Who pays for the owner’s policy in Clay County?
The seller customarily pays for the owner’s title policy in Clay County.
Owner’s policy The title policy that protects the buyer, issued for the full insurable value of the property, in a sale ordinarily the price. More in the glossary: Owner’s policy
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.
How the custom runs in the other counties is on who pays for title insurance in Florida.
What does title insurance cost in Clay County?
The same as anywhere in Florida — the premium is promulgated.
Premium The price of a title insurance policy. In Florida it is set by rule, applies throughout the state, and no one may knowingly quote, charge or collect a different one; it runs per $1,000 of coverage, in bands. More in the glossary: Premium
- 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 the premium by rule under Fla. Stat. § 627.782, and an owner’s policy is written for the full insurable value of the property. The Florida title insurance rates, both schedules, are printed in full on the calculator; what each side pays is on the buyer closing costs and seller closing costs pages.
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 Clay County sale
The deed is taxed by the state, not by the county.
Documentary stamp tax Florida’s tax on documents, paid at the closing. More in the glossary: Documentary stamp tax
The deed rate here 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 is decided by the contract, not the statute.
A cash closing carries neither mortgage tax. The Florida doc stamp tax calculator 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.
Recording in Clay County
Deeds and mortgages record with the Clay County Clerk of Court and Comptroller.
Recording Entering a document in the county’s official records, which makes it notice to everyone. More in the glossary: Recording
- 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
Set by statute and charged by the page — Fla. Stat. § 28.24(13) — so a Clay County deed and a Levy County deed of the same length record for the same money.
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.
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.
How Clay County records, in its offices’ own words
What the office that records deeds and mortgages says about how it works.
- Recording requirements
- The Clerk calls for a blank 3-by-3-inch square on the first page of a document and a blank 1-by-3-inch horizontal strip on each page after it. Source: Recording requirements
- Documentary stamps
- On an agreement or contract for deed, the Clerk collects documentary stamps at 70 cents per $100 of the purchase price, as if a deed were being recorded, and says they will not have to be paid again when the deed is recorded. Source: Documentary stamps
- Where to record
- The Clerk’s Recording Department is inside the Clay County Courthouse in Green Cove Springs. For a time-sensitive document the Clerk suggests visiting one of its locations or using e-recording. Source: Where to record
- Fraud alert
- The Clerk’s free Property Fraud Alert sends a text or email when a document is filed that matches a registered name. A new registration takes 24 to 48 hours to take effect. Source: Fraud alert
Each line restates what the page linked beside it said when it was read, on October 7, 2026: a page of one of the county’s own offices, or one it links to. Offices change these pages without notice; on a file where one of them matters, ask us and we will check it again.
All Clay topicsNext Liens and charges that stay with the property
County liens, utility charges and assessments in Clay County
What the county’s offices and its code say about charges and liens a buyer can inherit.
- Code fine caps
- Code fines are capped at $250 a day, or $500 a day for a repeat violation, and at $5,000 for a violation that can’t be undone. Source: Code fine caps
- Buyers under contract
- A buyer under contract can ask the County Commission to reduce a code lien without going to the magistrate first. The reduction is conditioned on the buyer fixing the violation and takes effect only once it is fixed. Source: Buyers under contract
- Lien reduction terms
- A lien reduction application costs $100 per parcel. A reduced lien must be paid within 10 working days of the Commission’s vote or it reverts to the full amount, and the applicant records the release. Source: Lien reduction terms
- Utility Authority charges
- Unpaid Clay County Utility Authority charges are a lien on the property served, ranking with county taxes. Source: Utility Authority charges
- Unsafe building liens
- The County’s cost to repair, secure or demolish an unsafe building becomes a recorded special assessment lien that ranks with taxes and bears interest at the legal rate. It is delinquent if unpaid 60 days after the Commission’s resolution. Source: Unsafe building liens
- Deferred mobility fees
- Deferred mobility fees on an affordable new home are a lien under a recorded agreement. A sale within 8 years of power clearance makes them due with interest at closing, and after 8 years they are forgiven. Source: Deferred mobility fees
Each line restates what the page linked beside it said when it was read, on October 16, 2026: a page of one of the county’s own offices, or the county’s code. Offices change these pages without notice; on a file where one of them matters, ask us and we will check it again.
Building permits and safety inspections in Clay County
What the county’s building officials publish about permits and building inspections.
- Unsafe building records
- If an owner ignores an order to repair, secure or demolish an unsafe building, the building official records a non-compliance certificate, and later an occupancy approved certificate once it is fit. Homesteads are excluded. Source: Unsafe building records
Each line restates what the page linked beside it said when it was read, on October 16, 2026: a page of the county government, one it links to, or the county’s code. Offices change these pages without notice; on a file where one of them matters, ask us and we will check it again.
Law particular to Clay County
What the county’s charter, its code or a Florida law sets for Clay in particular.
- Foreclosure registration
- A lender must register a home within 10 days of filing to foreclose, vacant or not, and renew every six months until an unrelated buyer purchases at arm’s length. A related buyer takes on any unpaid registration fees. Source: Foreclosure registration
- Heirs exemption lots
- An heir’s exemption lot left vacant must stay in the heir’s name for five years. Once a home is built, the heir must live there two years from the certificate of occupancy, and an earlier sale cancels the exemption. Source: Heirs exemption lots
Each line restates what the page linked beside it said when it was read, on October 16, 2026: the county’s charter or code, a page of the county government, or the Florida Constitution. Offices change these pages without notice; on a file where one of them matters, ask us and we will check it again.
How Bayit Title handles a Clay County file
Opened by the same four people who close it.
We order the search, examine what comes back, and put anything that could hold up the closing in writing — with what it would take to clear it — rather than waiting for it to surface at the table.
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.