Transaction Coordinator in Union County, NJ.

What we handle on an Union County file

Union County has 21 municipalities, and the County Clerk records the land documents for all of them from 2 Broad Street in Elizabeth. The resale rules underneath that single counter vary more than the county's size suggests. Linden makes the purchaser, not the seller, obtain its housing certificate, Plainfield conditions its Certificate of Compliance on a licensed heating system certification, Cranford sends sellers to the Fire Prevention Bureau and will not issue with an open building permit, and Westfield caps the smoke certificate fee on a business day ladder that tops out at $175. At the county level, Union counts the cover sheet as a recorded page and adds a $5 Homelessness Trust Fund surcharge to every document. 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 New Jersey overview for statewide notes.

• KW Command fileBuilds and manages the file in KW Command.
• Every deadlineTracks every deadline and contingency.
• SignaturesRoutes documents for signature.
• Every partyCoordinates with lender, title, attorneys, and the co-op agent.

Transfer tax in Union County

New Jersey's Realty Transfer Fee is imposed on the seller and runs on two mutually exclusive schedules, which must never be blended. At total consideration of $350,000 or less it is $2.00 per $500 up to $150,000, $3.35 per $500 from $150,000 to $200,000, and $3.90 per $500 from $200,000 to $350,000. Above $350,000 a different schedule applies to the whole amount: $2.90 per $500 up to $150,000, $4.25 per $500 to $200,000, $4.80 per $500 to $550,000, $5.30 per $500 to $850,000, $5.80 per $500 to $1,000,000, and $6.05 per $500 above that. Reduced schedules exist for senior, blind, disabled, and low and moderate income sellers, and a notarized Form RTF-1 must be annexed to the deed to claim one. Consideration over $1,000,000 also triggers the Graduated Percent Fee that replaced the old 1 percent mansion tax on July 10, 2025 under P.L. 2025 c. 69: 1 percent above $1,000,000, 2 percent above $2,000,000, 2.5 percent above $2,500,000, 3 percent above $3,000,000, and 3.5 percent above $3,500,000, charged as a straight percentage of the entire consideration rather than as brackets. Liability for it shifted from the buyer to the seller, and the Division of Taxation is explicit that the operative date is when the deed is submitted for recording, not the closing date. Form RTF-1EE must be annexed to every deed over $1,000,000 and to every commercial transfer. There is no separate Union County transfer tax. The Union County Clerk accepts MasterCard and Visa for recording fees but not for Realty Transfer Fees.

Recording a deed in Union County

The Union County Clerk, Recording Office sits at 2 Broad Street, Elizabeth, New Jersey 07207, 908-527-4787. The current recording fee is $45 for the first page of a deed including the tax abstract, plus $10 for each additional page. Mortgages are $35 for the first page plus $10 per additional page. A discharge, postponement, release, or subordination is $45 for the first page including the marginal notation, plus $10 for each additional book and page. A notice of settlement is $20 for a two party contract of sale or mortgage commitment and $40 for a three party contract of sale with mortgage commitment. Certified copies are $8 for the first page plus $2 per page. A $5 Homelessness Trust Fund surcharge applies to each recorded document in addition to every other recording fee. The Recording Office is open weekdays 8:30 to 4:30 with over the counter recording from 8:30 to 3:30, no appointment needed. The Clerk's Westfield satellite office at 300 North Avenue East handles passports, business names, and notaries, not land recording. Any check over $10,000 must be certified or a bank check, checks more than 60 days past their issue date are refused, MasterCard and Visa are accepted except for Realty Transfer Fees, and overpayments of $20 or less are not refunded. The Clerk works with two electronic filing vendors, CSC and Simplifile, and has urged frequent submitters to use them.

The GIT/REP form is absolute: Form GIT/REP-3 states that if it is not completed in its entirety, or the settlement agent does not submit the original with the deed, the county will not record the deed. Form RTF-1 must accompany any deed claiming a full or partial Realty Transfer Fee exemption, and Form RTF-1EE must be annexed to every deed over $1,000,000 and every commercial transfer. Since May 1, 2017, under P.L. 2011 c. 217 (N.J.S.A. 46:26A-5), every land document must carry the county cover sheet whether it arrives by mail, courier, in person, or electronically, and the Clerk counts the cover sheet as a page in calculating the recording fee. A document submitted without the cover sheet and without the $20 statutory indexing fee is rejected and returned; it can be resubmitted with the cover sheet and the extra $10 page fee or with the $20 indexing fee. Flat fee documents skip the $10 cover page charge but still owe the $20 if the cover sheet is missing, and escrow account clients are recorded and debited the $20.

Recording fees and transfer tax rates for every county we coordinate in are collected side by side on our recording fee and transfer tax reference.

What actually holds up a closing here

Pricing

Transaction coordination in New Jersey is billed per file, not as a monthly retainer. Contract to close is $450 per transaction, and the full rate card including dual agency, unrepresented party (FSBO or URB), 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.