Somerset County Recorder of Deeds: Search Records & Office Guide
Use the Somerset County Recorder of Deeds when you need a recorded deed, mortgage, easement, lease, plan, power of attorney or another document affecting real property in Somerset County, Pennsylvania.
If you arrived with only a street address, this guide also shows the faster route: find the parcel and deed book/page through the county’s free Real Estate Search, then move to the Recorder’s county-linked Landex system for the recorded instrument.
300 N. Center Ave, Suite 400, Somerset, PA 15501.
814-445-1547 · Fax 814-445-1563.
Patricia A. Peifer is listed by Somerset County.
County schedule effective November 14, 2025 under Act 45 of 2025.
The county says approximately 12,000 new documents are recorded each year.
What are you actually trying to find?
A common reason deed searches become frustrating is that several Somerset County offices hold different pieces of the property record. Choose the record based on your question rather than trying to make one website answer everything.
Use the Recorder of Deeds and county-linked Landex access.
Follow the deed-search workflowUse Somerset County Real Estate Search before moving to the recorded document.
Search by property cluesUse the Assessment Office rather than the Recorder.
Compare county officesThe Tax Claim Bureau handles delinquent real-estate taxes.
Check tax and lien routingSomerset County’s Prothonotary handles civil judgments and mechanics liens.
Avoid an incomplete lien searchUse recorded plats for filed plans and GIS only as a research map.
Open map and plat resourcesHow to search Somerset County deed records online
Search more than the current owner’s name
Use Somerset County Real Estate Search to uncover the deed reference
The Recorder’s index is document-oriented. Somerset County’s free Real Estate Search is often the faster first stop when your only clues are a street address, owner’s name or parcel.
The county search supports owner, property ID, house number, property street, municipality, map number and land-use code. It also provides assessed-value and sales-search options.
How to request a Somerset County deed or recorded-document copy
Your copy request becomes much easier when you locate the recording reference before calling or visiting the Recorder.
Gather this information first
Useful when you mainly need to read the recorded document, verify a legal description or review the transaction history.
May be required by a court, lender, government office, attorney or another recorder. Ask the requesting organization before paying for certification.
Before recording a deed or other instrument in Somerset County
The Recorder preserves and indexes accepted documents; it is not a substitute for an attorney or title professional who prepares a deed, determines how ownership should be vested or advises whether a transfer is legally appropriate.
Somerset County Recorder of Deeds fees: what to verify before paying
Somerset County currently identifies its recording-charge schedule as effective November 14, 2025 under Act 45 of 2025. Because the final amount can depend on the document, pages, names and other charges, calculate the submission from the official schedule rather than copying an old fee from a directory.
| Fee issue | What Somerset County currently says | What you should do |
|---|---|---|
| Schedule date | Recording charges effective November 14, 2025 under Act 45 of 2025. | Use the current official PDF, not an older saved schedule. |
| Base allowance | Minimum fee includes an instrument up to four pages and four names. | Count all pages and indexed names before payment. |
| Partial page | Any fraction of a page is considered a full page. | Do not round a partial final sheet down. |
| Extra pages | County provides a separate additional-pages price list. | Compare your total page count with the official additional-page PDF. |
| Transfer tax | Separate from the basic recording charge. | Review Pennsylvania Realty Transfer Tax and local treatment for the transaction. |
Where to search liens, judgments and delinquent taxes in Somerset County
A user searching “deed records” may actually be trying to answer a much more important question: Does anything else affect this property? Somerset County divides those records among offices.
| Record | Correct office | Practical use |
|---|---|---|
| Recorded deed or mortgage | Recorder of Deeds | Ownership instruments and recorded real-property documents. |
| Easement, lease or agreement | Recorder of Deeds | Search recorded interests affecting land. |
| Civil judgment | Prothonotary | Civil court judgment research. |
| Mechanics lien | Prothonotary | Construction-related court lien filing. |
| Federal tax lien filed with civil records | Prothonotary | Check civil lien records rather than relying only on the deed index. |
| Delinquent real-estate tax | Tax Claim Bureau | Delinquent taxes, tax claims and tax-sale matters. |
The county identifies this office as the filing office for civil cases, judgments, mechanics liens and federal tax liens.
Open Prothonotary informationThe Bureau collects delinquent real-estate taxes turned over by local tax collectors and handles related tax-sale procedures.
Open Tax Claim BureauRecorded plats, parcel maps and Somerset County GIS
A deed’s legal description may reference a lot, subdivision, plan or map that is easier to understand visually. Somerset County provides separate recorded-plat and GIS resources.
Use the county mapping page and choose Recorded Plats when you need filed subdivision or plan material.
Open Somerset County MapsThe county GIS viewer is useful for seeing surface parcels and surrounding geography when an address or deed description is difficult to place.
Open Somerset County GISSomerset County warns that its GIS data can contain errors and should not be used for exact measurements, precise feature locations or an on-the-ground boundary determination.
Sign up for Somerset County Record Alert or Notary Alert
The official Recorder page links to two Landex alert services. These can help users watch for indexed activity associated with the information supported by the alert system.
Use the county-linked Record Alert page to review the service and create your own registration.
Open Somerset Record AlertNotaries can review the county-linked Notary Alert resource and register directly through the service.
Open Somerset Notary AlertAn alert is a monitoring tool, not insurance against fraud and not a substitute for reviewing the actual recorded document. If an unfamiliar filing appears, obtain the document and seek appropriate legal or law-enforcement assistance when necessary.
Recorder, Assessment, Tax Claim or Prothonotary?
| Office | Use it for | Do not use it for |
|---|---|---|
| Recorder of Deeds | Deeds, mortgages, easements, leases, plans, powers of attorney and other recorded land instruments. | Assessment appeals, property values or civil court judgments. |
| Assessment Office | Property search, assessed value, parcel maps, property characteristics, homestead/farmstead and assessment appeals. | Recording a deed or certifying a recorded deed copy. |
| Tax Claim Bureau | Delinquent real-estate taxes, tax claims and county tax-sale matters. | Drafting or recording a deed. |
| Prothonotary | Civil judgments, mechanics liens, federal tax liens and other civil court records. | Recorded deed images or assessment valuation. |
| Records / Microfilm | County records and microfilm retrieval when older material requires record-center assistance. | Routine current deed recording when the Recorder can handle the request directly. |
Somerset County Recorder of Deeds office
Suite 400
Somerset, PA 15501
814-445-1547
Fax: 814-445-1563
peiferp@somersetcountypa.gov
Recorder: Patricia A. Peifer
First Deputy: Carlie Boxler
Second Deputy: Stephanie M. Hay
The Recorder’s current department page publishes the address, phone, fax and staff but does not display a separate Recorder-specific hours block.
For a time-sensitive visit, document drop-off, copy request or recording submission, call 814-445-1547 first to confirm office hours, holiday closure, payment method and any document-specific requirement.
Verify details on the county websiteComplete your Somerset County land-record task from these official resources
Open the page → confirm Somerset County, PA → review the current fee notice → use the Landex instructions, alert links, fee PDFs or recorded-plat link.
Open official Recorder pageOpen search → enter one strong field → use Last Name First for an owner → avoid punctuation → open the matching parcel → save property ID, map number and deed book/page.
Search Somerset County propertyOpen PDF → identify document type → count pages → count names → add any applicable charges → call the Recorder if the calculation is uncertain.
Check current recording feesOpen County Maps → choose Recorded Plats → locate the relevant plan or subdivision reference → compare it with the deed and parcel information.
Open recorded platsUse this office when the problem is assessed value, parcel information, homestead/farmstead, mapping or an assessment appeal rather than a recorded deed.
Open Assessment OfficeOpen the state guidance → determine whether the transfer is taxable → review exemptions → open REV-183 when a Statement of Value is needed.
Open PA transfer-tax guidanceWhy a Somerset County deed search may return the wrong result—or no result
Use Real Estate Search to convert an address into an owner, property ID, map number and deed book/page before searching recorded documents.
Search the current owner, seller, earlier owner, spouse, estate or trust. A deed chain naturally involves names that no longer appear on the assessment record.
Try initials, maiden names, trust names, estate names, LLCs and other legal-name variations found in prior records.
A Recorder search alone is incomplete when the target is a court judgment, mechanics lien or civil filing. Check the Prothonotary.
Move to the Tax Claim Bureau instead of searching deeds for current tax-claim information.
Save every historical clue you have and contact the Recorder. Somerset County also maintains a Records/Microfilm office for older county materials.
Somerset County Recorder of Deeds FAQs
Which Somerset County Recorder of Deeds is this page about?
This guide covers Somerset County, Pennsylvania. The official Recorder office is at 300 N. Center Ave, Suite 400, Somerset, PA 15501. Somerset County, New Jersey uses a different land-record system.
What is the Somerset County Recorder of Deeds phone number?
The official county page lists 814-445-1547. The Recorder’s fax number is 814-445-1563.
Who is the current Somerset County Recorder of Deeds?
Somerset County currently lists Patricia A. Peifer as Recorder of Deeds, Carlie Boxler as First Deputy and Stephanie M. Hay as Second Deputy.
Can I search Somerset County deeds by street address?
The practical route is to search the county’s free Real Estate Search using the address first. Capture the owner, property ID, map number and deed book/page, then use those clues in Recorder/Landex research.
What documents does the Somerset County Recorder record?
Somerset County says the office records more than fifty document types. Examples listed by the county include deeds, mortgages, easement agreements, powers of attorney, military discharges, property options, leases, highway and subdivision plans, mine maps and agreements of sale.
What is the current Somerset County deed-recording fee?
The safest answer is to calculate it from the county’s current official fee schedule. Somerset County identifies its current charges as effective November 14, 2025 under Act 45 of 2025, and the total can vary with document type, pages, indexed names and other charges.
Does the Somerset County Recorder handle property assessments?
No. Use the Somerset County Assessment Office for assessed values, parcel records, maps, homestead/farmstead information and assessment appeals.
Where do I check a judgment lien or mechanics lien?
Somerset County identifies the Prothonotary as the county office handling civil judgments, mechanics liens, federal tax liens and other civil court filings. Do not assume a Recorder-only search covers those records.
Where do I check delinquent property taxes?
Use the Somerset County Tax Claim Bureau. It handles delinquent real-estate taxes turned over by local tax collectors and related tax-sale matters.
Can the Recorder sign me up for property-record alerts?
No. The Somerset County Recorder page tells users to register through the Landex Record Alert or Notary Alert links themselves and states that the office and Landex cannot enroll someone on the user’s behalf.
The shortest path to the Somerset County record you actually need
If you already know an owner’s name or recording reference, begin with the official Somerset County Recorder of Deeds page and follow its Landex access instructions. If all you have is an address, begin with Somerset County Real Estate Search, capture the property ID, map number and deed book/page, and then move to the recorded document.
Use the Recorder for deeds and other recorded land instruments, Assessment for parcel and value information, Tax Claim for delinquent real-estate taxes, and the Prothonotary for civil judgments and mechanics liens. That office-by-office approach is faster and produces a much more complete property-record search than treating every county database as interchangeable.