Transaction Coordinator in Delaware County, PA.

What we handle on a Delaware County file

Delaware County is the densest place in Pennsylvania for pre-sale use and occupancy inspections, and the rules change at every municipal border. Lead times run from two weeks to 45 days, several townships require a sewer lateral certification on top of the walkthrough, and a few impose sidewalk and curb obligations on the seller before the certificate will issue. 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 Delaware County: 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.

Recording a deed in Delaware County

The Delaware County Recorder of Deeds sits at Government Center Building, Room 108, 201 West Front Street, Media, PA, 610-891-4152. The current recording fee is $117.25 for a four-page deed, effective December 1, 2025. The $117.25 breaks down as a $38.00 base covering up to 4 pages, 4 names, and 10 folios, plus $18.00 county affordable housing, $41.25 for the Act 133 and 126 judicial and access to justice surcharges, $5.00 county improvement fund, and $15.00 under Act 152 for blighted property demolition. Additional pages are $4.00 and names past four are $1.00. E-recording runs through Simplifile, CSC, EPN, and Indecomm, with no published turnaround. Aggregator sites still show the pre-December 2025 figure of $116.25, which is a dollar low.

A deed needs three separate checks: the recording fee payable to Recorder of Deeds, and the state tax and local tax both payable to Recorder of Deeds, Agent. Every document is subject to Solicitor approval before it records, and a 1 inch top margin is required. The office is open 8:30 to 4:30 but recording hours end at 3:30, so a document walked in at 4:00 does not record that day.

What actually holds up a closing here

Upper Darby runs the most demanding resale inspection in the county

Upper Darby requires a use and occupancy certificate on residential resale. The single family fee is $110.00 effective January 1, 2026 under Ordinance 3195, a duplex is $135.00, and both include two inspections. A third or later inspection is $75.00, and a cancellation or no access with less than 24 hours notice costs $100.00. Applications should be submitted at least 14 business days before settlement and the township recommends four weeks. The seller is responsible, a buyer who takes on repairs must sign a notarised Letter of Intent, and a change in the buyer's name means a new application, a new fee, and a new inspection. A sewer lateral certification by an approved licensed contractor is also required, and failure to submit it counts as a substantial violation. The township states expressly that it will not enforce private escrow arrangements between the parties.

Lead times are the schedule risk in Delaware County, not the fees

The fees are small but the calendars are not. Ridley Township requires the application at least 45 days before settlement, the longest confirmed lead time in the county, at a $150.00 residential resale fee. Haverford Township requires filing at least 30 days out and prices the rush explicitly, per unit: $105.00 within 30 days, $175.00 at less than 10 days, and $300.00 at less than 5 days, with a $35.00 re-inspection. Nether Providence and Glenolden both work on 30 days, Upper Providence asks for a minimum of three weeks, and Marple, Aston, and Darby Borough work on two weeks, with Darby stating no exceptions. On a standard 30 day contract, a Ridley Township file is already late on day one.

Five municipalities require a sewer lateral certification, and Ridley Township is not one of them

Confirmed lateral requirements at resale sit in Upper Darby, Nether Providence, Glenolden, Collingdale, and Middletown Township, where the Middletown Township Sewer Authority certification costs $200 and is mandatory prior to sale, transfer, or refinance. Nether Providence runs the most detailed program: a point-of-sale lateral inspection using both a camera scope and a smoke or dye test, with laterals installed within the last ten years exempt, performed by an LACP certified plumber or a Township Certified Contractor. Collingdale will not accept an inspection from a contractor that is not on its approved list, so pull the vendor list before ordering. A widely circulated claim that Ridley Township requires a lateral dye test is wrong: no dye or lateral requirement appears on the township's official procedure sheet, and the confusion comes from Ridley Park Borough, which is a separate municipality.

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.

• Delaware County Recorder of Deeds, transfer taxes
• Delaware County Recorder of Deeds fee schedule, effective 12/01/2025
• Upper Darby Township, use and occupancy
• Upper Darby Township Code Section 489-57A, realty transfer tax
• PA Department of Revenue, Realty Transfer Tax