Harford County Recorder Information

Land records in Harford County are recorded by the Clerk of the Circuit Court. The office is held by Michelle Karczeski.

StatewideViewing deeds on MDLandRec is free but requires an account with the Maryland State Archives.

Checked October 2026 against official publications. Sources: Land Records | Maryland Courts · General Information

These government fees are separate from any Deeds.com service fees. Confirm current charges with the recorder's office.

Other charges

Fee schedule effective September 2, 2026.

StatewideA 'page' for recording fees is one side of a leaf not larger than 8 1/2 by 14 inches. A printed instrument that does not meet the type, ink, and paper requirements is charged three times the normal recording charge (RP § 3-104(e)). No fee is collected for a restrictive covenant modification under RP § 3-112. Fees may not be charged to exempt entities under RP § 3-603 unless they consent. The recording fees shown are the Real Property 3-601 fee ($20 for 1 to 9 pages, $75 for 10 or more, $10 for a release of 9 pages or fewer) with the $40 land records surcharge (Courts and Judicial Proceedings 13-604) added in, which is how the clerks publish them.

Paying the office

Recording fees, State Transfer Tax and Comptroller Non-Resident fees may be combined in one check. County Transfer Tax and State Recordation Tax are collected by the Harford County Government, Revenue Collections Department, 220 S. Main St., Bel Air; checks for these taxes are payable to Harford County Revenue Department.

Transfer tax

State transfer tax. 0.5% of the consideration payable for the instrument of writing; 0.25% for a sale of improved residential real property to a first-time Maryland home buyer who will occupy the property as a principal residence. The tax is collected when the document is recorded. (statewide, Md. Code, Tax-Prop. § 13-203)

StatewideRecordation tax: applied to each $500 or fraction of $500 of consideration payable or of the principal amount of the debt secured; Baltimore City or the governing body of a county may set the rate by law (Tax-Prop. § 12-103). County transfer taxes are set locally. Nonresident sellers: a deed for real property owned by a nonresident or nonresident entity may not be recorded unless a payment is made to the clerk equal to the rates set in Tax-Gen. § 10-912(c), unless an exception in § 10-912(d) applies.

Harford County transfer tax: 1% of the consideration payable for instruments of writing recorded with the Clerk of the Circuit Court for Harford County or filed with the State Department of Assessments and Taxation (Harford County Code Ch. 123, Art. IV, § 123-51). Recordation tax: $6.60 per $1,000 value of recorded instruments filed with the Clerk of the Circuit Court for Harford County. Both are collected by Harford County Revenue Collections, 220 S. Main St., Bel Air, which must stamp every deed before recording.

Checked October 2026 against official publications. Sources: Real Property § 3-601 · Summary of Charges, Costs, and Fees of the Clerks of the Circuit Court · Real Property § 3-104 · Tax-Property § 13-203 · Tax-Property § 12-103 · Land Records · Transfer, Recordation Tax | Harford County, MD

Confirm current requirements with the recorder's office before submitting documents.

Statewide1-inch margins on the left and right sides of each page; no statewide bottom margin stated.

StatewideDeeds other than mortgages, deeds of trust, and assignments or releases of them must bear an attorney's certification of preparation or a party's certification that the party prepared the instrument. An instrument that cannot readily be scanned may be received only on payment of three times the normal charge and with an attached affidavit. Riders that obscure any part of an instrument are not received where instruments are scanned.

Forms filed along with a transfer

• State of Maryland Land Instrument Intake Sheet Statewide Administrative Office of the Courts
  Each deed or other instrument affecting property presented for recordation, except assignments and releases of mortgages or deeds of trust, substitutions of trustees, powers of attorney, financing statements, and § 3-112 covenant modifications

Submitting documents

StatewideIn some counties, land records documents may be filed electronically.

If no County Revenue review is necessary, documents may be mailed to the Clerk of the Circuit Court, Land Records Department, 20 West Courtland Street, Bel Air, MD 21014; otherwise they are mailed to Harford County Revenue, 220 S Main Street, Bel Air, MD 21014. Walk-in customers are limited to 5 documents/sets at a time. Plats are recorded on Wednesdays and Fridays, in person, and must be received by 11am to be recorded the same day.

Checked October 2026 against official publications. Sources: Land Records | Maryland Courts · Real Property § 3-601 · Real Property § 3-104 · Land Records