Search Texas Property Records

How Texas Property Records Work — Deep Dive

Who records deeds in Texas: the County Clerk

Texas Local Government Code §191.001 makes the elected County Clerk the recorder of real-property instruments in each of the 254 counties. Tarrant County's published guidance explains: the County Clerk's Recording Division receives original signed and notarized documents, indexes them by grantor/grantee, and returns them to the filer [tarrantcountytx.gov]. Travis County's Recording Division provides a similar walk-through of fee structure and document types [countyclerk.traviscountytx.gov]. Smaller counties such as Walker and Chambers maintain their own deed-records databases [co.walker.tx.us] [chamberscountytx.gov]. The Texas State Library maintains an overview of which county-record series exist statewide [tsl.texas.gov].

Appraisal Districts handle property taxes (not the Clerk)

Unlike most states, Texas separates the recording function (County Clerk) from the appraisal/tax function (the county Appraisal District, often called the CAD). The CAD determines market value annually, mails notices, and certifies the rolls used by the county Tax Assessor-Collector for billing. To look up a parcel's assessed value, ownership of record, or homestead-exemption status, search the relevant county's appraisal district website, not the County Clerk.

Statewide & specialized data

The Texas General Land Office GIS portal is the authoritative source for original state-grant survey patents, public-school land, and submerged lands. For oil-and-gas surface and subsurface data — relevant to Texas property where minerals are commonly severed from the surface estate — the Railroad Commission of Texas Public GIS Viewer exposes well, lease and unit boundaries statewide.

Property Records Databases

Official Texas property records sources from county recorder/clerk offices, county appraisal districts/assessors, and statewide GIS portals.