Transaction Coordinator in Adams County, PA.

What we handle on an Adams County file

Adams County does not e-record. Every deed goes in on paper, by appointment, drop box, or courier, and originals come back roughly two weeks later, which changes how the back end of a file has to be scheduled. No municipality in the county requires a resale use and occupancy inspection, so the real work sits in township septic pumping districts and in the transfer tax paperwork for the six municipalities that straddle two school districts. Once your deal is ratified, PLS builds and manages the file in KW Command, tracks every deadline and contingency, routes documents for signature, and coordinates with lender, title, attorneys, and the co-op agent. See the full transaction coordination service for the complete scope, and the Pennsylvania overview for statewide notes.

Realty transfer tax in Adams County: 2.0%

The Recorder's fee schedule, effective December 1, 2025, states that a state tax of 1 percent of the consideration and a local tax of the same amount is due when recording. Gettysburg Borough's section 24-404 imposes 1 percent and automatically halves it where the school district taxes the same transfer. Straban, Mount Joy, Mount Pleasant, Bonneauville, Hamilton, and Tyrone all straddle two school districts, and the county states that multiple municipalities must state the percentages of divisions for local realty transfer taxes. Get that form done in advance on any property in those six townships.

Recording a deed in Adams County

The Adams County Recorder of Deeds sits at Courthouse Room 102, 117 Baltimore Street, Gettysburg, PA, 717-337-9826. The current recording fee is $71.25 for a deed, effective December 1, 2025. Pages over four are $4.00 each, names over four are $1.00 each, a Clean and Green filing is $18.50, and a returned check is $20. There is no e-recording: the Recorder's FAQ states that at this time the office does not eRecord, so submissions go in person, through the secure drop box, or by mail or courier, and the county states that pre-scheduled appointments are preferred but not required. A taxable deed transfer takes three separate checks. Cash, check, or money order is accepted for the recording fee itself, but transfer tax must be paid by check. Overpayment up to $10.00 is kept and shown as an overpayment, but a check more than $10.00 over gets the documents rejected and returned. The recording cut-off is 4:00 p.m., originals come back approximately two weeks from the recorded date, and a self-addressed stamped envelope is required.

Adams County does not use the Uniform Parcel Identifier. No parcel ID or property address is required on recorded documents, so there is no UPI certification step and no UPI fee, unlike neighboring York and Cumberland. What does gate the recording is the Certificate of Residence, which must be referenced and signed on all deeds, mortgages, and assignments or the document will not record. Subdivision plans must be recorded within 90 days of approval.

What actually holds up a closing here

Township septic pumping districts, and one township that names a hauler not to use

There is no countywide septic certification, so the requirements are municipal and sellers frequently arrive at closing out of compliance. Hamiltonban Township, under Ordinance 2016-02, requires pumping every two years in District I BB Section and every three years elsewhere, and publishes an approved-hauler list that includes an explicit do-not-use entry for one hauler. Liberty Township requires pumping every three years with each district on a different cycle, and part-time use is not an excuse. Mount Joy Township requires inspection and pump-out every four years and annually for holding tanks. Franklin Township, under Ordinance 2006-01, requires pumping at least once every three years, with the receipt plus a twelve-point hauler statement delivered to the Township and the sewage enforcement officer within 30 days, and penalties up to $1,000 per offense per day.

No resale use and occupancy anywhere, but Gettysburg rental licences do not transfer

No Adams County municipality requires a pre-sale use and occupancy certificate, resale inspection, or occupancy permit as a condition of transfer. Gettysburg Borough's permits and licences page confirms this: a certificate of occupancy is required only for construction sign-off under the UCC, a change of use or a new commercial occupant, and short-term rentals. Carroll Valley Borough ties its certificate to new, enlarged, or altered buildings only. The item that does bite an investor buyer is that Gettysburg residential rental licences are non-transferable, so a buyer of a Gettysburg rental must obtain a new one at $40 application plus $80 per unit for inspection. Forms labelled Status of Occupancy in Bonneauville, Conewago, and Littlestown are tax-roll reporting forms, not resale inspections.

Preserved farms and the county property improvement permit

The county purchases agricultural conservation easements and maintains an interactive map of preserved farms, easements, and agricultural security areas. A preserved farm carries a recorded perpetual easement with use restrictions and usually notice or right-of-first-refusal provisions, so title work has to surface it and the buyer needs the easement in hand during contingency. Private easements through the Land Conservancy of Adams County are also common. Separately, any project estimated at $4,000 or more requires an Adams County Property Improvement Permit from the Tax Assessor, and unpermitted improvements tend to surface as an assessment issue at closing. Tax Services is at 717-337-9837.

Pricing

Transaction coordination in Pennsylvania is billed per file, not as a monthly retainer. Contract to close is $400 per transaction, and the full rate card including dual agency, transaction licensee, FSBO, and listing management is published on our pricing page. No fixed overhead, no minimum volume.

Where these figures come from

The county-level figures on this page come from the official sources listed below. Municipal fees and deadlines come from each municipality's own published schedules and ordinances, which are revised more often than they are archived. We publish what we could verify and leave out what we could not. Fees and ordinances change; if you are relying on a figure 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.

• Adams County Recorder of Deeds fee schedule, effective 12/01/25
• Adams County recording requirements
• Gettysburg Borough transfer tax ordinance
• Gettysburg Borough permits and licenses
• Franklin Township on-lot sewage ordinance
• PA Department of Revenue, Realty Transfer Tax