Who pays for the owner’s policy in Port St. Lucie?
The seller customarily pays for the owner’s policy in Port St. Lucie.
That is the custom in St. Lucie County, and so in Port St. Lucie. Custom is not law. The purchase contract decides it, and in a negotiated deal either side can end up paying. Read the contract before assuming which line it falls on.
That is the custom as we see it on our own files, confirmed on September 24, 2026. It is a report of what is usual, not a rule, and not a promise about your contract.
Who chooses the title company. The seller customarily chooses the closing agent, the title company, in St. Lucie County, and so in Port St. Lucie. That is a custom of its own: the side that pays for the owner’s policy usually brings the closing agent, and the contract can put either on either side.
That is the custom as we see it on our own files, confirmed on November 3, 2026. It is a report of what is usual, not a rule, and not a promise about your contract.
How the custom runs in the other counties is on who pays for title insurance in Florida, and what each side can insist on is on who chooses the title company.
What title insurance costs on a Port St. Lucie purchase
The same as anywhere in Florida — the premium is promulgated.
- Owner’s policy, $500,000
- $2,575
- Original rate, R. 69O-186.003(1)(a)
- At the reissue rate
- $1,530
- Where the prior title was insured and conditions are met
- Lender’s policy alongside
- $125
- Our charge; the rule’s minimum is $25
The Office of Insurance Regulation sets it by rule under Fla. Stat. § 627.782, so the premium on a Port St. Lucie policy is the figure it would be anywhere in the state. The Florida title insurance calculator, set to St. Lucie County, works the premium out, Florida title insurance rates prints the schedule in full with the rule beside it, and the closing cost calculator for a Port St. Lucie address prices a specific one off the St. Lucie County property appraiser’s record.
More detail on what title insurance costs
The reissue rate applies where the owner’s or the seller’s own title was insured and the rule’s conditions are met. The rule sets $25 as the least a lender’s policy issued at the same time can be. That $25 is a minimum, not a price: Bayit Title charges $125 to issue the policy alongside the owner’s, and that is the figure the estimate prints. Where the loan is larger than the owner’s amount, the coverage above it adds the difference between the original rate at the loan amount and at the owner’s amount.
Read from Fla. Admin. Code R. 69O-186.003 on September 14, 2026. The rule was last amended January 27, 2002. Tell us if a figure here does not match what you are quoted and we will check it against the rule again.
Documentary stamp tax on a Port St. Lucie sale
Taxed by the state, at the rate that applies in St. Lucie County.
This is the rate in 66 of the 67 counties; Miami-Dade is the exception. The stamps are charged on each part of $100, so they round up. Which side pays each is decided by the purchase contract.
A cash purchase carries neither mortgage tax. The Florida doc stamp tax calculator, set to St. Lucie County, works it out for a specific price and loan.
More detail on documentary stamp tax
Deed stamps. 70¢ per $100 of consideration, or part of $100. Charged on each part of $100, so the figure rounds up, not down.
Mortgage stamps. 35¢ per $100 of the amount secured, or part of $100. The $2,450 cap in § 201.08(1)(a) is on the tax on a note or other written obligation to pay money. There is no cap on the tax on a mortgage recorded against Florida property.
Intangible tax. 2 mills on each dollar secured — $2 per $1,000. One time, on the obligation the mortgage secures.
Each figure was read from the statute that sets it on September 14, 2026 and is linked to its section. Which county ch. 83-220 describes comes from the Department of Revenue’s documentary stamp tax guidance. Rates change by act of the Legislature — if one of these no longer matches what you are being charged, tell us and we will correct it.
Where a Port St. Lucie deed is recorded
Port St. Lucie is in St. Lucie County, so the deed records with the St. Lucie County Clerk of the Circuit Court, not with the city.
- First page
- $10.00
- Then $8.50 a page
- A 3-page deed
- $27
- Same at every office
- A 25-page mortgage
- $214
- Same at every office
Charged by the page, at a rate the statute sets for every office in Florida — Fla. Stat. § 28.24(13).
All documents are recorded upon receipt. They must then be indexed, verified and scanned to appear on public records before they are mailed back to the customer. The turn-around time is normally seven to ten days.
More detail on recording
Recording, first page: $10.00. $5.00 service charge, plus $1.00 to the Public Records Modernization Trust Fund, plus $4.00. Fla. Stat. § 28.24(13)(a), (d)1., (e)
Recording, each page after the first: $8.50. $4.00 service charge, plus 50¢ to the trust fund, plus $4.00. Fla. Stat. § 28.24(13)(b), (d)2., (e)
Indexing, per name over four: $1.00. Reached by a deed with several grantors, or by a mortgage naming a trust. Fla. Stat. § 28.24(13)(c)
The office’s own fee schedule covers the other things it does — certified copies, searches, its own e-recording arrangements — and a third-party e-recording vendor may add a fee of its own, which is not the office’s charge and not this.
The turnaround above is the office’s own published statement, not a commitment it makes to us or a time we can promise you. Offices change these pages without notice. On a file where the recording date matters, ask us and we will check what the office is actually doing that week.
Read from the statute on September 14, 2026. If a charge here no longer matches what you are being charged, tell us and we will correct it.
The municipal lien search in Port St. Lucie
A title search reads St. Lucie County’s records. What the City of Port St. Lucie knows takes a search of its own.
None of these is in the official records. They are found by a separate municipal lien search directed to the city itself, and we order one on every file. What it turns up goes to you in writing, with what clearing it would take, as soon as it comes back.
Where the City of Port St. Lucie publishes it: lien search, code enforcement and permit records.
- Lien search
- The City’s Lien Services division researches City liens, open permits, active code cases and utility usage on a property, in 3 to 5 business days as a standard request or 1 to 2 as a rush. Source: Lien search
- Free lookups
- Anyone can search the City’s liens, other than utility liens, and its open permits online at no charge. Lien Services gives a utility capital charge balance and usage by phone, also free, at 772-344-4179. Source: Free lookups
- What it covers
- A City lien search will not show a lien that attaches to the property from its owner’s code case elsewhere under Chapter 162, Florida Statutes, and the City says its records may not hold every lien or assessment. It sends searchers to St. Lucie County’s public records. Source: What it covers
- Utility capital charge liens
- Connecting a property to City water or sewer can be paid off through a 10-year interest-free loan, and what is owed on it is a lien on the property. Source: Utility capital charge liens
- Assuming a capital charge
- A buyer taking over a capital charge lien needs the City’s assumption agreement, $200, and a City lien search. A refinance needs its subordination, $50, and the City will not subordinate past second position. Allow at least 10 business days, with the utility account current. Source: Assuming a capital charge
- Closing statement
- Before a City water account passes to a new owner, the City asks for a copy of the closing statement. A deposit can move with its customer to another City-served address, but never to another person or entity. Source: Closing statement
- Change of occupancy
- The outgoing customer owes for water and sewer until the City has written notice, which the City Code asks for at least three days before the change. An empty home’s account falls to the owner of record, and base charges keep coming due each month. Source: Change of occupancy
- Code liens
- Code cases are heard by a Special Magistrate, an attorney or retired judge appointed by the City Council. A violation that continues after the hearing can draw daily fines and a City lien on the property. Once every violation is corrected, an owner can apply, on conditions, to modify or partly release the lien. Source: Code liens
- Unpermitted work
- Work done without a permit, such as an air conditioner changed out with none, can become a City building lien. Work by someone without a contractor’s license can become a contractor’s license lien. Source: Unpermitted work
- Vacant homes in foreclosure
- Once a lis pendens or foreclosure is filed, every mortgagee must register the property with the City. Neglect of a vacant home, or failing to register it, can bring a vacant property registration lien. Source: Vacant homes in foreclosure
- Home repair loans
- A City home repair loan is a mortgage on the house. It carries no interest or payments unless the owner defaults, takes a cash-out refinance or sells, and the City must approve any refinance. Source: Home repair loans
- Assessment proration
- The City’s non-ad valorem assessments on the tax bill cover stormwater, streetlights, solid waste, City water and sewer, and developer special assessment districts. Stormwater runs Oct. 1 to Sept. 30 for proration, and special assessments Nov. 1 to Oct. 31. Source: Assessment proration
- Stormwater and swales
- The annual stormwater assessment is $189, up $6 from $183, and pays for the City’s drainage system. Owners maintain the swale and driveway culvert, from the edge of the pavement to their property line. Source: Stormwater and swales
- Expired permits
- A permit extension costs $25 and has to be applied for before the permit expires. A permit that has become null and void leaves two choices: remove the work under a demolition permit, or permit it again to current codes and pay the fees. Source: Expired permits
- Permit history
- Every permit on a property can be looked up by address. Two addresses may come up, one from older records, and both need checking. An address shown in red may have a violation, and a title or open permit search goes to Lien Services. Source: Permit history
- Repetitive flood loss
- The City names its repetitive flood loss areas: land along the St. Lucie River, and just west of I-95 from about Becker Road to Tradition. Source: Repetitive flood loss
- Flood insurance
- Port St. Lucie is a Class 5 community in the flood insurance rating system, so policies in the Special Flood Hazard Area get a 25% discount and others 10%. A new flood policy takes 30 days to go into effect. Source: Flood insurance
- Substantial damage
- A building that is substantially damaged or improved has to be raised to FEMA’s base flood elevation plus 1 foot of freeboard, under the Florida Building Code. Source: Substantial damage
Each line restates what the page linked beside it said when it was read, on November 9, 2026: the City’s own page, a portal it links to, or its code. Offices change these pages without notice; on a file where one of them matters, ask us and we will check it again.
What an open permit does to a closing: What happens if there's an open permit on the property before closing?
How a signing happens in Port St. Lucie
Wherever the signer is in Port St. Lucie, or online.
We send a notary to a Port St. Lucie signer — a kitchen table, an office, wherever they are. Remote online notarization is the third way, for a signer who is not in Port St. Lucie on the day. The closer who prepared the file is reachable during the signing whichever way it happens.
Wherever the signer is
We send a notary to the signer, including outside office hours.
About mobile notary signings →Remote online
Signed online with a Florida-commissioned online notary.
How remote online notarization works →
Each kind of file has a page of its own: home purchases and sales, refinances and commercial title. Everything we handle is on title, escrow and closing services in Florida.
Title problems on a Port St. Lucie purchase
What tends to hold up a closing anywhere in Florida, and what it takes to clear.
- Someone recorded a lis pendens over a money dispute. Does it stop the closing?
- The contract isn't the standard form. What does that change at closing?
- The contract was cancelled and both sides want the deposit. What does the title agent do?
- The HOA says approval takes 30 days and we close in two weeks. Now what?
- The seller is overseas. How do they sign a Florida closing?
- The survey shows a driveway, but the title work says no legal access. What's the difference?
- There's a judgment against the seller. What happens to the closing?
- We're buying from a bankruptcy estate. What does the title work need?
- What happens if there's an open permit on the property before closing?