How to Check for Liens on a Property (Free Lien Search)

No single database lists every lien on a property. To check one yourself for free, you search three or four public offices. The tax collector shows unpaid property taxes. The county recorder (also called the county clerk, register of deeds, or recorder of deeds) holds recorded mortgages, judgment liens, federal and state tax liens, mechanic’s liens, HOA liens, and lis pendens. The court clerk shows pending lawsuits and judgments. The city or utility knows about code fines and water or sewer charges that may never be recorded at all.

Most of these records are free to search online or at a public terminal. The skill is knowing which office keeps which lien, searching the owner’s name the way the index spells it, and checking that every lien you find has a matching release. This guide shows where each lien type lives, how to search it, how to read what you find, and when a free search stops being enough and you need a title company.

The short answer

• Start with the tax collector and the recorder. The tax collector or treasurer shows unpaid property taxes. The recorder’s official records hold most other liens, indexed by the owner’s name.
• Search by name, not just address. Most recorders index by grantor and grantee name. A judgment or federal tax lien names the debtor and attaches to whatever real estate that person owns in the county, so it may not mention the address at all.
• A lien is only cleared when a release is recorded. An old mortgage that was paid off but never released still clouds the title. Match every lien to a satisfaction, release, or reconveyance.
• Some liens are not in the land records. Code enforcement fines, utility charges, and HOA balances may only show up if you ask the city, the utility, or the association directly.
• A lis pendens is not a lien. It is a recorded notice that a lawsuit involving the property is pending. Anyone who buys or lends afterward is bound by how the case comes out.
• A free search does not insure anything. Use it to spot problems early. For a purchase, rely on a title search and title insurance.

What counts as a lien (and what doesn’t)

A lien is a legal claim against property that secures a debt. If the debt isn’t paid, the lienholder can usually force a sale or collect when the property is sold or refinanced. Voluntary liens are ones the owner agreed to, mainly mortgages, deeds of trust, and home equity loans. Involuntary liens arise by law or court action without the owner’s consent: property tax, judgment, IRS and state tax, mechanic’s, HOA, code enforcement, and child support liens. Some attach to one property (a mortgage or mechanic’s lien). Others attach to everything the debtor owns in the county, such as a judgment lien or federal tax lien, which is why name searches matter.

Two things that turn up in a lien search are notices rather than liens. A lis pendens warns that a lawsuit may affect title. A UCC fixture filing gives notice of a security interest or ownership claim in equipment attached to the house, such as leased solar panels. Neither is a lien, but both affect what a buyer gets, so a careful search includes them.

Where each type of lien is filed

This table is the map for the rest of the guide. Office names vary by state. The “recorder” is the county office that keeps deeds, which may be called the county clerk, clerk of court, register of deeds, or recorder of deeds. Use our state directory to find the right county offices.

How to check for liens on a property, step by step

This order moves from the quickest checks to the slowest. Keep notes as you go: document type, recording date, instrument or book and page number, parties, and amount.

1. Pin down the property and everyone who owned it. Get the parcel number and legal description from the assessor, and the exact owner names and acquisition date from the vesting deed. Our guides on finding the owner by address, the parcel number, and the legal description walk through each one.
2. Check the property tax account. On the tax collector’s or treasurer’s site, look for unpaid years, “delinquent,” “certificate sold,” “tax sale,” or a redemption amount. For a closing, the collector can issue a tax certificate or statement of taxes due. Our county record lookup guide explains how to get one.
3. Search the recorder’s official records by name. Search each owner’s name from the date they acquired the property to today. Pull up every mortgage, deed of trust, lien, judgment, lis pendens, and UCC filing indexed to that name. The next section shows how.
4. Match each lien to a release. For every mortgage or lien, look for a later satisfaction, release, or reconveyance that cites it by instrument number or book and page.
5. Search court records. Check the county’s civil and family court index for lawsuits naming the owner, especially foreclosures, partition or quiet title suits, divorces, and probate. For bankruptcies and federal suits, use PACER (opens in a new tab). It charges $0.10 per page with a $3 cap per document, and fees are waived if you spend $30 or less in a quarter.
6. Ask the city and the utilities. Request a municipal lien search or lien letter if the city offers one. Otherwise ask code enforcement for open violations and fines, and get a final bill or payoff letter from the water and sewer provider.
7. Ask the HOA or condo association. Request an estoppel, resale, or payoff certificate showing assessments owed, even if no lien is recorded yet.
8. Check special assessments and PACE. These ride on the tax bill and can carry tax-level priority. Our special assessments guide covers Mello-Roos, CDD, PID, MUD, and PACE in detail.

How to search the grantor-grantee index

Recorders index documents by the names of the parties. The grantor is the party giving an interest. The grantee is the party receiving it. In a deed, the seller is the grantor. In a mortgage, the borrower is the grantor because they give the lender an interest in the property. In a lien, the indexes usually list the property owner (the debtor) on the grantor side and the creditor on the grantee side, though some counties label the fields “party 1” and “party 2,” or “direct” and “reverse.” Our guide to deed searches and the recorder of deeds covers the index and chain of title in more depth.

A typical online search lets you filter by name, date range, and document type. Harris County, Texas, for example, offers a real property search (opens in a new tab) by grantor, grantee, instrument type, date range, and legal description fields such as subdivision, lot, and block. It warns that a newly recorded document can take one to two business days to appear, and its images go back to November 1, 1960.

Search every name variant

Index searches are literal. A lien recorded under “Smith, Jon A” won’t show up if you only search “Smith, Jonathan.” Try:

• Last name only, then last name with first initial.
• Full first name, nicknames, middle names, and middle initials (Robert, Bob, Rob; Katherine, Kathy).
• Maiden and married names, and both spouses separately.
• Suffixes (Jr., Sr., III) with and without them.
• Hyphenated and compound surnames both ways (Garcia Lopez, Garcia-Lopez, Lopez).
• For an LLC, corporation, or trust: the exact entity name, common misspellings, and the name with and without “LLC,” “Inc.,” or “Trust,” plus the trustee’s personal name.
• Prior owners, for the years they held title, if you are checking whether an old lien was ever released.

A common name will return judgments and liens against other people with the same name. Compare middle names, addresses, and the last four digits of a Social Security number if the document shows them. Don’t assume a hit is your owner, and don’t assume it isn’t.

Document types to flag

Look for abbreviations like MTG, DOT, ASGN (assignment), SAT or REL (satisfaction or release), RECON (reconveyance), AJ or ABS JDGMT (abstract of judgment), FTL or NFTL (federal tax lien), STL (state tax lien), ML or LIEN (mechanic’s lien), CL (claim of lien), LP (lis pendens), UCC or FIX (fixture filing), and NOC (notice of commencement, which in states such as Florida signals that construction started and mechanic’s liens may follow).

Why a lien search returns nothing

• The county doesn’t offer an online name index. The Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder, for example, does not provide online access to real estate records or indexes (opens in a new tab), citing a state law that bars posting officials’ home addresses online. You request copies or search in person.
• The name is spelled or ordered differently. Go back through the variant list above.
• The date range is too narrow. A judgment recorded years before the owner bought the house can still attach to it if the lien hasn’t expired.
• The document hasn’t been indexed yet. Very recent filings may lag by days or more.
• The online index starts at a certain year. Older records may be on microfilm or in books at the office.
• The lien was never recorded. This is common for utility and code charges. Ask the city.

Each lien type and how to check it

Property tax liens

Property taxes are secured by a lien that usually arises automatically. In Texas, a tax lien attaches every January 1 (Tax Code §32.01 (opens in a new tab)). Florida makes property taxes “a first lien, superior to all other liens” (§197.122 (opens in a new tab)). Because the lien exists by law, you won’t find it as a recorded document. You check the tax collector’s account instead.

A tax lien search is really a check of the parcel’s tax account. Look for unpaid prior years, penalties, a sold tax certificate, or a pending tax sale. In tax-certificate states such as Florida, an investor may already hold a certificate that the owner must redeem with interest. We cover redemption, sales, and how fast the balance grows in our delinquent property tax guide. If you are buying, our guide on estimating property taxes before you buy explains why the current bill can understate what you’ll pay.

Mortgages, deeds of trust, and releases

Search the owner as grantor for mortgages, deeds of trust, home equity lines, and reverse mortgages. Each should have a matching release once paid. The release goes by different names: a satisfaction of mortgage, a release of lien, or, for a deed of trust, a reconveyance by the trustee.

States set deadlines for recording releases. In Florida, the lender or servicer must send a release for recording within 60 days after the loan is paid in full (§701.04(2) (opens in a new tab)). In California, the beneficiary has 30 days after payoff to send the reconveyance request to the trustee, and the trustee then has 21 days to record it. A violation carries a $500 forfeiture plus damages (Civil Code §2941 (opens in a new tab)). When a Texas lender fails to release, a title insurance company can record an “Affidavit as Release of Lien” after a documented payoff, under Property Code §12.017 (opens in a new tab).

Judgment liens

A court judgment for money does not attach to real estate on its own. It becomes a lien when the creditor records an abstract or certified copy of the judgment in the county where the debtor owns property. From then on, it attaches to the debtor’s real estate in that county, including property bought later.

• California: recording an abstract of judgment creates the lien, which lasts 10 years from entry of the judgment unless renewed (CCP §697.310 (opens in a new tab)).
• Texas: a recorded and indexed abstract creates a lien on the debtor’s nonexempt real property in the county. It lasts 10 years from recording unless the judgment goes dormant (Property Code §§52.001, 52.006 (opens in a new tab)). A homestead is exempt, and the owner can file a homestead affidavit to clear the record under §52.0012.
• Florida: a recorded certified copy is a lien for 10 years and can be extended once for another 10 by re-recording (§55.10 (opens in a new tab)).

To check one, search the owner’s name for abstracts of judgment, then look up the underlying case in the court’s docket to see whether it was satisfied, vacated, or appealed.

Federal tax liens

An IRS lien arises when a tax is assessed and goes unpaid, but it isn’t valid against buyers, lenders, mechanic’s lienors, or judgment creditors until the IRS files a Notice of Federal Tax Lien (26 U.S.C. §6323(a) (opens in a new tab)). For real property, the notice is filed in the one office the state designates. If the state hasn’t designated one, it goes to the federal district court clerk (§6323(f)). The IRS’s own manual says states generally choose the county recorder or clerk where the property is located (opens in a new tab).

So you search for a federal tax lien the same way as other liens: at the recorder, under the owner’s name. To verify a lien or get a payoff, the IRS’s page on understanding a federal tax lien (opens in a new tab) directs people to its Centralized Lien Operation at 800-913-6050. The IRS must issue a certificate of release within 30 days after the debt is paid or becomes legally unenforceable (§6325(a) (opens in a new tab)). The IRS has 10 years after assessment to collect (§6502 (opens in a new tab)). According to IRS Publication 1468 (opens in a new tab), a lien usually releases itself after that unless the IRS refiles, and the notice’s “last day for refiling” date tells you when.

State tax liens

State revenue agencies file their own liens for unpaid income, sales, and other taxes. California agencies record a notice of state tax lien with the county recorder for real property and file with the Secretary of State for personal property (Gov. Code §7171 (opens in a new tab)). The lien lasts 10 years from recording and can be extended (§7172 (opens in a new tab)). A Texas state tax lien isn’t effective against a later buyer or lender until it is filed in the county where the land is located (Tax Code §113.101 (opens in a new tab)). Search the recorder by name, and call the state agency named on the notice for a payoff.

Mechanic’s and construction liens

Contractors, subcontractors, and suppliers who weren’t paid for work on a property can record a lien against it, even if the owner paid the general contractor in full. Deadlines to file are short and differ by state and by the claimant’s role:

• Texas: on a residential project, both the original contractor and other claimants must generally file by the 15th day of the third month after the month their work ended. On other projects, the deadline is the 15th day of the fourth month (Property Code §53.052 (opens in a new tab)). Suit to foreclose is generally due within one year after the last day to file (§53.158).
• Florida: a claim of lien must be recorded within 90 days after the lienor’s final furnishing of labor or materials (§713.08 (opens in a new tab)). It expires after one year unless the lienor sues (§713.22 (opens in a new tab)).
• California: a direct contractor must record within 90 days after completion of the work or 60 days after the owner records a notice of completion, whichever comes first (Civil Code §8412 (opens in a new tab)). Other claimants get 90 days or 30 days (§8414 (opens in a new tab)). The claimant must sue within 90 days after recording, or the lien becomes unenforceable (§8460 (opens in a new tab)).

Because a lien can be filed weeks after the work ends, a search on a recently renovated or newly built home can come back clean and still be followed by a lien. Ask for lien waivers or releases from every contractor and major supplier.

HOA and condo assessment liens

Associations usually have a lien for unpaid dues and assessments under the community’s declaration and state law. In California, the lien takes effect when the association records a notice of delinquent assessment with the county recorder (Civil Code §5675 (opens in a new tab)). Associations there can’t foreclose for unpaid assessments unless the amount reaches $1,800 or the assessments are more than 12 months delinquent (§5720 (opens in a new tab)). In Florida, the HOA lien relates back to the date the declaration was recorded, but against a first mortgage it takes effect only when a claim of lien is recorded (§720.3085 (opens in a new tab)).

A recorded lien shows up in the recorder search, but unpaid dues may not be recorded yet. Ask the association for an estoppel or resale certificate. Florida HOAs must issue one within 10 business days, and the statute caps the fee, with the caps adjusted for inflation every five years (§720.30851 (opens in a new tab)). That matters because a Florida buyer is jointly liable with the seller for assessments that came due before the transfer (§720.3085(2)(b)). Some states also give part of an HOA lien priority over a first mortgage, so treat an unpaid balance as something to settle at closing.

Municipal liens

Cities and counties can have liens for code enforcement fines, unpaid water, sewer, or trash charges, demolition, board-up, mowing or nuisance abatement, and similar charges. Some are recorded. Many sit only in city or utility department files until someone asks. Federal law even lets certain government utility charges outrank a filed IRS lien when local law gives them that priority (26 U.S.C. §6323(b)(6) (opens in a new tab)).

Florida shows how far these can reach. A recorded code enforcement order imposing a fine becomes a lien on the land where the violation exists and on any other real or personal property the violator owns, and fines keep accruing until the violation is fixed or a court enters judgment on the lien (§162.09(3) (opens in a new tab)). Such a lien can’t be foreclosed on a homestead, but it still has to be paid or released to deliver clear title.

A municipal lien search is a request to the city, county, or utility for every open charge, violation, and lien on a parcel. Some cities sell an official lien letter or certificate for a fee. Others only answer by department, so you may need to contact code enforcement, the utility billing office, and the building department separately. Title companies in many areas order these searches as a routine closing step. For open permits, ask the building department too: an expired permit isn’t a lien, but it can lead to fines.

Child support liens

Federal law requires every state to have procedures under which liens “arise by operation of law against real and personal property” for overdue child support (42 U.S.C. §666(a)(4) (opens in a new tab)). How a state perfects that lien varies. According to the federal Office of Child Support Services’ guide for attorneys (opens in a new tab), most states require an affirmative step to perfect the lien, such as recording the support order or judgment in the public records (typically with the recorder of deeds for real property), and the filing office varies by state. Search the recorder by name and, if the owner has a support case, ask the state child support agency for a payoff or release.

UCC fixture filings and leased solar panels

A fixture filing is a UCC financing statement for goods that are or will become attached to real estate. It is filed where a mortgage on that land would be recorded (UCC §9-501(a)(1)(B) (opens in a new tab)). The most common one in home sales today comes from solar panels that are leased or covered by a power purchase agreement (PPA): the solar company files to put the world on notice that it owns the equipment.

Fannie Mae’s Selling Guide B2-3-04 (opens in a new tab) says leased or PPA solar panels can’t be counted in the appraised value. It treats a precautionary UCC filing that describes only the solar equipment, and not the home or land, as acceptable and “a minor impediment to title.” A buyer still needs to assume the lease or have the seller buy it out. Ask the seller for the contract and the transfer terms early. Panels financed with a PACE assessment are different: those ride on the tax bill (see our special assessments guide).

What is lis pendens?

A lis pendens (Latin for “pending suit”), also called a notice of pendency of action, is a document recorded in the land records to warn that a lawsuit has been filed that could affect title to or possession of the property. Foreclosures, quiet title suits, partition suits between co-owners, suits for specific performance of a purchase contract, and some divorce and mechanic’s lien cases commonly come with one.

A lis pendens is not a lien and doesn’t mean anyone owes money. Its effect is notice. Anyone who buys, lends against, or takes a lien on the property after it is recorded takes subject to whatever the court decides. In California, a buyer or lender is deemed to have constructive notice from the moment of recording, and the claimant’s eventual rights relate back to that date (CCP §405.24 (opens in a new tab)). In practice, few lenders or title insurers will close over an unresolved lis pendens, so it can freeze a sale or refinance.

Who can file one, and how long it lasts

• California: only a party asserting a “real property claim” may record one (CCP §405.20 (opens in a new tab)). The court must expunge it if the pleading contains no real property claim, or if the claimant can’t show its probable validity by a preponderance of the evidence (§§405.31–405.32 (opens in a new tab)).
• Florida: a lawsuit acts as a lis pendens only if a notice is recorded in the county’s official records. Unless the suit is founded on a recorded instrument (such as a mortgage) or a construction lien, the notice expires one year after the action begins unless the court extends it (§48.23 (opens in a new tab)).
• Texas: a party seeking affirmative relief in a suit involving title to real property, an interest in it, or enforcement of an encumbrance may file the notice with the county clerk. It must serve a copy on affected parties within three days (Property Code §12.007 (opens in a new tab)). A court must expunge it if there’s no real property claim, the claim’s probable validity isn’t shown, or the notice wasn’t served (§12.0071).

What to do if you find a lis pendens

1. Note the case number and court printed on the notice.
2. Look up the docket on the court’s website to see what the case is about and whether it is still open.
3. If the case is over, look for a recorded release, withdrawal, or certified order of dismissal or expungement. A closed case with no recorded release still clouds title.
4. If you are buying, tell your title company and agent right away and talk to a real estate attorney before you go further.

How to read a lien release

Finding a release is only half the job. Confirm that it actually releases the lien you found:

• It identifies the right document. The release should cite the original instrument number or book and page, the recording date, and the original parties. If the loan was assigned, the release should come from the last holder of record or its servicer.
• It is a full release, not a partial one. A partial release frees only part of the land, such as one lot from a developer’s blanket mortgage. Read the legal description in the release.
• It covers every lien. A refinance often pays off a first mortgage and a home equity line separately. Each needs its own release.
• For federal tax liens, look for the IRS certificate of release, recorded in the same office as the notice, or a lapsed refiling date on the original notice.
• Watch for a later re-filing. Judgment liens and state tax liens can be renewed or extended by recording a new document before they expire.

Lien priority basics

Priority decides who gets paid first from a sale, and which liens survive a foreclosure. The general rules:

• Property taxes usually come first. Texas tax liens beat other claims, including HOA liens, whether or not those claims existed earlier (Tax Code §32.05 (opens in a new tab)). Federal law also lets real property taxes and special assessments outrank a filed IRS lien (§6323(b)(6) (opens in a new tab)).
• Otherwise, first in time is usually first in right. Among recorded liens, the one recorded earliest generally has priority. That’s why lenders want their mortgage recorded before any later lien.
• There are exceptions. Some mechanic’s liens relate back to the start of work. Some HOA liens have limited priority over a first mortgage. Some purchase-money fixture filings beat an earlier mortgage (UCC §9-334 (opens in a new tab)).
• Foreclosure usually wipes out junior liens, not senior ones. A second-mortgage foreclosure doesn’t eliminate the first mortgage or the property taxes.

Priority disputes turn on state law and exact dates, so this is an area for a title company or attorney.

Title search vs. DIY search: when free isn’t enough

A title search is the professional version of what this guide describes: an examiner or abstractor searches the chain of title, the name indexes, court and tax records, and then a title company issues a commitment listing every lien and exception it will require cleared before closing. The insurance part is what you can’t do yourself. According to the CFPB, a lender’s title policy (opens in a new tab) is usually required to get a mortgage but doesn’t protect your equity. An owner’s title policy (opens in a new tab) is optional and protects you if a problem the search missed surfaces later, such as a previous owner’s unpaid taxes or a contractor’s claim.

A DIY search is useful for screening a property before you make an offer, checking your own home, reviewing a seller’s title before a for-sale-by-owner deal, or following up on a notice. It is not enough when:

• You’re buying, refinancing, or lending money secured by the property.
• You’re buying at a tax sale, sheriff’s sale, or foreclosure auction.
• The owner has a common name, an estate, a trust, or entity ownership that makes name searches unreliable.
• The county doesn’t offer online indexes, or older records are only on microfilm.
• You found a lien, lis pendens, or bankruptcy and need to know whether it attaches and what clears it.

How to remove or resolve a lien

1. Confirm the lien is yours and still valid. Check the debtor’s name, the amount, whether it expired, and whether it was already paid. A judgment against someone with the same name is a frequent false alarm. A title company can often clear it with an identity affidavit.
2. Get a written payoff. Ask the lienholder for a payoff statement good through a specific date. Pay through closing or by a traceable method.
3. Make sure the release is recorded. Get a copy with the recording stamp. If a lender misses the deadline, cite the state statute (for example, Florida’s 60 days under §701.04).
4. Bond off a disputed mechanic’s lien. Instead of paying a claim you dispute, you can move the lien off the property onto a bond. California requires a bond of 125% of the claim (Civil Code §8424 (opens in a new tab)). Texas requires double the lien amount, or for claims over $40,000, the greater of 1.5 times the amount or the amount plus $40,000 (Property Code §53.172 (opens in a new tab)). Florida requires the claim plus three years of interest plus the greater of $5,000 or 25% for fees and costs (§713.24 (opens in a new tab)). In Florida, an owner can also record a notice of contest that gives the lienor 60 days to sue or lose the lien (§713.22(2)).
5. Use the IRS’s tools when selling or refinancing. If you can’t pay a federal tax lien in full before a sale, the IRS can discharge the property from the lien (Form 14135 (opens in a new tab); see Publication 783 (opens in a new tab)). For a refinance, it can subordinate its lien to the new loan (Form 14134 (opens in a new tab)). In some cases it can withdraw the public notice (Form 12277 (opens in a new tab)).
6. Challenge an improper filing in court. Lis pendens can be expunged, mechanic’s liens filed late or for the wrong amount can be contested, and judgment liens can be cleared from a Texas homestead by affidavit. These are procedures where an attorney is worth paying for.

Found a lien on your own home?

People usually discover a lien when they refinance or sell, or when a letter arrives. Common causes:

• A paid-off mortgage that was never released. Contact the lender or its successor for a release. If the lender no longer exists, a title company can usually help.
• A subcontractor or supplier your contractor didn’t pay. This can happen even if you paid in full. Gather your contract, payments, and any lien waivers, and check whether the claimant met the filing and suit deadlines.
• A city charge. A code violation, mowing, or unpaid utility bill can turn into a lien, sometimes from before you owned the property. Ask the city for an itemized statement.
• HOA fees or fines you dispute. Ask for an itemized ledger and the governing document allowing each charge.
• A judgment or tax lien under your name, or a similar name. Pull the case and confirm it is actually against you.
• Escrow failures. If your servicer didn’t pay taxes it collected, follow our guide on what to do when your mortgage servicer didn’t pay your property taxes.

If someone records a document you believe is fraudulent, report it to the recorder and law enforcement and talk to an attorney. Some counties also offer free property fraud alerts that email you when something is recorded under your name.

Buying at a tax sale or foreclosure: liens that can survive

Auction buyers often assume the sale wipes the property clean. It frequently doesn’t:

• Federal tax liens. If a Notice of Federal Tax Lien was filed more than 30 days before a nonjudicial sale, such as a nonjudicial foreclosure or some tax sales, the IRS must get written notice at least 25 days before the sale. Otherwise the property is sold subject to the federal lien. Even with notice, the IRS can redeem real property within 120 days after the sale or the state redemption period, whichever is longer (26 U.S.C. §7425 (opens in a new tab)).
• Senior liens. A foreclosure by a junior lienholder generally leaves senior mortgages and property taxes in place.
• HOA balances and municipal liens. Depending on state law, these can survive or become the new owner’s problem. In Florida, even a foreclosure buyer becomes liable for assessments that come due while it owns the parcel (§720.3085(2)(a)).
• Redemption rights. Many states let the former owner redeem for a period after a tax sale, so you may not get clear title right away.

Tax lien certificates are a separate investment with their own rules. Our delinquent tax guide explains lien versus deed states and the risks for investors. Before bidding on anything, get a title search and read the sale’s terms for which liens survive.

Frequently asked questions

How do I check for liens on a property for free?

Search the tax collector’s site for unpaid taxes, then search the county recorder’s official records by each owner’s name for mortgages, judgments, tax liens, mechanic’s liens, and lis pendens, and confirm each has a release. Check the court docket for lawsuits, and ask the city and HOA about unrecorded charges. Most of this is free online. Copies and certified documents usually cost a small fee.

What is a lis pendens?

A lis pendens is a recorded notice that a lawsuit involving title to or possession of the property is pending. It isn’t a lien and doesn’t mean money is owed. Anyone who buys or lends afterward is bound by the outcome of the case. It stays until the case ends and the notice is released, or a court expunges or discharges it. Lenders and title insurers usually won’t close a sale or refinance while one is unresolved.

How do I do a tax lien search?

For property taxes, look up the parcel on the county tax collector’s or treasurer’s site and check for delinquent years, sold certificates, or a pending tax sale. Ask for a tax certificate if you need official proof. For IRS and state tax liens, search the county recorder’s index under the owner’s name for a notice of federal or state tax lien.

What is a municipal lien search?

It is a check with the city, county, and utilities for unpaid code fines, water and sewer charges, demolition or abatement costs, and other local charges that may not appear in the recorder’s records. Some cities issue an official lien letter for a fee. Elsewhere you contact each department. Title companies often order one before closing.

Can someone put a lien on my house without me knowing?

Yes. Judgment, tax, mechanic’s, HOA, and code liens can be recorded without your signature, although most require notice to you at some stage. Search the recorder by your name once a year, and sign up for your county’s property fraud alert if it offers one.

How long does a lien stay on a property?

It depends on the type. Property tax liens generally last until the taxes are paid. Judgment liens in California, Texas, and Florida last 10 years and can be renewed or extended. A federal tax lien usually lasts until the 10-year collection period ends unless the IRS refiles. Mechanic’s liens are short-lived if the claimant doesn’t sue: 90 days after recording in California and one year in Florida.

Will a title search find every lien?

A professional title search finds recorded liens and checks tax and court records, and title insurance covers many problems it misses. Unrecorded municipal charges, HOA balances not yet liened, and mechanic’s liens not yet filed may not appear, which is why title companies also request payoff letters, estoppels, and lien waivers.