Crawford County Recorder Information

Land records in Crawford County are recorded by the County Recorder. The office is held by Bonnie Cotton.

StatewideBy June 30, 2026, each county recorder is required to post on its website electronic indexes and electronic versions of all instruments recorded on or after January 1, 1980, except veteran discharge papers and legally protected information. A username and password may be required, but no fee may be charged for access.

Checked September 2026 against official publications. Sources: Ohio Revised Code Chapter 317 Recorder · Crawford County Recorder

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

Other charges

Fee schedule effective January 1, 2025.

StatewideEach fee in R.C. 317.32 is made up of a base fee for the recorder's services and a housing trust fund fee collected under R.C. 317.36. The recorder may charge and collect a document preservation surcharge of up to five dollars, deposited to the county general fund. Pages are measured at 8.5 x 14 inches or fraction of a page, including the caption page. Plats, maps, and prints recorded by photostatic or similar process: base fee of five cents and housing trust fund fee of five cents per square inch, with minimums of twenty dollars each. Zoning resolutions: $25 base plus $25 housing trust fund fee; zoning amendments: $10 plus $10. Notices of federal liens: $5 per notice; certificates of discharge or release: $3 (R.C. 317.09). The fees do not apply to instruments recorded by a county land reutilization corporation.

Each printed side is one page. Plats and condominium drawings: $0.10 per square inch, minimum $40 per page. UCC financing statements relating to real estate: $12 plus $4 for each name indexed; UCC searches $20. Surety lien bond filings: $10.

Paying the office

StatewideFees are paid upon presentation of the instruments for record; payment of fees for electronic recording may be made by electronic funds transfer, automated clearing house, or other electronic means after presentation.

Separate checks are required for the Recorder, Auditor, and Treasurer. Escrow accounts require a written application and a minimum deposit of $25.00.

Transfer tax

Real property conveyance fee. One dollar, or ten cents for each one hundred dollars or fraction of one hundred dollars, whichever is greater, of the value of the real property transferred. The tax is collected when the document is recorded. (statewide, R.C. 319.54(G)(3))

StatewideThe conveyance fee is paid to the county auditor, and a deed of absolute conveyance is not recorded until it bears the auditor's stamp showing compliance with R.C. 319.202 and is indorsed "transferred" or "transfer not necessary" (R.C. 317.22). Counties may also levy a real property transfer tax under R.C. 322.02 at a rate not to exceed thirty cents per hundred dollars of value conveyed, paid to the county auditor prior to presentation of the deed to the recorder. R.C. 319.54(G)(3) lists transfers on which no fee is charged.

County Auditor's conveyance fee: $4.00 per thousand; transfer fee: 50 cents per parcel.

Checked September 2026 against the sources below. Some of them are not official publications, so confirm with the recorder's office. Sources: Ohio Revised Code Chapter 317 Recorder · Section 317.32 | Recording fees · Section 319.54 | Auditor fees · Section 322.02 | Real property transfer tax · Fees - Crawford County Recorder · Real Estate - Crawford County Recorder · Crawford County Recorder - Ohio Recorders' Association

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

StatewideRight half of the 3-inch first-page top margin is reserved for the county recorder's indorsement. A 1.5-inch margin of blank space is required across the top of each remaining page.

The 3-inch top margin on the first page is reserved for the Recorder, Auditor, and Engineer.

StatewideNonconforming instruments are accepted with an added fee; no fee for incidental items such as page numbers, initials, or bar codes in side or bottom margins. The format standard does not apply to documents from courts, taxing authorities, or state or federal agencies, to plats, or to documents executed before July 1, 2009. Illegible signatures must have the name legibly printed, typewritten, or stamped beneath them unless the name appears elsewhere in the instrument (R.C. 317.11). Instruments must be of a quality that allows legible reproduction (R.C. 317.112). Personal information such as Social Security numbers may not be included (R.C. 317.082). Instruments in a language other than English need a certified English translation (R.C. 317.113).

Documents must be originals, signed, and notarized, and must include the complete legal description of the property. Previously recorded documents are referenced by book and page number.

Forms filed along with a transfer

• DTE 100 Real Property Conveyance Fee Statement of Value and Receipt Statewide Ohio Department of Taxation; filed with the county auditor
  Conveyances of real property presented to the county auditor

Submitting documents

StatewideBy June 30, 2026, each county recorder is required to make available to the public a method for electronically recording instruments related to conveyances of real property and other instruments listed in R.C. 317.08(A) or (D), except plats and maps.

Deeds cannot be e-filed; any document that transfers real estate must first be approved, and the transfer process starts at the Crawford County Engineer's office. Restrictions apply to recording conveyances by mail. Documents cannot be recorded by fax.

Checked September 2026 against the sources below. Some of them are not official publications, so confirm with the recorder's office. Sources: Ohio Revised Code Chapter 317 Recorder · Real Property Conveyance Fee Statement of Value and Receipt (DTE 100) · Real Estate - Crawford County Recorder · Crawford County Recorder - Ohio Recorders' Association · Guidelines - Crawford County Recorder · FAQ - Crawford County Recorder · About Us - Crawford County Recorder