How to find who owns a piece of land
Two local offices know who owns a piece of land. The assessor keeps the owner's name so it can send the tax bill. The recorder keeps the deeds. Start with the first, confirm with the second.
1. Find the parcel
Open the county parcel map, find the land, and click it. Write down the parcel number. Counties call it different things: parcel ID, PIN, APN, tax map number. It is the key to every other record.
Not sure which county? Type the address into the search box above and GovDir opens the right county's tools. Or start from who owns this property and how to find a parcel number.
2. Read the assessor's record
The assessor's list of parcels, called the tax roll or assessment roll, names each owner and a mailing address, because that is where the tax bill goes. Florida's law, for example, lists "the name and address of the owner" among the things every county's roll must contain.
Treat that name as a strong clue, not proof:
- It can be months behind. Many states value property as of January 1. Texas explains that who owns the property on that date decides who is responsible for the tax, so a sale later in the year may not show yet.
- The owner may be a company, a trust, or a person who has died. The mailing address may belong to a lawyer, a bank or a management company.
- Some owners are hidden on purpose. Florida exempts the home addresses of judges, police officers and others from public records, and its definition of a home address includes the parcel number.
3. Check the deed at the recorder
The recorded deed is the legal record of a transfer. Recorders index documents by the names of the people giving and receiving the land, called the grantor and grantee, and some also keep an index by the land itself. Minnesota requires both.
Search the parcel's most recent deed. The office that keeps deeds differs by state: a county recorder in most places, a town clerk in some of New England, a single statewide office in Hawaii and Alaska. How deeds are recorded in each state lists them all.
When you need certainty
One deed does not show every claim against the land. The federal Consumer Financial Protection Bureau gives examples such as a previous owner's unpaid taxes or contractors who say they were never paid. For a purchase, a loan or a dispute, have a title company or real estate attorney search the full record. Title insurance can protect a buyer against claims from before the purchase.
Sources
- Florida Statutes 193.114: preparation of assessment rolls
- Texas Comptroller: property tax basics
- Florida Statutes 119.071(4)(d): exempt home addresses
- Minnesota Statutes 386.03: grantor and grantee index and 386.05: tract index
- Consumer Financial Protection Bureau: what is owner's title insurance?
Checked against the sources above on Sep 24, 2026. GovDir is a guide, not legal advice. The office named for your property has the final say.