Montgomery County Property Records

Montgomery County property records are managed by one of the most organized land records divisions in Maryland, with four dedicated departments handling all aspects of recording, indexing, and copying deeds and related documents at the Circuit Court in Rockville.

Circuit Court Clerk and Land Records Office

Karen A. Bushell serves as the Circuit Court Clerk for Montgomery County. Her office is at 50 Maryland Ave, Rockville, MD 20850, and the main line is (240) 777-9400. The land records division within this office is headed by Land Records Manager Cynthia Hurley, who can be reached at (240) 777-9485. This division handles all recorded instruments related to real property, including deeds, mortgages, deeds of trust, and liens. Maryland's most populous county generates a high volume of real property transactions each year, and the clerk's office keeps pace through its four specialized departments.

What sets Montgomery County apart from most Maryland counties is the formal separation of land records work across four distinct departments. The Public Information Room at (240) 777-9477 is where the public can come to look at recorded documents and get help locating specific instruments. The Recording Department at (240) 777-9470 handles the intake of new documents and ensures they meet statutory requirements before they go into the official record. The Indexing Department, also reached at (240) 777-9470, creates and maintains the grantor-grantee indexes that let researchers trace property ownership over time. Finally, the Duplication Department at (240) 777-9480 handles copy requests. This structure keeps things moving efficiently in a county with hundreds of thousands of property parcels.

The main portal for the clerk's office is at montgomerycountymd.gov/cct. You can find department contact info, forms, and guidance there.

The Montgomery County Circuit Court Clerk's website is the starting point for most land records work in the county.

The clerk's site covers all land records departments and gives contact details for each.

Land Records Department

For a direct look at what the land records division offers, visit the dedicated department page. The land records section of the clerk's site outlines what documents are accepted, how to submit them, and what fees apply.

The Montgomery County Land Records department page explains the full recording process and connects you to each of the four specialized offices.

This page is where you find the procedures for submitting deeds, checking document requirements, and reaching the right department for your question.

Recording a deed in Montgomery County follows Maryland's standard two-step process. The document must first go to the Montgomery County Finance Department at 27 Courthouse Square, Suite 221, where staff assess and stamp the transfer and recordation taxes before any deed goes to the Clerk. The Finance Department's number is (240) 777-8860. Only after that tax stamp is in place can you bring the deed to the Recording Department for filing. Skipping this step or arriving at the Clerk's office without the Finance stamp means the document will not be accepted that day.

Under Real Property Article § 3-101, all instruments conveying an interest in real property must be recorded to be effective against third parties. Montgomery County's recording fees follow the statewide schedule: $20 for the first two pages and $5 for each additional page, plus a $75 surcharge. For a standard two-page deed, expect to pay at least $95 in recording fees before any tax amounts.

Transfer and recordation taxes add to the total cost. Montgomery County has a tiered recordation tax structure. Buyers who qualify as first-time homebuyers pay at a reduced state rate of 0.25% rather than the standard 0.5%. The county also has its own local transfer tax rate on top of the state transfer tax. All tax amounts are calculated on the consideration stated in the deed or the assessed value, whichever is greater under Maryland law.

How to Search Montgomery County Property Records

There are three main ways to search property records in Montgomery County: online through MDLandRec, online through the county's records portal, and in person at the Public Information Room. Each method has its strengths.

MDLandRec at landrec.msa.maryland.gov is the Maryland State Archives system that holds recorded land records for all Maryland counties including Montgomery. You can search for deeds and other recorded instruments by grantor, grantee, document type, or liber and folio reference. The system gives you access to scanned images of recorded documents. Montgomery County records on MDLandRec go back to July 1777, making this one of the deepest searchable databases in the state. Free access is available for older records; more recent records may require a subscription or fee.

The county's own records portal gives an additional search path. Visit the Montgomery County records portal for access to county-maintained records.

This portal supplements MDLandRec and may offer faster access to recent filings for Montgomery County parcels.

SDAT at dat.maryland.gov lets you search by property address, account number, or parcel ID to see the current assessment, owner of record, and property details. Note that SDAT search does not work by owner name. Montgomery County is SDAT Code 16. If you need the chain of title or copies of actual recorded deeds, you need MDLandRec or the clerk's Public Information Room. For a self-service copy at the courthouse, the Quick Key system allows you to print pages at $0.50 each. Certified copies cost $5.00 plus $0.50 per page and are available from the Duplication Department.

The property tax lookup for Montgomery County is at apps.montgomerycountymd.gov/realpropertytax/.

This tool shows current tax bills, payment status, and account history for any parcel in Montgomery County.

Property Assessments in Montgomery County

SDAT conducts property assessments on a three-year cycle. All properties in a given area are reassessed at the same time. Between reassessments, values are phased in gradually to avoid large single-year jumps. When you get a Notice of Assessment, you have 45 days to file an appeal. The appeal goes first to the Supervisor of Assessments, and if that does not resolve the issue, you can take it to the Maryland Tax Court.

Montgomery County has its own local SDAT office that handles assessment questions for county parcels. For questions about how your property was valued, the homestead tax credit, or the homeowners and renters tax credit programs, contact SDAT directly at 410-767-1184 or sdat.411@maryland.gov. The homestead credit limits how much your taxable assessment can increase each year, which is valuable in a high-value market like Montgomery County. You apply for the homestead credit through SDAT, and it applies automatically once approved for that property.

Property descriptions in Montgomery County deeds and assessment records reference Real Property Article § 8-703 when it comes to ground rents and other encumbrances that may affect a property's title. Ground rents are less common in Montgomery County than in Baltimore City, but they do appear in older parts of the county. Always check the title history when purchasing a property to confirm there are no outstanding ground rent obligations.

Cities in Montgomery County

Montgomery County includes some of Maryland's largest communities. All property transactions within these cities go through the Montgomery County Circuit Court Clerk in Rockville. Each city below has its own property records page with local details.

Nearby Counties

Montgomery County shares borders with three other Maryland counties and the District of Columbia. If a property straddles a county line or if you need records from an adjacent jurisdiction, use the links below.