiting the courthouse.

The statewide land records portal at pa.uslandrecords.com also covers Perry County. This official Pennsylvania gateway connects searchers to each county's own recording system, including Perry's, and supports searches across all 67 county recorder districts.

Recording and Transfer Requirements

All deeds submitted to the Perry County Recorder must include a proper acknowledgment. The acknowledgment must identify the county and state where signed, the date, and must bear a clear notary signature and stamp. A Certificate of Residence is required for the grantee. Taxable transfers must include a completed Form REV-183 Realty Transfer Tax Statement of Value. The recorder will collect the state's 1% realty transfer tax and any applicable local tax at the time of recording.

Under Pennsylvania's race-notice recording statute at 21 P.S. § 351, the party who records first holds priority over later claimants in Perry County. Prompt recording after closing a real estate transaction is critical to protecting your ownership interest. Use the fee calculator at padeeds.com to estimate recording costs before submitting your deed.

Note: Perry County deed records from 1820 to 1866 have been digitized by the Pennsylvania State Archives and can be accessed through the Archives research portal at no charge for the index.

Historical Perry County Land Records

Perry County's land records go back to its founding year of 1820. The Pennsylvania State Archives holds Deed Books covering volumes A through N for the period 1820 to 1866. Grantor and grantee indexes from 1820 to 1950 allow researchers to trace a complete chain of ownership through nearly 130 years of county history. These records are particularly useful for genealogical research since deed books often name spouses, heirs, and neighboring landowners.

FamilySearch also hosts catalog records for Perry County microfilm, including deed books and indexes. Researchers who cannot travel to New Bloomfield can access many of these records through FamilySearch Family History Centers or through the online catalog at FamilySearch.org. For properties that may trace back before Perry County was formed in 1820, researchers should check Cumberland County records, since that is the parent county from which Perry was created.