REGISTER AND RECORDER'S OFFICE
Department of Law and Order
Tom Headlee, Register of Wills and Recorder of Deeds Greene County Courthouse, 1st Floor 10 East High Street, Waynesburg, PA 15370
Phone: 724-852-5283 or 724-852-5284 / Fax: 724-852-5316
Office Hours: 8:30 a.m. – 4:30 p.m., Monday – Friday
OFFICE OVERVIEW:
The Register and Recorder’s Office is the repository and record manager for all papers relating to wills and estates as well as all real estate transactions. These documents are part of Greene County's permanent records and must be protected from loss, theft or damage. It is also the responsibility of the office to provide efficient and timely service to the public while preserving the integrity of public records.
The Register of Wills division is responsible for filing all papers in reference to the probate of wills and estates and all other related documents. The primary goal of the office is to serve all county residents, especially in times of grieving. The office offers help with probate estates and filing and collecting Pennsylvania inheritance tax.
The Recorder of Deeds division records all documents pertaining to land and property transactions, including deeds, mortgages, leases, liens, surveys, financing statements and rights of way.
The office also keeps records of oaths of office for all county elected officials, notary publics, district justices, military discharges, mine subsidence maps and highway maps.
Copies of all documents are maintained and preserved for public use. Lawyers, title searchers, loan officers and genealogists are among those who frequently research records, which date back to 1796 when Greene County was formed out of Washington County.
The Register and Recorder’s Office is comprised of three rooms lined with rows of shelves containing indices and deed books. Storage space is not a major problem at this time as many old books are archived in the Fort Jackson Building, 19 South Washington Street, Waynesburg.
ONLINE ACCESS TO RECORDED DOCUMENTS:
Pennsylvania is divided into 67 recorder districts with an elected Recorder of Deeds responsible for each office. Documents related to the ownership of real estate within the district are recorded at the Recorder of Deeds.
Recorded documents are assigned a sequential identifying number (known as the book and page number) and are then scanned into the Recorder’s Office computer system. The resulting images are available for viewing and printing from public access terminals at the Recorder’s Office and at home or the office over the Internet. All original documents are returned to land owners or their attorneys. To assist customers in finding relevant documents, the Recorder’s Office creates a searchable index that contains the names of all parties to a document and the property address.
To access and view a document, customers must first register/subscribe. A small fee will be charged to access the online service prior to accessing any records. To register/subscribe, simply visit Pennsylvania Land Records Online. Once registered, customers will be able to search and view documents back to 1979 that have been recorded at the Recorder’s Office. These documents are unofficial copies but can be used for verification, personal or professional records, documentation backup or any other use.
To view any image, customers will be charged for the entire document at the rate of $0.50 per page, with a maximum charge of $5 per document. Customers will be able to see the number of pages on the results screen before viewing the document. While viewing the document, customers will have the option to print one page or multiple pages. For questions or additional information, please contact the Recorder's Office at 724-852-5283.
COMMON LEVEL RATIO:
As of July 1, 2008, the Pennsylvania Department of Revenue Realty Transfer Tax, Common Level Ratio (CLR), for Greene County is 1.24.
The real estate valuation factors are based on sales data by the State Tax Equalization Board. These factors are the mathematical reciprocals of the actual common level ratios. For Pennsylvania Realty Transfer Tax purposes, these factors are applicable for documents accepted for particular periods. The date of acceptance of a document is rebuttably presumed to be its date of execution, that is, the date specified in the body of the document as the date of the instrument (61 Pa. Code 91.102).
Realty Transfer Tax Statements of Value are now required to be submitted with Easement agreements. For more information, please contact either the Recorder’s Office at 724-852-5283, or the Department of Revenue Realty Transfer Tax Division at 717-783-8104.
Important Document Information, courtesy of your Register & Recorder's Office:
Annette Tharp, Department Clerk 1 (PT) (Phone: 724-852-5283)
Today's date is:
For general information, please contact the Information Services at 724-852-5399 / Toll Free: 1-888-852-5399. County Office Building, 93 E. High Street, Waynesburg, PA 15370
