Search Garfield County Deed Records

Garfield County deed records are maintained by the County Auditor's Office at 789 Main Street in Pomeroy, Washington. The Auditor records real estate documents, liens, military discharges, maps, and surveys for all property in the county. Land records in Garfield County go back to 1891. The office also offers electronic recording services for real estate documents through a web-based eRecording solution. You can visit the Auditor's office in person or contact them directly to access deed records. The County Clerk in Pomeroy holds court records including divorce and probate records from 1882.

Garfield County Auditor Recording Division

The Garfield County Auditor's Office is led by McKenzie Lueck, who has served in the role since 2020 after previously working as Deputy Auditor. The office records all real estate documents, liens, military discharge papers, maps, and surveys for the county. Land records have been kept since 1891, and marriage records since 1892. The office is open Monday through Friday from 8:30 AM to 5:00 PM. The mailing address is PO Box 278, Pomeroy, WA 99347.

Garfield County is one of the smallest counties in Washington by population, with under 2,500 residents. The county was incorporated November 29, 1881, from Columbia County, and was named for President James A. Garfield, who had been assassinated just weeks before the county's creation. Despite the small size, the Auditor's office maintains the full range of services required by Washington law, including eRecording services for remote document submission through the CSC web-based platform.

The County Clerk at the Garfield County courthouse handles divorce records from 1882, probate records, and other court documents. For property-related court matters like foreclosure judgments or lis pendens filings that may affect title, the County Clerk's records complement the Auditor's deed index. Both offices are located in Pomeroy.

How to Access Garfield County Deed Records

For in-person deed record searches, visit the Garfield County Auditor's office at 789 Main Street in Pomeroy. The office is open Monday through Friday from 8:30 AM to 5:00 PM. Staff can help locate documents in the index and provide copies. Garfield County land records go back to 1891, so the office holds a long history of property transactions in this southeastern Washington farming community.

The Washington State Digital Archives is a useful resource for historical Garfield County property research. The Eastern Region Branch of the State Archives in Cheney holds many Garfield County documents. You can reach that branch at (509) 235-7508 for assistance with locating older records. For general questions about records availability, the Auditor's office at (509) 843-1411 is the best starting point.

Garfield County also offers electronic recording services through a web-based eRecording solution provided by CSC. This allows title companies, attorneys, and lenders to submit real estate documents for recording electronically without physically mailing or delivering them. eRecording is especially useful in a rural county like Garfield where the courthouse is a significant distance from many users. Documents submitted electronically are reviewed and recorded under the same standards as paper submissions.

The Garfield County Recording Department page lists the documents recorded by the Auditor, office hours, and the electronic recording services available for remote document submission.

Garfield County Recording Fees

Recording fees in Garfield County follow the state fee schedule established under RCW 36.18 and RCW 36.22. The standard fee for recording a deed is $303.50 for the first page plus $1.00 for each additional page. This applies to all standard conveyance documents. A deed of trust costs $304.50 for the first page. These fees are the same in all 39 Washington counties and are set by the state legislature.

Starting July 27, 2025, assignments or substitutions of previously recorded deeds of trust increased to $301.00 for the first page under new state legislation. Prior to this change, these documents were recorded at a much lower rate. Government liens and certain vital records still qualify for lower fees of approximately $18. These exceptions are set out in RCW 36.18 and remain in place even as standard deed fees have risen.

Documents that fail to meet the formatting standards of RCW 65.04 will be returned for correction. The first page must have a three-inch top margin, return address, document title, grantor and grantee names, abbreviated legal description, and assessor parcel number. If an emergency non-standard cover sheet is used, the additional non-standard fee is $50 plus $1 for the extra page. Contact the Garfield County Auditor at (509) 843-1411 to confirm current rates before submitting documents.

Property Documents Recorded in Garfield County

The Garfield County Auditor records all instruments affecting real property within the county. Deed types recorded here include the statutory warranty deed under RCW 64.04.030, the bargain and sale deed under RCW 64.04.040, and the quitclaim deed under RCW 64.04.050. Garfield County is agricultural, so farmland transactions are common here. Land contracts, water rights, and easements for agricultural use appear frequently in the county's recorded documents index.

In addition to deeds, the Garfield County recording system holds deeds of trust, full reconveyances, mortgages, liens, real estate contracts, easements, rights-of-way, plat maps, and surveys. Military discharge records are also filed here under Washington state requirements. The County Clerk separately holds court-related records including judgment liens that may affect property title. For complete title research on any Garfield County parcel, both the Auditor's deed index and the County Clerk's judgment records should be searched.

All deeds in Washington must meet the requirements of RCW 64.04.020: written instrument, proper legal description, grantor's signature, and notarized signature. Under RCW 65.08.070, recording establishes priority between competing claimants. In Garfield County, as throughout Washington, the party who records first wins in a dispute over the same property interest. This race-to-record rule makes prompt recording critical after any real estate transaction.

Electronic Recording and Remote Access

Garfield County offers web-based eRecording through the CSC platform. This is a practical option for professionals like title companies, lenders, and attorneys who need to record real estate documents in Garfield County without traveling to Pomeroy. Electronic submissions go through the CSC system, which transmits the documents to the Auditor for review and recording. The same formatting requirements apply to electronic submissions as to paper documents.

Washington law has fully embraced electronic recording, and most counties now offer it. The benefit is a faster turnaround than mail and the ability to record documents the same day they are submitted, as long as they comply with formatting and content requirements. Under RCW 65.08.095, recording constitutes legal delivery, so the recording date is significant for establishing rights. Electronic recording lets you get that date locked in quickly without a physical trip to Pomeroy.

For people who cannot access documents online or through eRecording, the Garfield County Auditor's office provides in-person access during business hours. Public records requests can be submitted by phone at (509) 843-1411, by mail to PO Box 278, Pomeroy, WA 99347, or in person at 789 Main Street. The Washington Public Records Act, RCW 42.56, governs all public records access in Garfield County, and the Auditor must respond to requests within five business days.

The Garfield County Auditor's office in Pomeroy has maintained land records since 1891 and provides both in-person and electronic recording services for real property documents throughout the county.

Cities in Garfield County

Garfield County is a small, rural county in southeastern Washington. The county seat and only incorporated city is Pomeroy, which is also where the Auditor's recording office is located. No cities in Garfield County currently have individual deed records pages on this site. All deed recordings for the county go through the Garfield County Auditor at 789 Main Street in Pomeroy.

Nearby Counties

These counties border Garfield County. Each has its own Auditor recording office for real property documents.