deedplatUnited States / Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania property data
Pennsylvania keeps its land records county by county, all 67 of them, each with its own systems. Here's what's public, what's hard to get, and what Deedplat puts on one map for every county.
- 67Counties
- 2,500+Municipalities
What you can get in Pennsylvania
The state makes most property records public. The catch is that every county keeps them differently, so the same fact can take one click in one county and a records request in the next.
Public everywhere
Every county has these, and Deedplat loads them all.
- Owners and mailing addressesFrom the county assessment office
- Sale pricesPennsylvania is a disclosure state
- Deeds and mortgagesRecorder of Deeds in each county
- Assessed valuesBase years differ widely by county
- Tax sale and repository listsTax Claim Bureau, or the sheriff in Philadelphia and Allegheny
- Sheriff sales and foreclosure filingsCourt of Common Pleas and the Sheriff's Office
- Lot linesCounty parcel maps
Depends on the town
Kept by cities and boroughs, not the county. Some publish them; most need a Right-to-Know request.
- Code violations and condemnations
- Building permits
- Rental registration and inspections
- Resale inspection rulesMany boroughs require one before a sale
- Zoning maps and ordinances
- Water and sewer liens
Not public
What no county will hand over, so you know where the line is.
- Owner phone numbers and emails
- Rents and leases
- Active listingsThose live in the MLS
- Mortgage balancesThe original loan amount is recorded; what's left is not
How property changes hands here
Distressed property reaches the market through a few channels, and they differ by county.
Tax sales
In most counties, the Tax Claim Bureau runs an upset sale, then a judicial sale, then the repository. Philadelphia and Allegheny County follow a different law, and unpaid taxes end at the sheriff.
Sheriff sales
Foreclosure here goes through the courts, and every county sells foreclosed property at a sheriff sale. Cases are often postponed many times first.
Conservatorship
Under Act 135, a court can hand a vacant, blighted building to a conservator who fixes it up. That's a way into buildings whose owners have walked away.
Land banks
Pennsylvania law lets counties and cities form land banks, which hold vacant property and sell it by application rather than auction.
Transfer tax
Every sale pays 1% to the state, plus a local share set by the town and school district. That's usually another 1%, but it's 4% in Pittsburgh.
Old assessments
The state doesn't require regular reassessments, so some counties still use values set decades ago. A low assessment isn't always a bargain.
Every county in Pennsylvania
Choose any county to get started.
- Adams County
- Allegheny CountyGuide
- Armstrong CountyGuide
- Beaver CountyGuide
- Bedford County
- Berks County
- Blair County
- Bradford County
- Bucks County
- Butler CountyGuide
- Cambria County
- Cameron County
- Carbon County
- Centre County
- Chester County
- Clarion County
- Clearfield County
- Clinton County
- Columbia County
- Crawford County
- Cumberland County
- Dauphin County
- Delaware County
- Elk County
- Erie County
- Fayette CountyGuide
- Forest County
- Franklin County
- Fulton County
- Greene CountyGuide
- Huntingdon County
- Indiana CountyGuide
- Jefferson County
- Juniata County
- Lackawanna County
- Lancaster County
- Lawrence CountyGuide
- Lebanon County
- Lehigh CountyGuide
- Luzerne County
- Lycoming County
- McKean County
- Mercer County
- Mifflin County
- Monroe County
- Montgomery County
- Montour County
- Northampton County
- Northumberland County
- Perry County
- Philadelphia CountyGuide
- Pike County
- Potter County
- Schuylkill County
- Snyder County
- Somerset County
- Sullivan County
- Susquehanna County
- Tioga County
- Union County
- Venango County
- Warren County
- Washington CountyGuide
- Wayne County
- Westmoreland CountyGuide
- Wyoming County
- York County
Questions
Are property sale prices public in Pennsylvania?
Yes. Pennsylvania is a disclosure state. Deeds are recorded with each county's Recorder of Deeds, and the sale price shows up in county assessment records, so anyone can see what a property sold for.
How do tax sales work in Pennsylvania?
In most counties, the county Tax Claim Bureau sells tax-delinquent property in stages: an upset sale, then a judicial sale, then the repository, where unsold property can be bid on at any time. Philadelphia and Allegheny County use a different law, and delinquent property there goes to a sheriff sale.
Where are deeds and mortgages recorded in Pennsylvania?
With the Recorder of Deeds in each county. Allegheny County calls it the Department of Real Estate. Many counties offer online search, often for a fee, and the format differs from county to county.
How often are Pennsylvania properties reassessed?
There is no required schedule. Each county decides when to reassess, so assessed values can be decades old in one county and brand new in the next.
Is foreclosure judicial in Pennsylvania?
Yes. Mortgage foreclosures go through the county Court of Common Pleas, and the property is sold at the sheriff sale. Filings are public, which means a foreclosure shows up months before the sale.
Can I get records Deedplat doesn't have?
Often, yes. Pennsylvania's Right-to-Know Law lets anyone request public records from a county, city or borough. We file those requests for you, clean up the results and add them to your map.
Every parcel, on one map
Deedplat is in beta. Pick any Pennsylvania county to get started.