Guide · County records
Tulsa County Property Records: How to Look Up Your Own House
Almost every problem on this site is easier to solve once you know what the public record actually says about your property. All of it is available, most of it is free, and it takes an afternoon rather than a lawyer.
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Three offices, three different jobs
People say county records as though it were one thing. It is three, and knowing which one holds what saves a great deal of time.
The County Assessor values property for tax purposes and holds the property record: the legal description, the parcel number, land and building characteristics, square footage, year built, and the assessed value. This is where you go to find out what the county thinks your property is and how it is described.
The County Treasurer holds the tax account. What is owed, what has been paid, whether there is a delinquency and how far it has run. If you are worried about back taxes, this is the office, and a phone call to them is the single most useful thing an absentee owner can do.
The County Clerk records documents. Deeds, mortgages, releases, liens, judgments, easements and plats. This is where the chain of ownership lives and where a title company looks. If you want to know who is on the deed, what is recorded against the property, or whether an old mortgage was ever released, it is here.
What to check, and why
Who is actually on the deed. This sounds obvious and it is the single most common surprise in inherited property, where the record frequently still shows somebody who died decades ago.
Whether the taxes are current, and if not how far the delinquency has run. Counties hold a sale for delinquencies that have run long enough, and this is how properties are genuinely lost.
What is recorded against the property. Mortgages, judgment liens, mechanic's liens, HOA liens and city fines. Also, crucially, whether an old mortgage that was paid off years ago was ever formally released, because an unreleased lien stops a clean transfer even though the debt is gone.
Easements, on rural and semi rural parcels particularly. Pipeline, utility and access easements restrict what can be built and where, and owners routinely do not know theirs exists until a buyer's title commitment lists it.
The legal description and the plat, which tells you what you actually own rather than what the fence suggests you own.
Which county for which town
This catches people out constantly, particularly where a town straddles a line.
Tulsa County covers Tulsa itself, Jenks, Glenpool, Sand Springs, Bixby and Collinsville, along with most of Broken Arrow and Owasso.
Rogers County covers Claremore and Catoosa, plus the eastern edge of Owasso. Filings run through Claremore.
Creek County covers Sapulpa and Kiefer, filing through Sapulpa. Wagoner County covers Coweta and Wagoner, and the south eastern edge of Broken Arrow. Osage County covers most of Skiatook and the north western edge of Sand Springs.
Further out: Mayes County for Pryor, Muskogee County for Muskogee, Cherokee County for Tahlequah, Okmulgee County for Okmulgee and Washington County for Bartlesville.
If you are not certain which side of a line your address falls on, the assessor's record will tell you, and it matters because probate, foreclosure and tax records all follow the county rather than the postal address.
What an abstract is, and why it matters here
Oklahoma uses an abstract of title, a compiled history of everything recorded against a parcel, maintained and updated by an abstract company. On older property this can run to hundreds of pages.
It matters because it is what a title company examines before insuring a transfer, and because on older Oklahoma parcels it frequently contains things nobody expected. Breaks in the chain of ownership, heirs never formally recorded, unreleased mortgages from decades ago, old oil and gas leases never released, mineral reservations and easements.
If you own older property and expect to sell it, locating or ordering the abstract early is the single biggest thing you can do to speed up a future closing. It can be done before a buyer exists.
What the record will not tell you
Worth being clear about the limits, because the assessor's record in particular gets misread.
Assessed value is not market value. It is a figure calculated for tax purposes on its own basis and it can be substantially different from what a property would sell for in either direction. Do not price a house from it.
Recorded square footage and characteristics are frequently wrong, particularly where additions were built without permits. A great many properties across this area are physically larger than the county thinks they are.
And the record shows what was filed, not what is true. An heir who never recorded an interest still has one. A structure built without a permit still exists. The record is where a sale starts rather than where the facts end.
How it works
Three steps, and you can stop at any of them
Start with the treasurer if money is the worry
One call tells you whether taxes are current and how far any delinquency has run. For absentee owners this is the most urgent check on this page, because a long enough delinquency ends at a county sale.
Then the clerk for the deed and anything recorded
Who is on the deed, what is recorded against the property, and whether old mortgages were released. This is where inherited property surprises usually live.
Locate the abstract before you need it
On older property this is the biggest lever a seller has over the closing timeline, and it can be done long before a buyer exists.
Common questions
Frequently asked questions
Where do I find out who owns a property?
The County Clerk records deeds, so the recorded ownership is there. The Assessor's property record also shows an owner of record for tax purposes. On inherited property these frequently show somebody who died years ago, because no probate was filed.
How do I check if property taxes are owed?
Contact the County Treasurer for the county the property sits in. They hold the tax account and can tell you what is owed and how far any delinquency has run. This is the most useful single call an absentee owner can make.
Is assessed value the same as market value?
No, and this is the most common misreading of county data. Assessed value is calculated for tax purposes on its own basis and can differ substantially from market value in either direction. Do not price a house from it.
How do I find out what liens are on my house?
The County Clerk's records show recorded mortgages, judgment liens, mechanic's liens and similar. A title company search is more thorough and is what a buyer will rely on, but the clerk's record will usually show you the obvious items.
What is an abstract of title?
A compiled history of everything recorded against a parcel, maintained by an abstract company. Oklahoma uses these and on older property they can run to hundreds of pages. It is what a title company examines before insuring a transfer.
Should I order the abstract before I have a buyer?
On older property, yes. It is the single biggest lever a seller has over how quickly a future closing happens, and locating it early avoids a delay at exactly the wrong moment.
How do I know which county my property is in?
The assessor's record will tell you, and it matters because probate, foreclosure and tax records all follow the county rather than the postal address. Broken Arrow, Owasso, Skiatook, Sand Springs, Bixby and Collinsville all straddle county lines in places.
What if the county has my square footage wrong?
It is common, particularly where additions were built without permits. The record shows what was filed, not what exists. It does not stop a sale and it can affect an appraisal, so it is worth knowing before you list.
What is an unreleased mortgage?
A loan that was paid off but where nobody filed the release, so the lien still shows on the record. The debt is gone and the paperwork is not, and a title company cannot insure a clean transfer until it is cleared. It costs time rather than money.
How do I find easements on my land?
They are recorded with the County Clerk and will appear in the abstract and in any title commitment. Owners of rural and semi rural parcels frequently do not know theirs exists until a buyer's title work lists it.
Are these records free?
Most basic information is publicly available and free or low cost. Copies of documents and a full abstract carry a fee. Availability online varies by county, with the larger counties generally offering more than the smaller ones.
Can I check records for a property I do not own?
Property records are public. This is how buyers, title companies and researchers work, and it is also why an absentee owner should assume anybody can see what is recorded against their property.
The deed still shows my late father. What do I do?
That is heir property and it is extremely common. The record has to be brought up to date before a clean transfer is possible, and which route applies depends on the facts. A probate attorney will tell you in one meeting.
What is the first thing I should check?
Whether the taxes are current, and who is on the deed. Those two answers determine how urgent your situation is and whether anything has to happen before a sale is possible.
Other situations
Related pages
Other guides worth reading alongside this one.
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