Thurston County Deed Records

Thurston County deed records are maintained by the Auditor's Recording Services office in Olympia, Washington. You can search recorded property documents online through the county's EagleWeb portal, visit the office in person, or submit a request by mail or email. The recording office handles deeds, easements, mortgages, covenants, plat maps, and many other instruments that affect real property in the county. Thurston County is home to the state capital and serves the communities of Olympia, Lacey, Tumwater, and many surrounding areas.

Thurston County Auditor Recording Services

The Thurston County Auditor's Recording Services office is the official custodian of all recorded documents in the county. It records property records such as mortgages, easements, deeds of trust, and other real estate instruments. Veterans can also record their Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty (DD-214) through this office at no charge. The recording department at thurstoncountywa.gov explains their full range of services, including how to guard against property fraud and how to modify racially restrictive covenants.

The office is located at 3000 Pacific Ave SE in Olympia. On the first Wednesday of each month, the office opens at 9:00 a.m. instead of 8:00 a.m. due to staff training. All other weekdays, they are open from 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. If you plan to visit, it's worth calling ahead or checking the county website to confirm current hours. Staff at the counter can help you find documents, request copies, or get information about how the recording process works.

Look Up Thurston County Property Records Online

Thurston County gives the public free online access to recorded documents through its EagleWeb recording search system. This portal lets you search the index and view document images for a wide range of property records. You can look up agreements, covenants, declarations, deeds, easements, land corner records, leases, maps, notice of trustee sales, real estate contracts, releases, and many other document types. The full list of viewable online documents is available on the Thurston County property records lookup page.

The Thurston County EagleWeb portal at eagleweb.co.thurston.wa.us lets you search for deed records, easements, and other recorded property documents by name, document type, or date range.

The online index provides document information for recorded instruments. Not every document type is viewable online. Some records that contain Social Security numbers or other sensitive personal identifiers may only be available in person at the office. For those, you would visit the auditor's public research area and use a computer there to view the full document. That applies to some deeds of trust and financial instruments in particular.

The Thurston County property records lookup page walks you through the online search options and explains which document types are viewable in the EagleWeb portal versus those that require an in-person visit.

Note: Photo copies of documents cost $1.00 per page. Certified copies cost $3.00 for the first page and $1.00 for each additional page. Credit card payments incur a $2.00 or 2.3% service fee, whichever is higher.

Deed Records and Property Documents in Thurston County

The Thurston County Recording Services page at thurstoncountywa.gov gives you a full overview of what the recording office does, including document recording, copying and fees, and how to request your own property deed.

A deed is the primary document that transfers real property from one owner to another in Thurston County. Washington recognizes three main deed types under state statute. A Statutory Warranty Deed under RCW 64.04.030 offers the strongest protection for buyers, with the seller warranting title against all claims. A Bargain and Sale Deed under RCW 64.04.040 limits that warranty to claims arising during the seller's period of ownership. A Quitclaim Deed under RCW 64.04.050 conveys no warranties at all and simply transfers whatever interest the grantor holds.

Beyond deeds, the recording office in Thurston County also accepts easements, covenants, declarations, real estate contracts, release documents, sheriff certificate of sales, restrictive covenant modifications, and many other property-related instruments. Each of these must meet the same formatting standards as a deed. They all get indexed by grantor and grantee names, document type, and recording date. Documents filed after 1997 are also indexed by assessor's parcel number, which makes property-specific searches much easier.

Racially restrictive covenants recorded in earlier decades can be modified under Washington State law. The Thurston County Auditor's office specifically offers this service at no cost to property owners who want to strike discriminatory language from older recorded documents. That process is handled through the same recording department that manages all other deed records.

Requirements for Recording Documents

Every document submitted for recording in Thurston County must comply with Washington State formatting standards set under RCW 65.04. These rules have applied statewide since January 1, 1997. The auditor's staff checks each document to confirm it meets the requirements before accepting it. If it doesn't pass, the document gets returned to whoever submitted it. The staff cannot prepare or fix documents for you.

All pages must have at least 1-inch margins. The first page requires a 3-inch margin at the top. That first page must show the return address, the document title, the names of all grantors and grantees, an abbreviated legal description, and the assessor's parcel number. Font must be at least 8-point size. Paper must be no larger than 8.5 by 14 inches. Nothing can be taped or stapled to the face of the document. All ink must be dark enough to produce a legible scanned image.

A legal description is required in every deed. An address alone does not satisfy this requirement under Washington law. The description must be either a metes and bounds description from a licensed surveyor or a lot, block, and plat reference to a recorded plat. If your deed lacks a proper legal description, the recording office will return it uncorrected.

Before recording a deed in Thurston County, the parties must also complete a real estate excise tax affidavit. This document must be signed and submitted along with the deed. It states the sale price or documents the grounds for any tax exemption. Transfers of property by inheritance or gift may qualify for an exemption. The Washington Public Records Act under RCW 42.56 governs access to all recorded documents, including deeds, ensuring they remain available to the public.

Historical Property Records for Thurston County

Thurston County has a long history as the seat of Washington State government, and its property records reflect that depth. The Washington State Archives maintains regional branches across the state. The Southwest Regional Branch serves Thurston County and may hold older county records that have been transferred from the auditor's office. Researchers working on older chain of title issues sometimes need to check both the county office and the state archives to get the full picture.

The Washington State Digital Archives offers online access to digitized collections from local governments across Washington. Land records, plat maps, real property cards, and other historical documents may be searchable through that platform. This is especially useful for pre-1960 records that aren't part of the county's current online system.

The Washington State Archives also maintains historical collections for the state as a whole, including records from the territorial period before Washington was granted statehood. For deep historical research on Thurston County properties, combining the county's EagleWeb system with the digital archives and the state archives regional branch gives you the best chance of finding what you need across all time periods.

Cities in Thurston County

Thurston County is home to the Washington State capital and several cities in the south Puget Sound region. All deed records for the county are filed with the Thurston County Auditor in Olympia.

Other communities in Thurston County include Yelm, Tenino, Rainier, and unincorporated areas. Deed records for all of these properties are maintained at the Thurston County Auditor's Recording Services office in Olympia.

Nearby Counties

Thurston County borders these Washington counties. Each has its own auditor recording office for deed records and property documents.