Who pays for the owner’s policy in Escambia County?
Escambia County has no settled custom for the owner’s policy: the buyer pays on some sales, as in Santa Rosa County next door, and the seller on others, as in most of Florida.
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 Escambia 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 an Escambia 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 Escambia County
Deeds and mortgages record with the Escambia County Clerk of the Circuit Court & 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 an Escambia 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 Escambia County records, in its offices’ own words
What the office that records deeds and mortgages says about how it works.
- Where to record
- The Clerk’s Official Records/Recording office is at 221 Palafox Place, Suite 110, in Pensacola, a different address from the Clerk’s main office at 190 W Government Street. Its hours, effective June 1, 2024, are Monday–Thursday 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. and Friday 8 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Source: Where to record
- Fraud alert
- The Clerk’s free Property Fraud Alert emails subscribers within 24 hours when a deed, mortgage or other land record with their registered name on it is recorded in the Official Records. A subscriber can register as many personal or business names, or variations of names, as they want. Source: Fraud alert
- Death certificates
- The Clerk records a death certificate as a certified copy. For a death in Florida, the copy must come from the State Health Department without the cause of death, and the Clerk cannot record an altered copy; for a death in another state, it can record a certified copy that shows the cause of death. Source: Death certificates
- Foreclosure sales
- Mortgage foreclosure sales are held at 11 a.m., Monday through Friday, unless the final judgment says otherwise. Since June 14, 2010 most have been held online; by court order a sale may be held in the 2nd floor lobby of the M. C. Blanchard Judicial Building. Source: Foreclosure sales
Each line restates what the page linked beside it said when it was read, on October 15, 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 Escambia topicsNext Liens and charges that stay with the property
County liens, utility charges and assessments in Escambia County
What the county’s offices and its code say about charges and liens a buyer can inherit.
- Cleanup liens
- When the County cleans up a littered or nuisance property, its costs become a recorded lien at six percent, with no interest until the 30th day after filing. The County may bill them on the tax bill instead, where nonpayment leads to a tax certificate. Source: Cleanup liens
- Santa Rosa Island leaseholds
- On the County’s part of Santa Rosa Island, homes and businesses sit on leases from the County or the Island Authority. Each leasehold owes an annual assessment that is a lien ranking with taxes, and a delinquent one is recorded as a notice of lien. Source: Santa Rosa Island leaseholds
- Road Improvement Lien Book
- Road paving assessments are entered by the Clerk in a special County Road Improvement Lien Book. They rank with county taxes until paid, and a tax sale does not cut off installments that were not yet due. Source: Road Improvement Lien Book
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 Escambia County
What the county’s building officials publish about permits and building inspections.
- Open permits
- Closing out an open or expired permit is the job of both the permit applicant and the owner. The building official may administratively close an expired trade permit after two years if there is no safety hazard and no violation was found. Source: Open permits
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 Escambia County
What the county’s charter, its code or a Florida law sets for Escambia in particular.
- Road maintenance disclosure
- Before closing on a residential lot in unincorporated Escambia, the seller must say whether the County maintains the abutting road. Both sides sign the form before two witnesses, and it is recorded with the deed. Source: Road maintenance disclosure
- Subdivision upkeep disclosure
- For lots in a plat accepted on or after June 1, 2017, the seller must also disclose who maintains and owns the roads, retention ponds, sewer, water and other infrastructure there. Source: Subdivision upkeep disclosure
- Airfield disclosure
- Around NAS Pensacola, NOLF Saufley, NOLF Site 8 and the Pensacola airport, seller and buyer sign a County airfield disclosure, and a copy is filed with the deed after closing. Skipping it doesn’t void the sale but can cost the seller up to $500. Source: Airfield disclosure
- Avigation easements
- To subdivide or get a site plan approved inside a military airfield influence planning district, the owner must give an avigation easement. It is recorded with the deed and runs with the land in perpetuity. Source: Avigation easements
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 an Escambia 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.