Document recording › Records Retrieval & Certified Copies
Need a certified copy of a deed, lien, or reconveyance that is already on record? We drive to the county recorder, purchase the document over the counter, and hand it to you — instead of waiting weeks on a mail request.
What we need from you: the document number, or the book and page, or the grantor and grantee names plus the approximate recording year. The recorder’s index cannot be searched by street address.
Estimate your cost
Copy fees are charged per page, not per document. Enter the county, the number of documents, and how many pages each one runs to see the county cost plus our trip fee.
Estimate Your Retrieval Cost
A street address on its own will not work. The official records index is built on names and document numbers, not addresses. If all you have is an address, identify the owner names first — then we can search by name and year.
County copy fees
These are the government fees, passed through at cost. Copy fees are per page — there is no flat per-document price.
| County | Certified copy | Plain copy | Index search | 3-page certified deed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Los Angeles | $6.00 first page $3.00 each additional |
$5.00 first page $3.00 each additional |
$0.50 per name per year ($1.00 minimum, non-refundable) |
$12.00 |
| Orange | $1.00 per page + $1.00 certification per document |
$1.00 per page | Staff do not search — document number required | $4.00 |
| Ventura | $2.00 first page $1.00 each additional + $1.00 certification |
$2.00 first page $1.00 each additional |
Staff do not search — document number or book and page required | $5.00 |
Verified August 2026 against each recorder’s published fee schedule. County fees are subject to change without notice and are confirmed at the counter.
How it works
Document number, book and page, or grantor and grantee names with an approximate year. Tell us the county and whether you need the copy certified or plain.
You get the trip fee plus an estimate of county fees, and you authorize a not-to-exceed amount in writing so we can finish the purchase in one visit.
We pull the record at the counter, confirm it is the document you asked for, pay the county, and collect the certified copy with its seal.
Hand delivery, mail, or scanned copy for reference. County fees appear at cost, separated from our service fee.
What we retrieve
Grant deeds, quitclaim deeds, trust transfer deeds, interspousal deeds, and deeds of trust — certified copies used for refinancing, estate administration, and title work.
Mechanics liens, judgment liens, notices of default, and reconveyances. A certified copy establishes whether a lien is still active or has been released.
Easements, CC&Rs, affidavits of death, and fictitious business name statements. If it is in the recorder’s official records index, we can purchase a copy.
Common questions
Los Angeles County charges $6.00 for the first page and $3.00 for each additional page of a certified copy. Plain copies are $5.00 for the first page and $3.00 for each additional page. A three-page certified grant deed is therefore $12.00 in county fees. There is no flat per-document copy fee — the price scales with page count.
Orange County charges $1.00 per page plus $1.00 to certify each document, so a three-page certified copy is $4.00. Ventura County charges $2.00 for the first page, $1.00 for each additional page, and $1.00 for certification, so a three-page certified copy is $5.00.
Identifiers the recorder can actually search on: the document number, or the book and page, or the grantor and grantee names plus the approximate year of recording. Recorder indexes are organized by name and document number.
No. The official records index is a grantor/grantee name and document number index and cannot be searched by street address. If an address is all you have, the owner names need to be identified first — then we can search by name and year.
No. Recorded real estate documents — deeds, deeds of trust, liens, reconveyances — are public records in California. Anyone may purchase a copy and no identification, authorization, or proof of ownership is required. Vital records are the opposite: birth, death, and marriage certificates are restricted by law and require a sworn statement signed by an authorized requester.
Mail and online copy requests to the LA County recorder are quoted at roughly 20 working days. We walk in instead. When you can give us a document number or a book and page, same-business-day delivery is usually achievable. If the document first has to be located by name through the recorder’s index, that search is done at the Norwalk headquarters and we confirm realistic timing with you before we leave.
LA County charges a staff index search fee of $0.50 per name per year with a $1.00 minimum, and it is non-refundable — the county keeps it even if no matching document is located. Orange and Ventura staff do not search for the public, so a document number or book and page is required in those counties.
No. Recorders issue the complete document only. There is no way to purchase a single page or an excerpt, which is why the final cost depends on the document’s total page count.
Because the page count is unknown until we are at the counter looking at the document. Authorizing a maximum dollar amount for county fees in advance lets us complete the purchase in a single trip instead of stopping to call for approval.
A certified copy bears the recorder’s official seal and certification statement, making it acceptable to courts, lenders, title companies, and government agencies. A plain copy has no official standing. In LA County the difference is $1.00 — if any institution will rely on the document, order it certified.
Yes. LA County official records run back to 1851. The indexes live at the Norwalk headquarters — 1958 to present on the second floor, and 1851 through 1957 in the lower level. Older records are held on-site rather than off-site, so age alone does not automatically delay an order; what matters most is whether you can supply a document number or book and page.
Anything in the recorder’s official records index: grant deeds, quitclaim deeds, interspousal and trust transfer deeds, deeds of trust, reconveyances, mechanics and judgment liens, notices of default, easements, CC&Rs, affidavits of death, and fictitious business name statements.
Call or text with the county, the document number or the grantor and grantee names with a year, and whether you need it certified. We confirm the cost and go pick it up.