State records guide
Property title search in Pennsylvania
Facts below are taken from Pennsylvania statutes and official sources, each linked, each checked on the date shown. General information, not legal advice.
A Pennsylvania title search starts with the recorder of deeds in one of 67 counties. Mortgages are foreclosed by civil action in the court of common pleas. Where a tax claim bureau holds an upset sale, liens left out of the upset price stay on the land and there is no redemption afterward; other sale laws differ.
What a Pennsylvania title search has to account for
| Where deeds are recorded | Deeds and other conveyances of Pennsylvania land are recorded in the office for the recording of deeds in the county where the land lies. An unrecorded conveyance is void against a later bona fide purchaser, mortgagee or holder of a judgment who had no notice of it. Source: 21 P.S. s. 351 (Act 327 of 1925), checked 2026-11-06. |
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| Recording jurisdictions | Pennsylvania has 67 counties, and the city and county of Philadelphia are consolidated into one government. The search is run in the county where the parcel sits. Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Pennsylvania state and local geography guide, checked 2026-11-06. |
| Mortgage foreclosure process | A Pennsylvania mortgage is foreclosed by an action to foreclose a mortgage upon an estate or interest in land, which follows the rules of civil procedure for a civil action. Source: Pa.R.C.P. 1141 (231 Pa. Code Rule 1141), checked 2026-11-06. |
| Delinquent property tax sales | Under the Real Estate Tax Sale Law the county tax claim bureau exposes the parcel at an upset sale scheduled between the second Monday of September and October 1. An upset sale conveys title subject to every recorded mortgage and lien not included in the upset price. If no one bids the upset price, the bureau may petition the court of common pleas for a judicial sale, and the statute allows no redemption after the actual sale. How Pennsylvania upset, judicial, private and repository tax sales differ on title, section by section. Source: 72 P.S. ss. 5860.501, 5860.601, 5860.609, 5860.610 (Real Estate Tax Sale Law), checked 2026-11-06. |
| Redemption under the Municipal Claim and Tax Lien Law | Where delinquent taxes are collected under the Municipal Claim and Tax Lien Law, the owner or a lienholder whose interest was discharged may redeem within nine months after the sheriff's deed is acknowledged, or within three months if the property is in a city or county of the second class, by paying the amount bid at the sale and the other sums the statute lists. Vacant property, as the statute defines it, has no redemption after the deed is acknowledged. Source: 53 P.S. s. 7293 (Municipal Claim and Tax Lien Law, section 32), checked 2026-11-06. |
| Marital property system | On the request of either party in an action for divorce or annulment, the court divides the marital property in whatever percentages it finds just after weighing the statutory factors, without regard to marital misconduct. Community property in Pennsylvania: equitable division and entireties title after divorce, section by section. Source: 23 Pa.C.S. s. 3502, checked 2026-11-06. |
| Condominium lien priority | A Pennsylvania condominium association's lien ranks behind liens recorded before the declaration, a first mortgage recorded before the assessment came due, judgments on obligations those mortgages secure, and liens for real estate taxes and other governmental charges. At a judicial sale the lien is divested as to the six months of assessments before the sale only to the extent those six months are paid out of the sale proceeds; older unpaid assessments are divested in full. Source: 68 Pa.C.S. s. 3315, checked 2026-11-06. |
Where are Pennsylvania deeds recorded?
Land is recorded at the county level. Act 327 of 1925 has deeds and other conveyances of land recorded in the office for the recording of deeds in the county where the land is situate, and an instrument left unrecorded is void against a later bona fide purchaser, mortgagee or holder of a judgment who took without notice of it. A tract lying in more than one county belongs in the records of each.
The city and county of Philadelphia are consolidated into one government. The report traces the chain of title as far back as the county's records go, with document images of the key instruments, and verifies findings with the assessor, tax office, recorder and courts.
How is a mortgage foreclosed in Pennsylvania?
As a lawsuit. Rule 1141 of the Rules of Civil Procedure defines the action as one to foreclose a mortgage upon an estate or interest in land, and the action follows the rules for a civil action. The lender takes a judgment in the court of common pleas and executes on it, which leads to a sheriff's sale.
For a bidder at a sheriff's sale, the court docket shows what the judgment enforces, and the deed from the sale, once acknowledged and recorded, becomes the new link in the chain. An auction title report reports the foreclosing lien's position and the liens that would survive, in dollars, for the bidder's attorney.
What happens when Pennsylvania property taxes go unpaid?
It depends on the governing sale law. In counties where a tax claim bureau sells under the Real Estate Tax Sale Law, the bureau exposes the parcel at an upset sale held between the second Monday of September and October 1. Section 609 says the sale conveys title subject to every recorded obligation, claim, lien, mortgage, ground rent and Commonwealth tax lien not included in the upset price, so liens within the upset price are paid from it. Section 501 says there shall be no redemption after the actual sale. If the upset price draws no bid, the bureau may petition the court of common pleas for a judicial sale. The act's title excludes cities of the first and second class and second class A from the taxes it covers.
Where taxes are collected under the Municipal Claim and Tax Lien Law, section 32 lets the owner, or a party whose lien or estate the sale discharged, redeem within nine months after the sheriff's deed is acknowledged, or within three months in a city or county of the second class or a municipality in one. Property is vacant, with no redemption after the deed's acknowledgment, unless the same individual or basic family unit occupied it as a residence continuously for at least ninety days before the sale and still does when the deed is acknowledged. The same law also provides for court-decreed sales free and clear of claims and without any right of redemption after the sale. The report verifies tax sales and redemptions with the tax office and states the surviving liens, taxes and assessments in dollars.
How does title pass when a Pennsylvania owner dies?
A probate title search finds the decedent's property by name and reports vesting at death, how title passes, including joint tenancy, a trust or a life estate, and the liens to pay, starting from the vesting on the last recorded deed and the estate filed with the register of wills.
On divorce, 23 Pa.C.S. 3502 has the court, on the request of either party in an action for divorce or annulment, equitably divide the marital property in the percentages it finds just after weighing the statutory factors, without regard to marital misconduct. Section 3507 turns a tenancy by the entireties into a tenancy in common at divorce unless a court order provides otherwise. The report states the recorded deed or decree it finds, and an attorney reads the effect.
Does a Pennsylvania condominium lien survive a sheriff's sale?
Partly. 68 Pa.C.S. 3315 makes the association's lien prior to other liens except liens recorded before the declaration, a first mortgage recorded before the assessment came due, judgments obtained on obligations those first mortgages secure, and liens for real estate taxes and other governmental assessments or charges. Recording the declaration constitutes record notice and perfection of the lien.
The section then limits what a judicial sale divests. Assessments that came due in the six months before the judicial sale are divested only to the extent they are paid out of the sale proceeds, and whatever part the proceeds do not cover stays with the unit. Older unpaid assessments are divested in full. The report states any recorded association lien it finds, and the unit buyer confirms the balance with the association before bidding.
Which package fits a Pennsylvania property?
Every package covers Pennsylvania property wherever it is recorded. Pick by situation:
- Probate law firm: Find every property a decedent held, how it was vested and what has to be paid before it passes. $595 per estate.
- Real estate law firm: A preliminary report with schedule-style exceptions and print-ready exhibits for your matter. $695 per property.
- Builders and developers: Multi-parcel research on access, easements, restrictions, mineral reservations and entity ownership. $995 first parcel.
- Auction buyer: Know the total cost to own, which liens survive the sale and whether to bid at all. $395 for 1 property.
- Home buyer: Confirm the seller owns the home and learn what has to be cleared before you pay. $449 per property.
- Home seller: Find the old mortgage, judgment or name mismatch before a buyer's title company does. $449 per property.
Questions about a title search in Pennsylvania
Which office records deeds in Pennsylvania?
The office for the recording of deeds in the county where the land is situate. Act 327 of 1925 has deeds and other conveyances recorded there and makes an unrecorded conveyance void against a later bona fide purchaser, mortgagee or judgment holder without notice. There are 67 counties, and the report verifies findings with the assessor, tax office, recorder and courts.
Is Pennsylvania a judicial foreclosure state?
Yes. Rule 1141 of the Rules of Civil Procedure defines the mortgage foreclosure action as an action to foreclose a mortgage upon an estate or interest in land, conducted under the rules for a civil action. The lender takes a judgment in the court of common pleas and executes on it at a sheriff's sale. The report states the foreclosing lien's position and the liens that would survive.
Can an owner redeem after a Pennsylvania tax sale?
It depends on the sale law. The Real Estate Tax Sale Law allows no redemption after the actual upset sale. Under the Municipal Claim and Tax Lien Law, the owner or a discharged lienholder may redeem within nine months after the sheriff's deed is acknowledged, or three months in a city or county of the second class, except for vacant property as the law defines it and for court-decreed sales made without any right of redemption.
Does a Pennsylvania upset sale clear the mortgages?
Not those left out of the upset price. Section 609 of the Real Estate Tax Sale Law says an upset sale conveys title under and subject to the lien of every recorded obligation, claim, lien, estate, mortgage, ground rent and Commonwealth tax lien not included in the upset price. The report states the surviving liens, taxes and assessments in dollars for the bidder's attorney.
How does Pennsylvania divide property on divorce?
By equitable division. On the request of either party in an action for divorce or annulment, 23 Pa.C.S. 3502 has the court divide the marital property in the percentages and manner it finds just after considering the statutory factors, without regard to marital misconduct. The report states the recorded deed or decree it finds, and an attorney reads the effect.
How many counties does a Pennsylvania title search cover?
Pennsylvania has 67 counties, and the city and county of Philadelphia are consolidated into one government. A title search covers the county where the property lies, or each county a tract lies in. The report traces the chain of title as far back as the county's records go and verifies findings with the assessor, tax office, recorder and courts.