Reference · PA, NJ, DE

Recording fees and transfer taxes, county by county.

What it costs to record a deed, and what the realty transfer tax is, in each of the 25 counties Precision Leverage Solutions coordinates in across Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Delaware. Every figure below comes from the county's own published fee schedule or ordinance, listed at the bottom of this page. Fees change, so confirm with the issuing office before a figure goes onto a settlement statement.

How to read these numbers

Three things cause most of the errors we see on settlement statements:

  • The recording fee is not one number. In Pennsylvania the published fee is a base that covers a set number of pages, names, and tax parcels, typically four pages, four names, and one parcel. Extra pages, extra names, and extra parcels are each billed on top. In Delaware the fee is charged per page from the first page. In New Jersey the counties publish a first-page price and charge per page after that.
  • Transfer tax and recording fee are unrelated charges. Transfer tax is a percentage of consideration owed to the Commonwealth, the municipality, and the school district in Pennsylvania, or to the State in Delaware. The recording fee is what the county charges to put the document on record. Quoting one and forgetting the other understates closing costs.
  • Pennsylvania's UPI step is not priced the same way everywhere. Most Pennsylvania counties we work in require UPI (Uniform Parcel Identifier) certification from the assessment office before the Recorder will accept the deed, and where that is a separate errand it costs roughly $10 to $20 per parcel and means the deed visits two offices in sequence. But check before you add it as a line: Cumberland's published deed fee already includes the $20 UPI where one is required, Chester's already includes one UPI, Berks requires UPI with no separate charge for the first parcel, and Lancaster publishes no UPI requirement at all. Adding $20 to a Cumberland or Chester quote overstates it. Where UPI is a separate step, that sequencing rather than the fee is the most common reason a Pennsylvania recording slips a day.

Pennsylvania

Several of these changed in late 2025 or early 2026 with the Act 45 of 2025 increase to the Judicial Computer Project fee, which is why the effective dates cluster. Lancaster is the one row without an effective date: the Recorder's downloadable fee bill still shows the pre-Act 45 figure of $70.25 while the live fee page shows $71.25, a $1.00 JCP difference rather than a discrepancy. $71.25 is the current number.

CountyRealty transfer taxDeed recording feeRecorder of Deeds
Adams County2.0%$71.25 for a deed, effective December 1, 2025Adams County Recorder of Deeds
717-337-9826
Allegheny County2.0% to 5.0% depending on municipality and school district$200.00 for a deed, effective January 1, 2026Allegheny County Division of Real Estate
412-350-4636
Berks County2.0% outside Reading, 5.0% in the City of Reading$88.00 for a deed of up to four pages, effective November 14, 2025Berks County Recorder of Deeds
610-478-3380
Bucks County2.0%$82.75 for a deed of any form, effective January 1, 2026Bucks County Recorder of Deeds
215-348-6209
Chester County2.0% in most municipalities, 3.5% in Coatesville$94.75 for a standard deed, effective December 1, 2025Chester County Recorder of Deeds
610-344-6330
Cumberland County2.0%$104.75 for a deed, effective November 17, 2025Cumberland County Recorder of Deeds
717-240-6370
Dauphin County2.0%$87.75 for a deed, per the schedule revised December 1, 2025Dauphin County Recorder of Deeds
717-780-6560
Delaware County2.0% in most municipalities, up to 3.0%$117.25 for a four-page deed, effective December 1, 2025Delaware County Recorder of Deeds
610-891-4152
Lancaster County2.0%$71.25 for a deed of up to four pagesLancaster County Office of Recorder of Deeds
717-299-8238
Lebanon County2.0%$91.75 for a deed, effective November 12, 2025Lebanon County Recorder of Deeds
717-228-4447
Montgomery County2.0%$87.75 for a deed, effective November 24, 2025Montgomery County Recorder of Deeds
610-278-3289
Philadelphia County4.578%$278.75 for a deed, from the fee schedule published March 27, 2025Philadelphia Department of Records
215-686-2290
York County2.0%$85.25 base for a deedYork County Recorder of Deeds
717-771-9295

New Jersey

New Jersey has no Recorder of Deeds. Deeds record with the County Clerk, or with the Register of Deeds and Mortgages in Essex and Hudson. New Jersey also has no percentage realty transfer tax of the Pennsylvania kind: the seller pays a graduated Realty Transfer Fee set by the State, plus a graduated Percent Fee above $1 million that replaced the mansion tax in July 2025. The county fee below is the recording charge only.

CountyRealty transfer taxDeed recording feeCounty Clerk
Bergen CountyRealty Transfer Fee, graduated and paid by the seller$45 for the first page of a deed, plus $10 for each additional pageBergen County Clerk, Registry Counter
201-336-7007
Burlington CountyRealty Transfer Fee, graduated and paid by the seller$45 for the first page of a deedBurlington County Clerk
609-265-5122
Camden CountyRealty Transfer Fee, graduated and paid by the seller$30 for the first page of a deed, with a published $55 minimumCamden County Clerk, Registry Division
856-225-5300
Essex CountyRealty Transfer Fee, graduated and paid by the seller$45 for the first page of a deed, tax abstract includedEssex County Register of Deeds and Mortgages
973-621-4960
Gloucester CountyRealty Transfer Fee, graduated and paid by the seller$30 for the first page of a deedGloucester County Clerk, Record Room
856-853-3259
Mercer CountyRealty Transfer Fee, graduated and paid by the seller$43 for the first page of a deed, plus $10 for each additional pageMercer County Clerk, Recording Division
609-989-6466
Middlesex CountyRealty Transfer Fee, graduated and paid by the seller$45 for the first page of a deed, or $35 without the abstract, on a schedule effective 6/1/2019Middlesex County Clerk, Registry
732-745-3002
Monmouth CountyRealty Transfer Fee, graduated and paid by the seller$40 for the first page of a deed, on a schedule the Clerk publishes as effective July 2003Monmouth County Clerk
732-431-7324
Ocean CountyRealty Transfer Fee, graduated and paid by the seller$45 for the first page of a deed, inclusive of the $5 homelessness trust fund and the first marginal notationOcean County Clerk
732-929-2018

Delaware

Delaware transfer tax is the highest of the three states and is normally split between buyer and seller. Delaware counties also price recording per page rather than per document, so a long deed costs materially more than a short one.

CountyRealty transfer taxDeed recording feeRecorder of Deeds
Kent County4 percent countywide, split evenly between seller and buyer$10 per page for a deed plus a $36 document fee and $5 per tax parcel, on schedule KCROD-12.0 effective October 28, 2025Kent County Recorder of Deeds
302-744-2314
New Castle County4 percent in most of the county, 3 percent where no local tax applies$13 per page for a deed plus a $30 state document fee, on a schedule revised 1/28/2020New Castle County Recorder of Deeds
302-395-7700
Sussex County4 percent countywide, split evenly between seller and buyer$9 per page for a deed plus a $30 document surcharge and $1 maintenance fee, effective July 1, 2024Sussex County Recorder of Deeds
302-855-7785

Counties where a single rate would mislead you

Most counties in this region are a flat 2 percent and you can quote them without looking anything up. These are the exceptions, and each one is a place where using the countywide number produces a wrong settlement statement.

Allegheny County, PA: 2.0% to 5.0% depending on municipality and school district

Allegheny publishes a full municipal and school district rate table, which most counties do not. The City of Pittsburgh is 3 percent city plus 1 percent Pittsburgh School District plus 1 percent Commonwealth for a 5 percent total, the highest combined realty transfer tax in Pennsylvania. One edge case is missed almost everywhere: a small slice of the City of Pittsburgh sits in the Baldwin-Whitehall School District, where the school rate is one half of one percent and the total is 4.5 percent, so verify the school district and not just the municipality. McKeesport City, Penn Hills, and Mount Oliver Borough are 3 percent. Mt. Lebanon, Bethel Park, Monroeville, McCandless, Upper St. Clair, and Whitehall are 2.5 percent.

Full Allegheny County coordination notes and sources

Philadelphia County, PA: 4.578%

Philadelphia charges 3.578 percent and the Commonwealth charges 1 percent, applied to the actual consideration. The tax is due when the deed is presented for recording, and payment is required within 30 days after the real estate is acquired, not 30 days after the document reaches the Department of Records. Custom splits the tax evenly between buyer and seller, but that is custom and not law: the City may collect the entire amount from either party. The tax also reaches long-term leases of 30 years or more, easements, life estates, and entity transfers, and penalties run as high as 50 percent of the tax due. Property that is willed is exempt; property purchased from an estate is not.

Full Philadelphia County coordination notes and sources

Berks County, PA: 2.0% outside Reading, 5.0% in the City of Reading

The Recorder of Deeds fee schedule effective November 14, 2025 states that the transfer tax rate is 5 percent in the City of Reading and 2 percent in all other Berks municipalities. The City publishes the Reading breakdown as 3.5 percent city, 1 percent state, and 0.5 percent school district, in effect since January 15, 2006. Exeter Township's section 340-43 imposes 1 percent with an automatic halving clause, and Kutztown Borough's section 200-2 is a flat 1 percent with no halving clause, both totalling 2 percent with the state share. One recording trap: the Recorder requires that Wyomissing Borough deeds specify Wyomissing or Wilson School District, because the borough straddles both and a deed that does not name the right one is rejected.

Full Berks County coordination notes and sources

Chester County, PA: 2.0% in most municipalities, 3.5% in Coatesville

The Recorder of Deeds states the transfer tax rate is 1 percent local, with exceptions for Malvern and Tredyffrin at 1.5 percent and Coatesville at 2.5 percent. Adding the 1 percent state tax produces totals of 2 percent, 2.5 percent, and 3.5 percent. Coatesville rose from 2 percent local to 2.5 percent local effective January 1, 2026, making it the highest total in the county. Do not rely on the City of Coatesville's own website, which still publishes a 3.0 percent total from a page last modified in 2023 and is contradicted by the county collector of record.

Full Chester County coordination notes and sources

Delaware County, PA: 2.0% in most municipalities, up to 3.0%

The standard is 1 percent local plus 1 percent state. Only four municipalities exceed the standard local rate. Upper Providence Township is 2 percent local for a 3 percent total, the highest in the county. Chester City, Upper Darby Township, and Radnor Township are each 1.5 percent local for a 2.5 percent total. Chester City's 1.5 percent took effect September 1, 2023 and Upper Darby's took effect January 1, 2022 under Code Section 489-57A. The Recorder of Deeds collects this tax as statutory agent, retaining 1 percent commission on the Commonwealth distribution and 2 percent on the municipal distribution.

Full Delaware County coordination notes and sources

New Castle County, DE: 4 percent in most of the county, 3 percent where no local tax applies

Under 30 Del. C. § 5402(a) the state rate is 2.5 percent where the county or municipality has enacted the full 1.5 percent local tax, and the statute directs that the tax be apportioned equally between grantor and grantee. The Division of Revenue's RTT-TAX instructions state the same 4 percent total apportioned equally, so each side normally pays 2 percent, made up of 1.25 percent state and 0.75 percent local. A qualifying first time buyer's share is reduced by 0.5 percent of the lesser of the property value or $400,000 under § 5402(c), a maximum of $2,000, and New Castle County adds its own 0.75 percent reduction capped at $3,000. Arden, Ardentown and Ardencroft have no local transfer tax, so deeds there fall under the 3 percent state fallback rate in § 5402(a) rather than the usual 4 percent total.

Full New Castle County coordination notes and sources

Every other county, at a glance

Kent County, DE

Transfer tax: 4 percent countywide, split evenly between seller and buyer. Deed recording: $10 per page for a deed plus a $36 document fee and $5 per tax parcel, on schedule KCROD-12.0 effective October 28, 2025, through the Kent County Recorder of Deeds, 555 Bay Road, Dover, Delaware 19901, 302-744-2314. Coordination notes and sources for Kent County.

Sussex County, DE

Transfer tax: 4 percent countywide, split evenly between seller and buyer. Deed recording: $9 per page for a deed plus a $30 document surcharge and $1 maintenance fee, effective July 1, 2024, through the Sussex County Recorder of Deeds, 2 The Circle, Georgetown, DE 19947, 302-855-7785. Coordination notes and sources for Sussex County.

Bergen County, NJ

Transfer tax: Realty Transfer Fee, graduated and paid by the seller. Deed recording: $45 for the first page of a deed, plus $10 for each additional page, through the Bergen County Clerk, Registry Counter, One Bergen County Plaza, Room 110, Hackensack, New Jersey 07601, 201-336-7007. Coordination notes and sources for Bergen County.

Burlington County, NJ

Transfer tax: Realty Transfer Fee, graduated and paid by the seller. Deed recording: $45 for the first page of a deed, through the Burlington County Clerk, 50 Rancocas Road, Mount Holly, New Jersey 08060, 609-265-5122. Coordination notes and sources for Burlington County.

Camden County, NJ

Transfer tax: Realty Transfer Fee, graduated and paid by the seller. Deed recording: $30 for the first page of a deed, with a published $55 minimum, through the Camden County Clerk, Registry Division, 520 Market Street, Room 102, Camden, New Jersey 08102, 856-225-5300. Coordination notes and sources for Camden County.

Essex County, NJ

Transfer tax: Realty Transfer Fee, graduated and paid by the seller. Deed recording: $45 for the first page of a deed, tax abstract included, through the Essex County Register of Deeds and Mortgages, Hall of Records, Room 130, 465 Martin Luther King, Jr. Blvd., Newark, New Jersey 07102, 973-621-4960. Coordination notes and sources for Essex County.

Gloucester County, NJ

Transfer tax: Realty Transfer Fee, graduated and paid by the seller. Deed recording: $30 for the first page of a deed, through the Gloucester County Clerk, Record Room, 1 North Broad Street, Woodbury, New Jersey 08096, 856-853-3259. Coordination notes and sources for Gloucester County.

Mercer County, NJ

Transfer tax: Realty Transfer Fee, graduated and paid by the seller. Deed recording: $43 for the first page of a deed, plus $10 for each additional page, through the Mercer County Clerk, Recording Division, 209 South Broad Street, Trenton, New Jersey 08608, 609-989-6466. Coordination notes and sources for Mercer County.

Middlesex County, NJ

Transfer tax: Realty Transfer Fee, graduated and paid by the seller. Deed recording: $45 for the first page of a deed, or $35 without the abstract, on a schedule effective 6/1/2019, through the Middlesex County Clerk, Registry, County Administration Building, 75 Bayard Street, 4th Floor, New Brunswick, New Jersey 08901, 732-745-3002. Coordination notes and sources for Middlesex County.

Monmouth County, NJ

Transfer tax: Realty Transfer Fee, graduated and paid by the seller. Deed recording: $40 for the first page of a deed, on a schedule the Clerk publishes as effective July 2003, through the Monmouth County Clerk, Market Yard, 33 Mechanic Street, Freehold, New Jersey 07728, 732-431-7324. Coordination notes and sources for Monmouth County.

Ocean County, NJ

Transfer tax: Realty Transfer Fee, graduated and paid by the seller. Deed recording: $45 for the first page of a deed, inclusive of the $5 homelessness trust fund and the first marginal notation, through the Ocean County Clerk, 118 Washington Street, Toms River, New Jersey 08753, 732-929-2018. Coordination notes and sources for Ocean County.

Adams County, PA

Transfer tax: 2.0%. Deed recording: $71.25 for a deed, effective December 1, 2025, through the Adams County Recorder of Deeds, Courthouse Room 102, 117 Baltimore Street, Gettysburg, PA, 717-337-9826. Coordination notes and sources for Adams County.

Bucks County, PA

Transfer tax: 2.0%. Deed recording: $82.75 for a deed of any form, effective January 1, 2026, through the Bucks County Recorder of Deeds, 55 East Court Street, 6th Floor, Doylestown, PA, 215-348-6209. Coordination notes and sources for Bucks County.

Cumberland County, PA

Transfer tax: 2.0%. Deed recording: $104.75 for a deed, effective November 17, 2025, through the Cumberland County Recorder of Deeds, 1 Courthouse Square, 1st Floor, Carlisle, PA, 717-240-6370. Coordination notes and sources for Cumberland County.

Dauphin County, PA

Transfer tax: 2.0%. Deed recording: $87.75 for a deed, per the schedule revised December 1, 2025, through the Dauphin County Recorder of Deeds, Courthouse Room 102, 101 Market Street, Harrisburg, PA, 717-780-6560. Coordination notes and sources for Dauphin County.

Lancaster County, PA

Transfer tax: 2.0%. Deed recording: $71.25 for a deed of up to four pages, through the Lancaster County Office of Recorder of Deeds, 150 North Queen Street, Lancaster, PA, 717-299-8238. Coordination notes and sources for Lancaster County.

Lebanon County, PA

Transfer tax: 2.0%. Deed recording: $91.75 for a deed, effective November 12, 2025, through the Lebanon County Recorder of Deeds, Room 107, 400 South 8th Street, Lebanon, PA, 717-228-4447. Coordination notes and sources for Lebanon County.

Montgomery County, PA

Transfer tax: 2.0%. Deed recording: $87.75 for a deed, effective November 24, 2025, through the Montgomery County Recorder of Deeds, 425 Swede Street, 3rd Floor, Norristown, PA, 610-278-3289. Coordination notes and sources for Montgomery County.

York County, PA

Transfer tax: 2.0%. Deed recording: $85.25 base for a deed, through the York County Recorder of Deeds, 28 East Market Street, Suite 122, York, PA, 717-771-9295, or 717-771-9608 for fee and transfer tax questions. Coordination notes and sources for York County.

Where these figures come from

Each figure traces to a county, municipal, or Commonwealth source. These were verified during the county research in July and August 2026, rechecked in September 2026, and each county's own page carries its specific citation list. One recurring hazard when you check these yourself: several counties keep a downloadable fee PDF alongside a current web page and the PDF is a revision behind. Burlington and Lancaster both do this today. Where the two disagree, the web page is the live figure. The Monmouth and Middlesex schedules carry old effective dates (2003 and 2019 respectively) that appear to be genuine rather than stale, but they are the likeliest candidates for a quiet revision, so confirm those two by phone on a live file. Fee schedules and ordinances are revised more often than they are archived, and several Pennsylvania counties changed their deed fee in late 2025 and early 2026. If you are relying on a number here for a live file, confirm it with the issuing office, and tell us if you find a discrepancy so we can correct the page.

Who this page is for

Precision Leverage Solutions handles the recording office and the municipal steps on every file we coordinate, so agents do not have to keep this page open. We work exclusively with Keller Williams agents across Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Delaware. See transaction coordination for what that covers, or the rate card for what it costs.

FAQ

Fee questions, answered.

What are the recording fees in Burlington County, NJ?

The Burlington County Clerk charges $45 for the first page of a deed and $10 for each additional page, per the Clerk's requirements for a recordable deed. Note that the Clerk also still posts an older recording fee cheat sheet showing a one-page deed at $40; the requirements page is the current figure. The Realty Transfer Fee due from the seller is separate from the recording charge and is set by the State, not the county.

What are the recording fees in Gloucester County, NJ?

The Gloucester County Clerk, Record Room, charges $30 for the first page of a deed. As in every New Jersey county, the seller's Realty Transfer Fee is a separate State charge calculated on consideration, not a county recording fee.

What does the Berks County Recorder of Deeds charge to record a deed?

$88.00 for a deed of up to four pages, on the fee schedule effective November 14, 2025. The base fee includes one tax parcel; each additional parcel is $15.00 and each additional page is $4.00. Berks realty transfer tax is 2 percent outside Reading and 5 percent in the City of Reading.

What are Bucks County recording fees?

$82.75 for a deed of any form, effective January 1, 2026, covering up to four pages, four names, and one tax parcel. Additional pages are $4.00, names $1.00, and parcels $10.00. The REV-183 statement of value does not count as a fee page in Bucks, which is a local quirk worth knowing.

What are Bergen County recording fees?

The Bergen County Clerk, Registry Counter, charges $45 for the first page of a deed plus $10 for each additional page.

What is the realty transfer tax in Allegheny County?

It ranges from 2 percent to 5 percent depending on the municipality and the school district, and Allegheny is one of the few Pennsylvania counties that publishes a full rate table. The City of Pittsburgh is 5 percent in total, the highest combined realty transfer tax in Pennsylvania, except for the small slice of the city sitting in the Baldwin-Whitehall School District, where the total is 4.5 percent.

What is the transfer tax in Pittsburgh?

5 percent of the sale price in total: 3 percent City of Pittsburgh, 1 percent Pittsburgh School District, and 1 percent Commonwealth. Verify the school district rather than just the municipality, because a small part of the city falls in the Baldwin-Whitehall School District where the school share is one half of one percent and the total is 4.5 percent.

What is the realty transfer tax in Montgomery County, PA?

2 percent, being 1 percent to the Commonwealth and 1 percent local. Montgomery does not publish a per-municipality rate table, so for any municipality other than one that publishes its own ordinance rate, confirm with the Recorder of Deeds rather than relying on a third-party rate chart.

Who pays the transfer tax, the buyer or the seller?

In Pennsylvania the statute makes grantor and grantee jointly and severally liable and the contract normally splits it, though some municipalities place statutory liability on one party: Harrisburg places it on the buyer. In Delaware the 4 percent is normally split evenly between buyer and seller. In New Jersey the Realty Transfer Fee and the graduated Percent Fee above $1 million both fall on the seller.

Why is the recording fee different in every county?

Pennsylvania and Delaware counties set their own recording fee schedules on top of statutory surcharges, and they revise them on their own timetables. Pennsylvania fees also moved in late 2025 with the Act 45 of 2025 increase to the Judicial Computer Project fee, which is why several counties on this page show effective dates in November and December 2025 and January 2026. Third-party fee charts are frequently a revision behind.

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