deedplatState guides / Ohio / Franklin County
Franklin County property data
Where Franklin County's property records live, how its tax and foreclosure sales work, and what Deedplat puts on one map, including Columbus.
- 26Cities and towns
Where the records are
The county offices an investor deals with in Franklin County, and what each one puts online.
Deeds and mortgages
Franklin County Recorder. Recorded deeds, mortgages and other records can be searched online on the Recorder's Cloud Search site (franklin.oh.publicsearch.us) or its older legacy site, and neither requires an account.
Owners and values
Franklin County Auditor. Owner, value and sales data can be searched free by owner name, address, parcel ID or map, and the Auditor also posts a free daily conveyance list.
Tax sales
Franklin County Treasurer, Delinquent Tax Department. The Treasurer posts the final tax lien list as a free CSV file, but the liens are sold only as one bulk block, not one at a time.
Foreclosure sales
Franklin County Sheriff's Office, Real Estate Sales. Sheriff sales are held online at franklin.sheriffsaleauction.ohio.gov, where bidders register and properties open for proxy bids at least seven days before each sale.
Parcel maps
Franklin County Auditor GIS. The Auditor's free online Parcel Viewer shows parcel lines, aerial photos and property data, and printed maps cost $0.10 to $1.70 each.
How property is sold here
Franklin County follows Ohio's rules, with its own calendar and offices. Read the Ohio guide for how the state works.
Tax sales
Ohio sells tax lien certificates, and the Franklin County Treasurer holds one tax lien sale a year between late October and early November, with details posted online in early September. All available liens are auctioned as a single block worth several million dollars, so the sale is not designed for individual investors, and the county does not sell liens over the counter. If a lien is not paid off within a year, the lien holder can foreclose through the Prosecuting Attorney or private counsel, and tax foreclosures end in a Sheriff sale.
Foreclosure sales
Franklin County Sheriff sales of foreclosed property are held online every Friday at 9:00 AM at franklin.sheriffsaleauction.ohio.gov, unless a court orders an in-person sale at the courthouse at 373 S. High Street. Sale notices run in the Tuesday edition of the Columbus Dispatch and on the Sheriff's website, and buyers need a minimum deposit of $2,000, $5,000 or $10,000, as set by Ohio law.
Assessed values
The Auditor completes a full reappraisal every six years with a triennial update in between; the last reappraisal was in 2023, a triennial update is being done in 2026, and the next full reappraisal is in 2030.
Transfer tax
Franklin County charges a conveyance fee of $3 per $1,000 of the sale price ($1 set by Ohio and $2 set by the county) plus a $0.50 transfer tax, about 0.3% in total.
Land bank
The Central Ohio Community Improvement Corporation (COCIC) is Franklin County's land bank; it takes vacant, abandoned, tax-delinquent properties and returns them to use through rehab, demolition and sale.
Worth knowing
The 2023 reappraisal raised median residential values by 41 percent and commercial and industrial values by 16 percent, and the 2026 triennial update will set new values again.
Worth knowing
Since September 17, 2025, Sheriff sale buyers must sign a conveyance form and a rental registration form before their final payment is accepted.
Worth knowing
Columbus is the county seat and the largest city, and the Auditor's office runs a rental registration program for rental properties in the county.
Every town in Franklin County
The cities, towns and townships inside the county line.
- Bexley city
- Brice village
- Canal Winchester city
- Columbus city
- Dublin city
- Gahanna city
- Grandview Heights city
- Grove City city
- Groveport city
- Harrisburg village
- Hilliard city
- Lithopolis village
- Lockbourne village
- Marble Cliff village
- Minerva Park village
- New Albany city
- Obetz city
- Pickerington city
- Reynoldsburg city
- Riverlea village
- Upper Arlington city
- Urbancrest village
- Valleyview village
- Westerville city
- Whitehall city
- Worthington city
Questions
Where are deeds recorded in Franklin County?
Deeds are recorded by the Franklin County Recorder in the Franklin County Government Tower at 373 S. High Street in Columbus. Recorded documents can be searched online without an account.
When is the Franklin County tax sale?
The Treasurer holds one tax lien sale a year between late October and early November, and details are posted online in early September. The liens are sold as one bulk portfolio, so it is not built for individual buyers.
How do I find who owns a property in Franklin County?
Search the Franklin County Auditor's free property search by owner name, address or parcel ID, or click a parcel on the Auditor's Parcel Viewer.
Are Franklin County property records online?
Yes. Recorded documents, owner and value data, daily conveyances, the tax lien list, Sheriff sales and parcel maps are all 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.
- franklincountyohio.gov/Agency-Directory/Recorder/Real-Estate
- franklincountyohio.gov/Agency-Directory/Recorder/Real-Estate/Public-Records-Search
- auditor.franklincountyohio.gov/
- auditor.franklincountyohio.gov/Real-Estate/Property-Search
- auditor.franklincountyohio.gov/Real-Estate/Transfer-and-Conveyance
- auditor.franklincountyohio.gov/Real-Estate/Transfer-and-Conveyance/Transfer-Conveyance-FAQ
- auditor.franklincountyohio.gov/Real-Estate/Transfer-and-Conveyance/Transfer-Tax-Fee-Calcul
- auditor.franklincountyohio.gov/Real-Estate/Appraisal
- auditor.franklincountyohio.gov/News-articles/20260115-Auditors-Office-Launches-Website-for
- auditor.franklincountyohio.gov/Auditor/Geographic-Information-Systems-GIS
- gis.franklincountyohio.gov/parcelviewer/
- treasurer.franklincountyohio.gov/Delinquent-Taxes/Tax-Lien-Sale
Every parcel in Franklin County, on one map
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