Pierce County Recorder Information

Land records in Pierce County are recorded by the County Auditor. The office is held by Linda Farmer, APR, CERA.

Checked September 2026 against official publications. Sources: RCW Chapter 36.22 County auditor · Pierce County Auditor | Pierce County, WA

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

Added at recording

Other charges

StatewideCertified copies: first page 8.5 x 14 inches or less, $3; each additional page, $1. Multiple transactions in one instrument: each title or transaction requiring separate indexing is charged the first-page fee; additional page fees are collected only once. Plats: 50 cents per lot (cemetery plats 25 cents per lot), plus $1 for each acknowledgment, dedication, and description, minimum $25 per plat. Searching records: $8 per hour. A cover sheet is charged as an additional page.

Assignments, appointments, resignations, and substitutions of previously recorded deeds of trust: $301.00 first page, $1.00 each additional page (effective July 27, 2025, HB 1858). Wage liens and releases and water-sewer district liens and releases: $18.00 first page. Liens and satisfactions of liens recorded by state, county, and city offices: $18.00 first page. IRS federal tax lien and release: $16.00 first page. Employment security liens: $15.00 first page. Divorce decrees and death, marriage, and birth certificates: $18.00. Multiple title documents: $18, $303.50, or $304.50 for each title after the first, depending on document title. Military separation record (DD214) and request for exemption from public disclosure of military discharge papers: no fee. Map recording: boundary line adjustments, surveys, site plans, short plats, and large lots $423.50 (each additional page $5.00); plats and condos up to 40 lots including seals $423.50; lot combination $403.50 first page.

Paying the office

Contracted eRecording vendors handle payments for recording fees and Real Estate Excise Tax on eRecorded documents.

Transfer tax

Real estate excise tax (state). 1.1 percent of the portion of the selling price that is less than or equal to five hundred thousand dollars; 1.28 percent of the portion greater than five hundred thousand dollars and equal to or less than one million five hundred thousand dollars; 2.75 percent of the portion greater than one million five hundred thousand dollars and equal to or less than three million dollars; three percent of the portion greater than three million dollars. Timberland or agricultural land: 1.28 percent of the selling price. Thresholds are adjusted every fourth year by the Department of Revenue. The tax is collected when the document is recorded. (statewide, RCW 82.45.060)

StatewideThe Department of Revenue publishes adjusted selling price thresholds for the state graduated rates: through December 31, 2026, $525,000 or less at 1.10%, $525,000.01 - $1,525,000 at 1.28%, $1,525,000.01 - $3,025,000 at 2.75%, $3,025,000.01 or more at 3%; for sales beginning January 1, 2027, $551,000, $1,551,000, and $3,051,000. REET is due and payable to the county treasurer in the county where the property is located. A $5.00 state technology fee is applied to the total due for every transfer, and an additional $5.00 affidavit processing fee is applied if an exemption is claimed. Counties and cities may add a local real estate excise tax under chapter 82.46 RCW, including a rate not exceeding 0.25 percent of the selling price (RCW 82.46.010(2)) and, in lieu of the tax in RCW 82.14.030(2), an additional rate not exceeding 0.5 percent (RCW 82.46.010(3)).

Checked September 2026 against official publications. Sources: RCW Chapter 36.22 County auditor · RCW 36.18.010 Auditor's fees · RCW 65.04.048 Additional fee for certain documents not meeting requirements · RCW 82.45.060 Tax on sale of property · Real estate excise tax | Washington Department of Revenue · Recording, Excise, and Map Fees | Pierce County, WA · eRecording | Pierce County, WA

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

StatewideAn instrument may be recorded if a minor portion of a notary seal, incidental writing, or minor portion of a signature extends beyond the margins. First page: one-inch margin on the bottom and sides.

StatewideThe first page must show, immediately below the three-inch top margin, the title or titles of the instrument; reference numbers of documents assigned or released; the names of the grantor(s) and grantee(s); and an abbreviated legal description (lot, block, plat, or section, township, range, and quarter/quarter section), each with a page reference where additional information appears. No attachments, except firmly attached bar code or address labels, may be affixed to the pages. Instruments, except those generated by governmental agencies, may not contain a social security number, a date of birth identified with a particular person, or the maiden name of a person's parent so as to be identified with a particular person. Documents that do not meet legibility requirements must not be recorded as a nonstandard recording; an emergency nonstandard recording requires a cover sheet and a signed statement.

Forms filed along with a transfer

• Real Estate Excise Tax Affidavit Statewide Washington Department of Revenue (filed with the county treasurer)
  Generally, whenever there is a transfer of ownership or title to real property by conveyance, deed, grant, assignment, quitclaim, or any other document that results in a transfer

Submitting documents

All types of documents and maps can be recorded electronically. Rejected electronic documents are returned to the customer immediately after being reviewed, and the submitter may resubmit after making the correction.

Checked September 2026 against official publications. Sources: Real estate excise tax | Washington Department of Revenue · RCW 65.04.045 Recorded instruments—Requirements · RCW 65.04.047 Recorded instruments—Cover sheet · Pierce County Auditor | Pierce County, WA · eRecording | Pierce County, WA