Transaction Coordinator in Chester County, PA.

What we handle on a Chester County file

Chester County spreads across a large number of municipalities with genuinely different resale rules. Some boroughs run a full inspection with a documented escrow mechanism, others require only utility and tax certifications, and several require nothing at all. The county imposes no septic or well test at sale, but a handful of townships require the tank to be pumped before conveyance, which is the item most often missed. 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 Chester County: 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.

Recording a deed in Chester County

The Chester County Recorder of Deeds sits at 313 West Market Street, Suite 3302, West Chester, PA, 610-344-6330. The current recording fee is $94.75 for a standard deed, effective December 1, 2025. The base fee covers up to 4 pages, 4 names, one UPI, one notation, and one tract, and the $41.25 AOPC judicial administration fee is already included. Additional pages are $4.00, names $1.00, tracts $1.00, and an additional UPI is $20.00. A statement of value counts as a page. A deed of correction is $94.75 and a re-recorded deed is $96.75, and neither can be e-recorded. Deeds in blank and relocation deeds are $182.50 and need two statements of value. E-recording is limited to Simplifile and CSC, capped at 10 UPIs per document and 10 documents per package. The recording cutoff is 4:00 p.m. Aggregator sites still show the superseded $93.75.

A deed requires three separate payments: the state tax check, the municipal tax check, and the recording fees. Chester accepts cash in person for recording fees, plus business or cashier's checks and money orders, and never personal, estate, or trust checks, and credit cards cannot be used for transfer tax under any circumstance. For e-recorded documents the consideration and both tax amounts must appear on page one, and the current common level ratio factor must appear on the statement of value.

What actually holds up a closing here

East Goshen added a mandatory inspection in 2025 and prices late filings

As of February 1, 2025 East Goshen requires an inspection on all transfer applications before the use and occupancy certificate will issue, at a fee of $150.00. The transfer, trash, and sewer certifications are now a single combined application requiring three separate checks of $150.00, $15.00, and $15.00, and processing takes 15 business days from receipt. Under the 2026 fee schedule an expedite fee of $100 applies to any application filed with 15 days or less between receipt and settlement. Filing late therefore costs $280 instead of $180, which is a concrete reason to open the file the day the agreement of sale is executed rather than after the inspection contingency clears.

West Chester has no resale inspection, but skipping its certifications creates a lien

West Chester Borough does not run a pre-sale use and occupancy inspection, and its fee schedule adopted July 15, 2026 contains no occupancy fee at all. What it requires instead is Real Estate Certifications at $50 each. The Borough's page states $100 total for tax and sewer, and its fee schedule separately lists a Stream Protection Program certification at $50, so budget for $150 and confirm which apply. These are required for all real estate transactions, including refinancing, and must be requested at least 10 calendar days before settlement. The consequence of skipping them is unusually direct: failure to request and pay results in an immediate property lien in the buyers' names. This is a case where the absence of an inspection makes people assume there is nothing to do, and the borough attaches the penalty to the buyer rather than the seller.

No county septic test at sale, but two townships require a pump-out before conveyance

There is no countywide point-of-sale septic inspection. The Chester County Health Department regulation governing on-lot sewage, Section 503, adopts the state chapters and requires permits for installation, and contains no provision triggered by sale, conveyance, transfer, or settlement. There is likewise no county well water testing requirement at transfer under Section 501, so well testing at resale is driven by the lender or the contract, not by county rule. Municipal rules are the real trip hazard: West Goshen Township Section 66-51F requires that the sewage system be pumped prior to the conveyance of any lot unless the owner files a receipt showing it was pumped within the preceding six months, and East Coventry Township Section 18-204.5 imposes a materially identical six month rule.

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.

• Chester County Recorder of Deeds fee schedule
• Chester County Recorder of Deeds
• East Goshen Township, use and occupancy
• West Chester Borough, real estate certifications
• Chester County Health Department regulations, Section 503
• West Goshen Township Code Section 66-51F
• East Coventry Township Code Section 18-204.5