Los Angeles County Property Search
Los Angeles County property records are legal documents pertaining to real property within the county’s judicial district. They contain details about the ownership, description, and location of the property, and they are typically filed by county residents, then recorded by the Los Angeles County Recorder's Office.
A Los Angeles property search offers inquirers a means to access public property records. This is especially important for settling property disputes, gathering pre-purchase information, learning about a property’s historical value, and determining property ownership.
The County Recorder Office is responsible for recording and dispensing all Los Angeles County Public Records, including property record information in the county. State statutes require that property documents be recorded only if the required information is featured in the document if it is photographically reproducible, and following the payment of proper recording fees and taxes. Property documents presented for recording to the Los Angeles County Recorder's office must be:
- Pertaining to property in the county’s jurisdiction
- The property document must include the name of the person requesting the recording and the name and address where the document can be returned.
- Documents like deeds, notices of trustee's sale, mortgages, notices of default, and trust deeds must carry the Assessor's Parcel Number.
- The standard page size of each property document is 8.5 by 11 inches.
- The notary seal must be eligible for microfilm reproduction.
Public property records recorded with the Los Angeles County since 1850 are available for retrieval.
Is Los Angeles County Property Records Public?
Pursuant to the California Public Records Act and the ordinances and policies of the County of Los Angeles, public members are entitled to access to Los Angeles County property records. These statutes allow for the dissemination of public property information maintained by the appropriate record custodians, including the Los Angeles County Assessor, Los Angeles County Auditor-Controller, Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk, and Los Angeles County Treasurer & Tax Collector. However, selected property records are deemed confidential and are exempted from public disclosure. This includes property information such as:
- Property statement data
- Social security numbers
- Audit data
- Preliminary change-in-ownership data
- Marketing questionnaires on income and expense data
- Change-in-ownership data are not available to the public
- Content of property appraisals, engineering or feasibility estimates, and evaluations relating to property acquisition or prospective public supply and construction contracts. This property information can be available to the public when all the property has been acquired or the contract agreement is obtained.
- Information provided in confidence by a taxpayer whose disclosure would result in an unfair competitive disadvantage to the taxpayer.
What Do Los Angeles County Property Records Contain?
The information featured in a Los Angeles County property record varies with the document type and the custodian responsible for its maintenance and dissemination. For example, individuals should be able to find the following information in a property record maintained by the Los Angeles County Assessor’s Office:
- Assessor’s Identification Number (AIN)
- Situs address (address, use type, parcel type, and status, tax status, create date, year defaulted, tax rate area, delete date, and exemption)
- Building & land overview (use code, design type, units, design type, quality class, beds/baths, building and land SqFt, and parcel map/ map index)
- Assessment values (land and improvements)
- Assessor’s responsible division (district, phone, toll free, hours, region, and cluster)
- Land information (use code, total SqFt(GIS and PDB), usable SqFt, acres, land W'xD', sewers, flight path, x-traffic, freeway, corner lot, golf front, horse lot, view, zoning, code split, impairment, and legal description
- Building information (design type, subpart, design type, quality class, units, beds/baths, building SqFt, year built, effective year, depreciation, RCN other, RCN other trended, and year change)
- Event history:
- Ownership (recording date, sequence number, reassessed, document number, ownership code 1 & 2, document type and reason, number of parcels transferred, assessed value, and verification code.
- Parcel change (parcel change ID, format & parcel count, old and new AIN, subject parcel, effective date, system entry date, change type, and change source)
- Assessment history
- Roll detail (bill number, type, and status, date created, date to auditor, tax reason and origin code, tax rate area, consumer price index, improvement value reason, valuation date and appraisal date, exemption key, and land value reason, valuation date and appraisal date)
- Real property value (land value, improvement value, reason code, base year, personal property value and exemption, fixture value, and exemption, new construction completion (NCC) type and date, homeowner exemption, and real estate exemption)
Where to Perform a Los Angeles County Property Lookup
Interested members of the public may perform a Los Angeles County property lookup online, in person, by mail, or by fax at the Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk Office. Fees for property records vary by document type. The processing time for online, mail, and fax requests take 20 working days from the request's receipt. Online requests can be made via an approved third-party vendor. To make a request by fax, send the following information to (562) 864-1250:
- Document title
- The year the document was recorded
- The names listed on the property document
- The address where the requester would like the record mailed
- Whether the requester would like the document to be sent by regular mail or Expedited Delivery (UPS)
- A daytime phone number, including area code
Payment for property records via fax can be made using a credit card like MasterCard®, Discover®, Visa® or American Express®. Fax requesters must include credit card payment information like card number, the name on the card, and expiration date.
An in-person request is by appointment. Requesters must schedule an appointment three (3) weeks in advance, and only one person per appointment is permitted. Requesters will receive the property records immediately after submitting the required information and paying the necessary fees. Payments can be made in cash, debit/credit cards, check, and money orders. In-person requests can be made at any of the branch office locations.
A mail applicant must send a written request to the Office containing the document title, record year, and the names listed on the document. The written request and the necessary fee must be mailed to:
Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk
Real Estate Records
P.O. Box 1130
Norwalk, CA 90651-1130
Payments must be made by checks and money orders. Other payment options like E-Checks, temporary checks, cash, or foreign checks (excluding Canada and Mexico) are unacceptable.
How to Perform a Property Owner Lookup in Los Angeles County
Property ownership information can be requested in person at the Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk office. All requests must be made between Monday and Friday, 8:30 a.m. - 4:30 p.m., by appointment only. Individuals can schedule appointments three (3) weeks in advance. All appointments are made via an online site. Requesters would have to pick a location, select the service they want and move on to book a time. On the day of the appointment, the requester must provide the required information and pay the necessary fees to access the desired record containing details about property ownership.
How to Find Los Angeles County Property Records Online
The property records maintained by the Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk are not accessible online. However, individuals can find property records by submitting an online request via a third-party site. Requesters must provide some information like document title, property/description, number of copies, record year, and property owner's last name /business name to facilitate the search. The fees for this online request are determined by the number of pages required to print the property document. Generally, property records fees vary by document type. The third-party site charges a non-refundable processing fee of $1.75. A requester who cannot supply the exact year a document was recorded would have to pay a search fee of $.50 per name and per year searched. The minimum fee is usually $1.
How to Find Property Owner by Address Free
California state law prohibits the online posting of identifying information like a property owner's name without written permission from the owner. Therefore, a property owner search by address cannot be done via record custodian online tools. However, requesters can conduct a free property owner search by address at the Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk's office. No cost is typically required for viewing property records, but copies of such records will come with a cost. The requester will be required to provide the property’s address, and a search will be conducted to view the property owner’s name.
Los Angeles County Property Tax Lookup
The County of Los Angeles Treasurer and Tax Collector allows individuals to conduct a property tax lookup online, by submitting a written request, or in person at the Office. Online requests can be made via the Property Tax Portal. Clicking on the “Property Address Search” tool leads to the Assessor Portal, where a requester can conduct a basic, legal, or map search to access property tax information. Written or in-person requests can be made at:
Treasurer and Tax Collector
225 North Hill Street,
First Floor Lobby,
P.O. Box 512102,
Los Angeles, CA 90012
Phone: (888) 807-2111 or (213) 974-2111
Fax: (213) 620-7948
How to Find Los Angeles County Property Appraiser
Individuals can find Los Angeles County property appraisers on the California Bureau of Real Estate Appraisers (BREA) website. Upon getting to the website, click on Online Services at the top bar. Then select Search for an Appraiser from the dropdown menu. The search parameters are by first name, last name, company name, mail city, mail zip, county, license level, license number, license status, current license valid search range, and license renewal valid search range. Alternatively, requesters can just review the list of property appraisers beneath the search area to find those working in Los Angeles.
Los Angeles County Property Assessor
The Los Angeles County property assessor office provides the following services to residents:
- Identify the taxable properties in the county and their owners
- Give taxable value for all property based on property taxation law
- Create a complete assessment roll that shows the assessed values of all properties in the county
- Apply all legal exemptions on eligible properties
The Los Angeles County Assessor works with 1,400 employees, and the property tax system generates approximately $19 billion annually. Below are the Assessor's office locations:
Headquarters
Kenneth Hahn Hall of Administration
500 W. Temple Street, Room 225
Los Angeles, CA 90012-2770
Phone: (213) 974-3211, (888) 807-2111 (toll-free)
North District Office
13800 Balboa Boulevard
Sylmar, CA 91342
Phone: (818) 833-6000
East District Office
1190 Durfee Avenue
South El Monte, CA 91733
Phone: (626) 258-6001
South District Office
1401 E. Willow Street
Signal Hill, CA 90755
Phone: (562) 256-1701
West District Office
Kenneth Hahn Hall of Administration, Room 225.
Room 183-19 (mailing address)
500 W. Temple Street
Los Angeles, CA 90012-2770
Phone: (310) 665-5300
Lancaster Regional Office
251 E. Avenue K6
Lancaster, CA 93535
Phone: (661) 940-6700
