What Is a Property Search and When Do You Need One?

A property search pulls the recorded history of a parcel from the county's official records. It is how you confirm who actually owns a property and what is attached to it before money moves.

The main search types

Ownership / vesting search

Confirms the current record owner, how title is held (joint tenancy, community property, trust, entity), and the deed that put them there.

Lien search

Reveals recorded deeds of trust, mortgages, mechanic's liens, judgment liens, tax liens, HOA liens, and abstracts of judgment attached to the parcel or the owner.

Document retrieval

Pulls a certified or plain copy of a specific recorded instrument by document number, or by book and page for older records.

Chain of title

Traces transfers over a stated period — commonly 24 months, 10 years, or back to the last arm's-length sale.

When you need one

• Before recording a lien or release, to confirm the correct owner and the prior instrument number.
• Before a private sale or seller-financed transaction with no title company involved.
• When a contractor needs to verify the property owner before serving a preliminary notice.
• When an attorney needs recorded evidence for probate, divorce, or quiet title.
• Before a refinance, to confirm nothing unexpected was recorded.

What a property search is not

It is not title insurance and it is not a legal opinion on marketability. It reports what is in the public record as of the search date. Unrecorded interests, off-record claims, and items recorded after the search will not appear.

Frequently asked questions