Philadelphia County Deed Records

Philadelphia County deed records are managed by the Philadelphia Department of Records rather than a traditional Recorder of Deeds. Philadelphia is a consolidated city-county, so one office handles all real estate document recording for the entire county. Deeds, mortgages, satisfactions, releases, and easements are all filed here. You can search Philadelphia deed records online through the PhilaDox portal, which covers documents from 1974 to the present. Historical records going back to the late 17th century are also available. In-person access is at City Hall, Room 154.

Philadelphia County Deed Records Overview

Philadelphia has some of the oldest deed records in the United States. The city's land records date to the late 17th century, reflecting its role as the original capital of Pennsylvania and one of the first major cities in the American colonies. The Philadelphia Department of Records maintains all real estate instruments for the county, including deeds, mortgages, satisfactions, releases, easements, notary commissions, and military discharge papers. Because Philadelphia is a consolidated city-county, no separate county government exists, and the Department of Records serves the entire jurisdiction.

Philadelphia's local realty transfer tax rate is 3.278%, the highest in Pennsylvania. Combined with the state's 1% transfer tax, total transfer taxes on a Philadelphia deed can reach over 4%. This applies to most taxable transfers of real property within the city limits. The Department of Records collects these taxes at the time of recording. Exemptions follow the same rules as the rest of Pennsylvania, covering family transfers, charitable conveyances, and corrective deeds under the statewide regulations.

Under Pennsylvania's race-notice recording statute at 21 P.S. § 351, recording your deed promptly in Philadelphia is essential. The first party to record a valid deed in good faith holds priority over later claimants. With a high volume of real estate activity in the city, delays in recording can create legal risk for buyers and lenders alike.

Philadelphia Department of Records

The Philadelphia Department of Records is the city's official custodian of real estate documents. The office at City Hall, Room 154, accepts in-person filings and record requests Monday through Friday from 8:30 AM to 3:30 PM. You can also request documents by mail or order copies online. The Department does not accept personal checks. Debit and credit cards are accepted for in-person and online transactions, subject to a 3.5% convenience fee. Copies made in person cost $2.00 per page for unofficial copies.

Searching Philadelphia Deed Records

The PhilaDox portal at epay.phila-records.com is the main online search tool for Philadelphia deed records. PhilaDox covers documents from 1974 to the present. New documents appear in the system two to four weeks after recording. A free public search lets you look up basic record data by address or party name. To view and download document images, a paid subscription is required. Subscription rates are $15 per day, $60 per week, $125 per month, or $750 per year. Payment is accepted by Visa or Mastercard.

The PhilaDox system shown above searches deeds, mortgages, assignments, and miscellaneous instruments recorded since 1974. You can search by grantor name, grantee name, property address, or book and page number. Watermarked unofficial copies are viewable at the free access level, while paid subscribers can download clean images.

The Philadelphia Department of Records website is the central hub for all recording services. It links to the PhilaDox portal, the deed copy request service, and the historical land and vital records database covering documents from the late 17th century forward.

The Philadelphia property app at property.phila.gov lets you look up ownership information, assessed value, and zoning data for any parcel in the city. This is a useful starting point before pulling detailed deed records from PhilaDox or the Department of Records.

To request copies of deeds by mail or through the online form, visit phila.gov. You will need the property address, the grantor and grantee names, the deed date, or the document ID number (for documents from 1973 onward). Records from before 1973 may require a search at the City Archives. Historical land and vital records going back to the late 1600s are also accessible through the Philadelphia Historical Land and Vital Records database.

Recording and Transfer Requirements

Deeds recorded in Philadelphia must meet Pennsylvania's standard formatting requirements. A complete notary acknowledgment showing the county, state, date, and clear notary stamp and signature is required. The grantee's Certificate of Residence must be included. For taxable transfers, a completed Form REV-183 Realty Transfer Tax Statement of Value is mandatory. Philadelphia does not accept legal-size pages submitted electronically. Documents should be prepared in letter-size format with a minimum font size that meets state and local standards.

The combined transfer tax burden in Philadelphia is among the highest in the state. The local realty transfer tax of 3.278% plus the state's 1% brings the total to 4.278% on most taxable transfers. This applies to the greater of the actual sale price or the assessed value multiplied by the Common Level Ratio Factor published annually by the Pennsylvania Department of Revenue. Exemptions include transfers between family members within specified degrees of kinship, transfers to trusts for the benefit of the grantor, and corrective deeds that do not change the nature of the property interest. Use the fee calculator at padeeds.com to estimate your recording fees before filing.

Note: Military discharge papers (DD-214) recorded with the Philadelphia Department of Records are not public record. Veterans may file their discharge papers at no cost to preserve them, and copies are provided at no charge when requested by the veteran or authorized family members.

Historical Philadelphia Land Records

Philadelphia County's land records stretch back to the late 17th century, making them among the most extensive in the Commonwealth. William Penn founded Pennsylvania in 1682, and Philadelphia quickly became the hub of land transactions in the colony. The original purchases of Philadelphia-area tracts are documented in the Old Rights Index for Philadelphia covering 1682 to 1745, which is available through the Pennsylvania State Archives. These records trace the very first transfers of land from the Penn family to early settlers.

For records from the pre-1974 era that are not in PhilaDox, the Department of Records maintains a Historical Index. The Jenkins Law Library has published a detailed guide to using PhilaDox and finding historical records for Philadelphia properties, noting that the Historical Index website is a companion tool for researching older deeds. Documents before 1973 that require a physical copy may need to be requested through the City Archives at 3101 Market Street in Philadelphia.

The Pennsylvania State Archives at pa.gov provides digitized microfilm copies of some Philadelphia County deeds for visitor use at the State Archives research room in Harrisburg. Warrant registers, warrantee township maps, and connected draft maps are available online at no charge for researchers tracing colonial-era land grants in Philadelphia.