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How to get a copy of a deed in District of Columbia

Who holds it: Recorder of Deeds, a part of the DC Office of Tax and Revenue (one office for the whole District)1

Last checked against official sources on .

On this page
  1. How to search and order
  2. Fees
  3. Older records and indexes
  4. Official warnings
  5. Official copies vs look-alike sites
  6. Sources

Copy fee

$2.25 per page2

Statewide search

washington.dc.publicsearch.us (private vendor site, GovOS/Kofile, linked by OTR); free registration required to search and view images1

Free search

How to search and order

How to search
Search online at the vendor portal or at the office; order copies in person or by written request with check or money order payable to DC Treasurer, stating the instrument number. The office does not perform title searches3

Fees

Certified copy fee
$2.25 per document, on top of the per-page copy cost3
Recording fee
$150 for deeds of trust, mortgages and modifications; $25 for other documents; plus a $5 surcharge on each. FAQ states $30 for deeds and all other documents2
Portal fees
Searching and viewing images free with a registered account; downloads $4.00 per document plus $1.50 per transaction; a $175.00 monthly subscription lowers downloads to $2.00 per document plus $1.50 per transaction4

Older records and indexes

Years online
August 1921 to present5
Older records
Land transaction records 1797-1930 are at the DC Archives; to request Libers, get a DC Archives Liber Request Form at the Recorder of Deeds6

The District's own offices, searches and fees: District of Columbia deeds.

Official warnings

  • Attorney General consumer alert: lease-back, refinance (disguised deed transfer), phantom help and fake-agency property lien scams7
  • OTR itself flags that the deed search portal is a private site5

Official copies vs look-alike sites

A certified copy comes only from the office that holds the record; reports and "research copies" sold by commercial sites are not issued by any District of Columbia office. How to tell an official record source from a paid look-alike.

Rules in other states: deeds and land records in every state. Everything else in District of Columbia: District of Columbia public records guide.

Sources

Every fact above links to the official page it comes from; all 7 sources were checked on November 4, 2026. Fees and rules change, so check the office's own page before you pay or travel.

  1. Recorder of DeedsDC Office of Tax and Revenue
  2. General Recording Requirements & FeesDC Office of Tax and Revenue
  3. ROD FAQsDC Office of Tax and Revenue
  4. Official Records Search (DC Recorder of Deeds public search)GovOS/Kofile vendor portal linked by DC Office of Tax and Revenue
  5. Recorder of Deeds - Document ImagesDC Office of Tax and Revenue
  6. District of Columbia ArchivesOffice of the Secretary of the District of Columbia
  7. Consumer Alert: Do You Own a Home in DC? Avoid Scams Targeting Homeowners!Office of the Attorney General for the District of Columbia