State guides / New Jersey / Union County

Union County property data

Where Union County's property records live, how its tax and foreclosure sales work, and what Deedplat puts on one map, including Elizabeth.

21Cities and towns

Hover a town to see its name

Where the records are

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

Deeds and mortgages

Union County Clerk, Recording Office. The County Clerk's Public Land Records search is free and covers documents recorded from June 1, 1977 to the present, with images for most of them; older records back to 1857 are in the Record Room in Elizabeth.

Owners and values

Union County Board of Taxation (with each municipal tax assessor). The Board of Taxation's free Assessment Records Search shows owner, assessed value and recent deed (SR1A) sales for all 21 Union County towns, searchable by address, owner or block and lot.

Tax sales

City of Elizabeth Tax Collector, Division of Revenue. Elizabeth holds its tax lien sale as an online auction, and the city posts each year's sale notice and a link to its tax sale website; every other town in the county runs its own sale.

Foreclosure sales

Union County Sheriff's Office, Foreclosure Sales. Sheriff sale listings, with notices and upset prices, are posted free on the Sheriff's CivilView sales page linked from this site.

Parcel maps

City of Elizabeth Engineering, Tax Maps. Elizabeth posts its official tax map sheets as free PDFs; other towns keep their own tax maps.

How property is sold here

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

Tax sales

New Jersey sells tax lien certificates, not the property, and each municipality holds its own sale. The City of Elizabeth holds one sale a year for the prior year's unpaid municipal charges, typically in June (the 2026 sale was June 8), as an online auction where bidders bid down the interest rate and can bid a premium. The lien holder can later foreclose if the owner does not redeem, and redemptions in Elizabeth must be requested in writing and paid in full with certified funds.

Foreclosure sales

Union County mortgage foreclosures are sold at Sheriff's sales held on Wednesdays at 2:00 p.m. at the Warinanco Sports Center in Roselle; since May 6, 2026 sales run every other Wednesday. Listings are posted on the Sheriff's CivilView page, the winning bidder pays 20% at the sale, and the balance is due within 30 days.

Assessed values

Each Union County town sets its own assessments, and Elizabeth's most recent revaluation was completed for 2024, according to the County Board of Taxation.

Transfer tax

New Jersey charges a Realty Transfer Fee, paid by the seller when the deed is recorded, at graduated rates by price, plus an added fee on sales of $1 million or more; there is no extra county or Elizabeth city transfer tax.

Worth knowing

Union County has 21 municipalities and each one runs its own tax assessor, tax collector and tax lien sale, so check the town, not the county, for tax sale dates.

Worth knowing

Revaluation years vary widely: Elizabeth revalued for 2024, while Union Township was last done in 1975 with one pending for 2028, so assessed values are not comparable across towns.

Worth knowing

Owner-occupant buyers under New Jersey's Community Wealth Preservation Program get special deposit and payoff terms at Union County Sheriff's sales.

Every town in Union County

The cities, towns and townships inside the county line.

Berkeley Heights township
Clark township
Cranford township
Elizabeth city
Fanwood borough
Garwood borough
Hillside township
Kenilworth borough
Linden city
Mountainside borough
New Providence borough
Plainfield city
Rahway city
Roselle Park borough
Roselle borough
Scotch Plains township
Springfield township
Summit city
Union township
Westfield town
Winfield township

Questions

Where are deeds recorded in Union County?

Deeds and mortgages are recorded by the Union County Clerk's Recording Office in Elizabeth. Records from 1977 on can be searched free online at clerk.ucnj.org.

When is the Union County tax sale?

There is no single county tax sale. Each town holds its own tax lien sale. Elizabeth holds its sale online once a year, typically in June.

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

Use the Union County Board of Taxation's free Assessment Records Search, which lists owner, assessed value and recent sales for every town in the county.

Are Union County property records online?

Yes. Recorded land documents, owner and assessment records, Sheriff sale listings and Elizabeth's tax maps and tax sale notices are all free online.

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 Union County, on one map

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