How to Find Out Who Owns a Property

In most of the US, property ownership records are held by the county and open to the public. To find an owner, locate the parcel on the county assessor's website or a parcel map, open its record and read the owner of record and mailing address. For proof of who holds legal title, check the deed at the county recorder. How much you can see online depends on the county.

Two County Offices, Two Kinds of Answer

The assessor (or property appraiser, or tax office) keeps the tax roll. Its owner field exists so the county knows where to send the bill. The recorder (sometimes the register of deeds or county clerk) keeps recorded deeds, the documents that actually move ownership. Names of these offices vary. Some counties combine them.

Timing matters because the two don't update at the same speed. San Diego County's recorder says a newly recorded document takes about 24 to 48 hours to show in its record index. Los Angeles County's assessor says its parcel details are updated weekly, except for a pause of roughly three months between the July roll release and the late-September tax extension. Picture a house that sells in August. For part of that window, the assessor's page in a county like that could still show the seller, while the recorder's index already lists the new deed.

So the assessor is the fast, free first look, and the recorder is the check when it counts.

Pick Your Starting Point

If the land has no address at all, How to Find a Property That Has No Street Address shows how to point at it on a map first.

What a Record Usually Shows

A University of California extension program describes typical county parcel data this way: most parcels carry the owner's name or the name of the company that owns them, and usually the owner's mailing address, but generally no phone number or email. Land owned by a city, county, state or federal agency tends to have less information. Beyond that, expect the parcel number, assessed value, legal description and sometimes sale history. The parcel map article covers what the map layer adds.

The mailing address deserves a second look. It's where the tax bill goes, and it can differ from the property's address. If it points to another town or state, the owner probably doesn't live there. For vacant land that's the norm, and the address is usually your best lead for a letter.

When the Owner Isn't a Person

• A company. Most states publish a business entity search, often run by the secretary of state. It commonly lists a registered agent, the person or firm that accepts legal mail, and sometimes officers or managers. What it shows differs by state, and some states show little.
• A trust. The record normally names the trust. The trustee may not be public, and trust documents generally aren't filed with the county. A title company or attorney can sometimes help.
• A government body. The tax roll may show an agency. For the history of how federal land passed into private hands, the Bureau of Land Management's General Land Office Records site offers images of more than five million federal land title records from 1788 to the present. It's mainly a historical tool, not a lookup for today's owner.
• A deceased owner. The tax roll can show a person's name long after their death. Probate is handled by the court, not the recorder: San Diego County's recorder, for example, says it holds no probate records and that wills go to the Superior Court. If you suspect the owner has died, a probate search in the right county and a conversation with an attorney are the next steps.

Why You May Not See an Owner Online

"Public" doesn't mean the same thing everywhere. Three real examples show the range:

• Counties can keep names off their website. Los Angeles County's assessor says it doesn't offer owner-name search on its public site, citing California Government Code section 6254.21 and privacy laws, particularly for elected and appointed officials. It says owner information is available in person at its district offices. Check the county's current practice, because pages like these change.
• Protected persons can have records removed or withheld. Eagle County, Colorado lets protected persons, a group that includes law enforcement officials and victims of domestic violence, sexual assault or stalking, ask to have their information removed from the county's assessor, treasurer and GIS pages. Ohio's address confidentiality law bars the county recorder, auditor, treasurer and engineer from disclosing a participant's name alongside the property's parcel number or street address once a confidentiality notice is filed.
• Protection isn't universal. Washington's Secretary of State says its address confidentiality laws don't currently protect real estate purchase records, which are public.

Other gaps are mundane. Some counties publish nothing online. A recent sale may not have posted yet. Apps and websites show only what counties hand over, so coverage is uneven, and no tool can promise an owner for every parcel.

Confirming Who Holds Title

The tax roll is a lead. The recorded deed is the document. If you're buying, lending or settling a dispute, look at the most recent deed in the recorder's index, and consider a title company's search, which also turns up liens and easements. Paid people-search and "skip tracing" services exist, but their accuracy varies and they aren't official records. Treat anything they return as a lead to confirm.

Where AcreBound Fits

AcreBound is an iPhone app that searches by address, APN, owner name, city, county, ZIP code or coordinates. Tap a parcel to see its outline, acreage and APN, and, with AcreBound Pro, the owner name and mailing address where county data includes them. Availability differs by county, so check the coverage pages and the Land Owner Map page for your area.

Common Mistakes

• Trusting the first parcel that comes up without checking the outline.
• Treating the tax roll as proof of title.
• Expecting a person's name when the owner is a company or trust.
• Reading the mailing address as the property's location.
• Concluding that records are secret because one county's website shows nothing.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is property ownership public record?

Generally yes, but the details are set by state and county law. Some places hide or restrict certain owners' information, and some don't publish names online at all.

Is it legal to look up who owns a property?

Reading public records is generally legal. What you do with the information is what counts, and harassment and stalking laws still apply. When in doubt, ask a local attorney.

Can I find a property owner for free?

Often. Many county assessor and recorder sites are free to search, though copies of documents may cost a small fee.

Will I get the owner's phone number or email?

Probably not. County parcel records typically list a name and a mailing address, not contact details.

How soon does a new owner show up?

It varies. A recorder may index a deed within a couple of days, while the assessor's owner field can take longer.

Sources

• Los Angeles County Assessor: Mapping help Update schedule; owner-name search; Government Code 6254.21.
• San Diego County Assessor/Recorder/County Clerk: Recording Indexing time; probate records.
• Maricopa County Assessor: Frequently Asked Questions Owner-name search.
• UC ANR Informatics and GIS Program: Finding and Using Parcel Data in California What parcel datasets include about owners.
• Eagle County, CO Clerk & Recorder: Protected Persons Removal of personal information from county sites.
• Ohio Revised Code section 111.431 Real property confidentiality notice.
• Washington Secretary of State: Purchasing a Home (Address Confidentiality Program) Limits of ACP protection for property records.
• Bureau of Land Management: General Land Office Records Federal land title records.