Lynnwood Deed Records

Lynnwood deed records are maintained by the Snohomish County Auditor's Recording Division, the official custodian of all recorded property documents for the city. Lynnwood sits in Snohomish County, south of Everett along the I-5 corridor. Every deed, lien, mortgage, easement, and plat tied to a Lynnwood property goes through the county auditor's office. The Snohomish County online search covers most documents from July 1976 forward. You can search by name, parcel ID, document type, or recording date. For older Lynnwood deed records, the Washington State Digital Archives provides historical access at no cost.

Snohomish County Auditor - Recording Division

The Snohomish County Auditor's Recording Division is the official keeper of deed records for Lynnwood and all other jurisdictions in the county. The recording division receives real property instruments, verifies they meet state formatting standards, indexes them by grantor and grantee, and preserves them permanently as part of the public record. Under RCW 65.04.140, Snohomish County deed records are deemed public and available for search and inspection by anyone.

Snohomish County is a large and growing county in the Puget Sound region. Lynnwood is among its larger cities and contributes a significant volume of recorded instruments to the county's deed record each year. The recording division handles submissions in person, by mail, and through e-recording services. E-recording is the most common method used by title companies and legal professionals for Lynnwood property transactions.

Public access terminals are available at the recording division's office in Everett for searching deed records in person. If you are researching a Lynnwood property but cannot travel to Everett, the online portal covers the same document database and is accessible from any device with internet access.

How to Search Lynnwood Deed Records

Snohomish County's recorded documents search at snohomishcountywa.gov/1983/Recorded-Documents-Search is the main tool for searching Lynnwood deed records online. Documents recorded from July 1976 forward are in the system. Search by grantor or grantee name to find deed transfers for a specific party. Search by parcel ID to see all recorded instruments tied to a specific Lynnwood property. You can also filter by document type to narrow results to deeds, or by recording date to find instruments from a specific time period.

Unofficial watermarked copies are viewable online at no cost. To purchase non-watermarked or certified copies, you need to register or log in to the county portal. Copy fees are $1.00 per page. Certified copies of recorded documents carry the county seal and are required for certain legal and real estate transactions. The search fee for older pre-1976 documents requiring significant staff research is $8.00 per hour.

For historical Lynnwood deed records that predate 1976, the Washington State Digital Archives provides online access to Snohomish County land records going back many decades. Searching the Digital Archives is free. You can find older recorded deeds by searching the grantor or grantee name. The archive also holds Real Property Record Cards with property photographs taken during the 1930s and 1940s, which can be useful for researching older Lynnwood parcels.

The City of Lynnwood handles city-level public records through its GovQA portal, while the Snohomish County Auditor maintains the official deed records for all Lynnwood properties.

Deed Record Types in Lynnwood

Lynnwood deed records filed at Snohomish County include all the main property transfer document types used in Washington. The type of deed used in a prior transfer tells you how much the seller promised about the title, and reviewing deed types is an important part of tracing ownership history for any Lynnwood parcel.

The Statutory Warranty Deed under RCW 64.04.030 offers the strongest buyer protections. The seller guarantees they own the property outright, have the right to sell, there are no undisclosed encumbrances, and they will defend the title against any challenge from any time in its history. This is the standard deed for arms-length residential sales in Lynnwood. Quitclaim Deeds under RCW 64.04.050 carry no warranty. They simply transfer whatever interest the grantor holds. These appear when property moves between family members, gets placed into a trust, or when a prior deed needs correction.

Bargain and Sale Deeds under RCW 64.04.040 carry limited warranties covering only the grantor's ownership period. Banks and lenders use these in post-foreclosure sales because they can only vouch for the period during which they held title. Deeds of trust, reconveyances, and various lien instruments also appear in the Lynnwood deed record at Snohomish County. The full recorded history of any Lynnwood property, including all ownership transfers and encumbrances, is part of the public deed record.

Recording Deeds in Lynnwood

Deeds for Lynnwood properties must meet Washington State formatting standards under RCW 65.04 before the Snohomish County Auditor will accept them for recording. The first page must have a three-inch top margin and one-inch margins on all other sides. Font must be at least 8-point. No notary seals, stamps, or other marks may be placed in any margin area. The document title, grantor and grantee names, return address, abbreviated legal description, and parcel number must all appear on the first page.

Snohomish County's current recording fee schedule effective July 27, 2025 confirms that standard deed recording is $303.50 for the first page plus $1.00 for each additional page. These fees are set by the Legislature under RCW Chapter 36.18 and apply in all 39 Washington counties. Each additional owner's name beyond the first on certain document types incurs an additional $1.00 under Snohomish County code. The emergency non-standard surcharge for documents needing a cover sheet is $50.00.

Before a Lynnwood deed can be recorded, the parties must complete a Real Estate Excise Tax affidavit. This document discloses the sales price or the basis for any REET exemption. Most Lynnwood property sales are subject to REET. The rate depends on the sale price, with lower-priced sales incurring a lower combined state and local rate. The REET affidavit is submitted simultaneously with the deed at the time of recording.

Lynnwood City Public Records

The City of Lynnwood maintains public records under RCW 42.56. The City Clerk's office at 19100 44th Ave W, Lynnwood, WA 98036, phone 425-670-5000, responds to records requests for city-held documents. The city uses GovQA as its public records request portal at lynnwoodwa.gov. For court records, call 425-670-5100 directly. City records include ordinances, meeting minutes, permits, and code enforcement files.

Lynnwood's city website at lynnwoodwa.gov provides access to permits, planning records, and city government documents that complement the deed records held by the Snohomish County Auditor.

For planning and building records tied to Lynnwood properties, the Community Development department at lynnwoodwa.gov/Government/Departments/Community-Development maintains permit histories and development project records. These are separate from deed records but can be relevant when researching a property's construction history alongside the ownership record at the county auditor.

Snohomish County Deed Records

Lynnwood is in Snohomish County, and the county auditor holds all recorded deed documents for the city. For more about the Snohomish County recording system and available property records, visit the Snohomish County deed records page.

View Snohomish County Deed Records

Nearby Cities

These nearby cities also file deed records through the Snohomish County Auditor.