Recorder of Deeds

Common Level Ratio

Current Centre County Pennsylvania Department of Revenue Common Level Ratio equals 4.67 as of July 1, 2022. 

The Top Ten Instructions for Recording Documents in Centre County

  1. Document date and acknowledgement date: The acknowledgement date should not predate the document date.
  2. Acknowledgement (notary) must include the following: county, state, date, persons/corporate officers (names and titles) appearing and the notary’s signature, seal and expiration date. If any of the above is missing, the acknowledgement may be considered defective and document not recordable.
  3. Names in Caption, Names in Signature and Names in Acknowledgement must all match: John J. Doe vs. JJ Doe, or J Joseph Doe cause rejections and delays.
  4. The written or printed amount must match the numerical amount on all deeds and mortgages.
  5. All deeds must have a pre-authorized Uniform Parcel Number (UPI) assigned to them from the Centre County Assessment office prior to recording.
  6. All documents should indicate the property’s municipality, if multiple please list all.
  7. Multiple papers affecting one transaction must be clearly numbered to indicate the order in which they are to be placed on record.
  8. Documents presented for recording, with transfer tax due claiming a tax exemption not by family relationship or with property in more than one municipality, must be accompanied by a Pennsylvania Department of Revenue Statement Value and clearly state the reason for an exemption or the division of the local Transfer Tax in dollar amounts.
  9. All deeds, mortgages, and assignments of mortgage should have a grantee, mortgagee, or assignee address, and should be signed by a responsible party.
  10. All documents presented for recording must have a suitably sized Self Addressed Postage Paid Envelope for document return after processing.

Pro-Tip for Document Preparers - Leave room for the Stamp!

Stamp.pngThe Recorder’s Stamp, which must be affixed to the first page of every document recorded in our office, is 1 inch tall by 3 inches wide. The stamp cannot overlap or cover any of the text on the document. When creating a document you should allow space for the stamp, ideally at the top of the page.

Note: Stamp image not to scale.

Using the "Stamp Here" Graphic

Place Stamp Here.pngThe Centre County Recorder of Deeds Office has created this to scale, free to use, graphic for download. We prefer that all documents being recorded follow the Property Records Industry Association (PRIA) indexing standards but when that is not possible we have provided you with this handy tool.

How to:

  1. Download the StampHere.png to your computer and note where you are saving the file. To download, right click on the image above and choose ‘Save image as.
  2. In the word processor you’re using to create your document move your curser to the point where you would like the recorder’s stamp to appear. This should be on the first page above or near the first line of text.
  3. From the menu choose Insert then Pictures. Navigate to the folder you saved the StampHere.png select the file and click insert. The "Recorder’s Stamp Here" graphic should now be visible on your page.
  4. Click on the image with your cursor then on the menu bar choose Picture Tools/Format and then Wrap Text and Square. Your text should now be flowing around the image uniformly. For most document this will be all you have to do. If you have particularly text dense document and/or you are having trouble with the positioning of the image within your document, proceed to the next steps.
  5. Make sure you still have the image selected, click on it with your cursor again if you need to. On the menu bar choose Picture Tools/Format and then Position.
  6. Set the position to either the Top Right, Top Center or Top Left, justified to the Margin. If using absolute positioning set you Vertical Alignment to Top and the Horizontal Alignment to either Right, Center or Left. Make sure your Wrap Text stays at Square.

For help using the StampHere.png or any question regarding formatting and recording documents, please contact the Centre County Recorder of Deeds.

Centre County Recorder of Deeds

The Centre County Recorder of Deeds Office’s primary mission is to record, protect, preserve, and reproduce legal documents that relate to real estate in Centre County and act as an agent for Real Estate Transfer Tax. The office receives and disburses Real Estate Transfer Taxes as prescribed by state statute and County Code. The office distributes realty transfer checks that average an annual total of more than $5.6 million to 37 political subdivisions and six school districts that serve Centre County. In addition, the office acts as an agent of the State Department of Revenue in the collection of Writ taxes.

The office also collects and distributes a fee provided by State Statute for the Administrative Office of Pennsylvania Courts. Along with the Realty Transfer and Writ taxes the Recorder of Deeds office collects fees from documents recorded for the Affordable Housing Fund, County Records Improvement funds, and Pennsylvania Department of State Notary Public Commission fees. The Recorder’s Office assists the State in generating over $5,000,000 annually in revenue for Pennsylvania and approximately $850,000 in commissions and fees for Centre County annually. The Recorder’s Office also records Veterans Military Discharge documents.

Document Records

All document records since the year 1800 except for military discharges, in the Recorder of Deeds office are available for public inspection during regular office hours. Annually over 10,000 people visit the Centre County Recorder of Deeds office to view public information and use the other recording services. There is an online subscription service available for those interested to access over the Internet one of Pennsylvania’s most complete and advanced computer indexed imaging systems (see above CCG WEB IA).

Tax and Assessment offices in Centre County use the records created by the recorder’s office to accurately assess and update tax information. In 2003 the Recorder of Deeds office processed 36,522 documents for an all time record high.