State guides / California / Orange County

Orange County property data

Where Orange County's property records live, how its tax and foreclosure sales work, and what Deedplat puts on one map, including Anaheim, Irvine, Santa Ana and Huntington Beach.

34Cities and towns
976,000Parcels

Hover a town to see its name

Where the records are

The county offices an investor deals with in Orange County, and what each one puts online.

Deeds and mortgages

Orange County Clerk-Recorder. The Grantor/Grantee index of documents recorded since 1982 can be searched free online by name, but images are not shown online; documents can be viewed free at Clerk-Recorder offices, and copies cost $1 per page.

Owners and values

Orange County Assessor. Assessed values can be looked up free by 8-digit parcel number (APN), but by law the Assessor's site does not allow owner name searches or show owner names; fuller property data is available through ParcelQuest or at the counter at 500 S. Main St. in Orange.

Tax sales

Orange County Treasurer-Tax Collector. Tax-defaulted property is auctioned online through Bid4Assets (bid4assets.com/Orange), with a bid deposit and a $35 fee; sale lists, results and published notices are posted on the Treasurer-Tax Collector's site.

Foreclosure sales

Private trustees (notices recorded with the Clerk-Recorder) and the Orange County Sheriff's Civil Division for court-ordered sales. Notices of default and trustee sale are recorded documents that can be found by name in the Clerk-Recorder's free index; the Sheriff's site explains writs of sale but does not post a list of sales.

Parcel maps

OC Public Works, OC Land Insights Geospatial Viewer. OC Land Insights is a free online map for researching parcels, tracts, corner records and other survey documents; official Assessor parcel maps are reviewed and bought at the Assessor's Public Service Center.

How property is sold here

Orange County follows California's rules, with its own calendar and offices. Read the California guide for how the state works.

Tax sales

California sells the property itself, not tax liens: once secured taxes have been delinquent five years, the Treasurer-Tax Collector records a Power to Sell and can auction the parcel. Orange County holds its tax auction online through Bid4Assets about once a year; the most recent was June 25, 2025, and no later date had been posted as of October 2026. Winning bidders pay the full price plus documentary transfer tax, and the sale list, Notices of Impending Power to Sell and past results are posted at octreasurer.gov/taxauction and on the Published Notices page.

Foreclosure sales

Most Orange County home foreclosures are private trustee sales under a deed of trust, with the notice of default and notice of trustee sale recorded with the Clerk-Recorder. Court-ordered sales of real property are carried out by the Orange County Sheriff's Civil Division under a writ of sale, which requires a $2,000 deposit from the party requesting it.

Assessed values

Under Proposition 13 the Assessor resets a property's value to market only on a sale or new construction and otherwise raises it by no more than 2% a year (2.000% for 2026-27); the roll reflects values as of January 1 and is delivered each year by July 1.

Transfer tax

Orange County charges a documentary transfer tax of $0.55 per $500 of value (about $1.10 per $1,000), paid when the deed is recorded with the Clerk-Recorder.

Worth knowing

The Assessor's free online search works by parcel number only and never shows the owner's name, so owner lookups need ParcelQuest, a counter visit, or a name search of recorded deeds.

Worth knowing

Orange County's tax auctions are small: the June 2025 sale sold 9 parcels, all vacant land, for $1.72 million, plus 2 timeshares.

Worth knowing

The 2026-27 roll holds 976,341 secured parcels worth $858 billion; Irvine has the highest total assessed value at $125.3 billion, followed by Newport Beach and Anaheim.

Every town in Orange County

The cities, towns and townships inside the county line.

Aliso Viejo city
Anaheim city
Brea city
Buena Park city
Costa Mesa city
Cypress city
Dana Point city
Fountain Valley city
Fullerton city
Garden Grove city
Huntington Beach city
Irvine city
La Habra city
La Palma city
Laguna Beach city
Laguna Hills city
Laguna Niguel city
Laguna Woods city
Lake Forest city
Los Alamitos city
Mission Viejo city
Newport Beach city
Orange city
Placentia city
Rancho Santa Margarita city
San Clemente city
San Juan Capistrano city
Santa Ana city
Seal Beach city
Stanton city
Tustin city
Villa Park city
Westminster city
Yorba Linda city

Questions

Where are deeds recorded in Orange County?

Deeds are recorded by the Orange County Clerk-Recorder at 601 N. Ross St. in Santa Ana or at the South County branch in Laguna Hills. The index of documents since 1982 can be searched online by name.

When is the Orange County tax sale?

The Treasurer-Tax Collector holds an online auction about once a year through Bid4Assets. The most recent was June 25, 2025, and the next date will be posted at octreasurer.gov/taxauction, where you can also sign up for email reminders.

How do I find who owns a property in Orange County?

The Assessor's website does not show owner names. Use ParcelQuest, visit the Assessor's counter at 500 S. Main St. in Orange, or search recorded deeds by name in the Clerk-Recorder's Grantor/Grantee index.

Are Orange County property records online?

Partly. The deed index, assessed values by parcel number, tax auction lists and the OC Land Insights parcel map are online and free, but deed images must be viewed or bought at a Clerk-Recorder office.

Sources for this guide

Office hours, fees and sale dates change. We checked these sources in October 2026; confirm with the county before you act.

Every parcel in Orange County, on one map

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