Union County Recorder: Deeds & Records

What does the Recorder maintain?

The Recorder preserves documents affecting real estate and indexes them so buyers, lenders, title examiners and residents can research ownership history.

Common documents include deeds, mortgages, mortgage releases, easements, certificates of transfer, land contracts and mechanic’s liens.

The office also maintains certain plats, trust documents, powers of attorney and records related to veterans.

The official Union County Recorder search provides access to recorded-document indexes and available images.

The county states that online images and indexes are available from 1995 to the present.

Older deed, mortgage and miscellaneous indexes are also available through the county’s historical record-search page.

Search by a person’s or business’s name

1. Open the official search page.

   Select the county’s record-search link and review its public-records disclaimer.

2. Accept the disclaimer.

   Choose AGREE to continue to the official records-search system.

3. Enter a grantor or grantee name.

   Start with the surname or business name associated with the property transaction.

4. Review the results.

   Look at the document type, recorded parties, filing date and instrument reference.

5. Open the matching document.

   Check the legal description and available scanned image before treating it as the correct record.

6. Save the recording information.

   Keep the instrument number, book/page reference or recording date for later copy requests.

What if you only know the property address?

Start with the Union County Auditor. Its parcel tools are designed for address, ownership, valuation and property-tax research.

After finding the owner’s name, return to the Recorder to search for the deed and related recorded instruments.

Union County preserves land records that reach back to the county’s early history.

However, not every old document has a complete scanned image available through the modern search portal.

Searching historical grantor and grantee indexes

A grantor is generally the person or organization transferring an interest. A grantee generally receives that interest.

For an older deed, check both sides of the index when possible. This helps when ownership changed several times.

The county provides historical deed indexes in separate volumes and alphabetical groups.

What if the scanned document is missing?

Save the index reference and contact the Recorder. The office states that older records not available digitally may be accessible through another delivery method.

Copies may be supplied by email, fax or mail depending on the record and office procedure.

For very old records, the county’s historical records inventory also identifies deed records, mortgage records, plat books and related materials.

Recording a deed and transferring property through the Auditor are connected but different steps.

A deed that transfers ownership generally must satisfy county conveyance standards and receive the required Auditor endorsement before recording.

Step 1: Prepare the document

Confirm the grantor and grantee names, complete legal description, signatures, acknowledgments and required preparer’s statement.

Different deed types can have different legal consequences. For uncertain transactions, use an Ohio attorney or qualified title professional.

Step 2: Complete conveyance requirements

Union County has adopted Real Estate Conveyance Standards involving the Auditor, Engineer and Recorder.

Depending on the transfer, the process may involve legal-description review and an Auditor conveyance-fee statement.

The Recorder’s requirements specify an Auditor endorsement such as Transferred or Transfer Not Necessary before recording an applicable deed.

Step 3: Submit the instrument

Deliver the properly endorsed document with the required recording fee.

The Recorder accepts mailed conveyances only if the Union County Auditor’s conveyance stamp is already on the document.

Ohio document formatting requirements

Ohio law has document-standardization rules. Documents that do not meet the formatting requirements can trigger an extra fee.

Union County’s fee schedule lists a $20 nonconforming-document fee. Check the county’s current conveyance standards for the full rules and exceptions.

Union County increased its standard recording fee on January 1, 2025, following Ohio Senate Bill 94.

The county’s published schedule lists $39 for the first two pages and $8 for each additional page for most standard instruments.

Simple recording-fee examples

These examples exclude reference fees, nonconforming-document charges, Auditor conveyance fees and other document-specific charges.

Union County Auditor conveyance fees

The Auditor’s published standards list a conveyance fee of $4 per $1,000 of value for taxable transfers.

The county also lists a $0.50 per-parcel fee, subject to stated parcel-number exceptions.

A transfer qualifying for a conveyance-fee exemption follows different reporting requirements.

Union County has several offices involved in property research. Each provides different records and services.

Union County began accepting electronic recordings of non-conveyance documents on July 15, 2024.

This service is designed mainly for regular recording submitters, including title companies, law firms, banks and similar organizations.

Electronic submission is completed through approved vendors. The Recorder still performs the official recording.

Approved vendor options listed by the county

The Recorder offers a free AlertMe service for property-recording notifications.

The service can send an email when a newly recorded document includes a name you are monitoring.

This may help you recognize suspicious deed, lien or mortgage-related activity sooner.

If your deed or mortgage was recorded in Union County, the Recorder can help you locate the official record.

Online images are available for many modern documents. Older documents may require a staff-assisted copy request.

What information should you provide?

The Recorder can explain the process for obtaining copies, but recording records are not a substitute for a formal title search.

Veterans’ military discharge records

Union County records eligible military-service discharge documents without a recording fee.

The fee schedule also provides one certified copy of a veteran’s military discharge record at no charge.

Military documents may have special access restrictions. Contact the Recorder before requesting another person’s discharge record.

Subdivision plats and survey documents

Some subdivision plats are available through county web applications, but not all plats are online.

The original subdivision plats are filed at the Recorder’s Office.

For surveys, use the County Engineer’s survey records. For recorded plats, confirm whether the Recorder holds the original.

UCC filings related to real estate

The Recorder accepts certain Uniform Commercial Code filings that relate to real property.

The published schedule lists $12 plus $4 for each indexed name for qualifying UCC recording categories.

For a UCC search or termination, verify the document category and current fee before filing.

Documents containing Social Security numbers

The county’s fee page states that Ohio law generally prevents the Recorder from accepting documents containing Social Security numbers unless a legal exception applies.

Review the document before submission to avoid exposing personal information or receiving a recording rejection.

Use these county and state resources to verify recording procedures, fees, documents and property information.