Who pays for the owner’s policy in Gulf County?
The seller customarily pays for the owner’s title policy in Gulf 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 Gulf 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 Gulf 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 Gulf County
Deeds and mortgages record with the Gulf County Clerk of Circuit Court & County 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 Gulf 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 Gulf County records, in its offices’ own words
What the office that records deeds and mortgages says about how it works.
- Documentary stamps
- The Clerk’s official records page publishes a table of past deed documentary stamp rates, from $0.10 per $100 for 1931 to 06/30/1957 up to $0.70 from 08/01/1992 to the present. Source: Documentary stamps
- Time zone
- The Clerk’s Port St. Joe office is open Monday to Friday, 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM EST. Its annex office in Wewahitchka is open Fridays only, 8:00 AM to 3:30 PM CST, and has no mail receptacle. Source: Time zone
- Foreclosure sales
- Foreclosure sales are held in the front lobby of the courthouse in Port St. Joe, beginning at 11:00 A.M., and the remaining balance is due at 5:00 p.m. on the day of the sale. Source: Foreclosure sales
- Tax deed sales
- Tax deed auctions are held in person and start at 11:00 AM EST. The Clerk says a claimant is not required to obtain a third party to apply for tax deed surplus funds. Source: Tax deed sales
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 Gulf topicsNext Liens and charges that stay with the property
County liens, utility charges and assessments in Gulf County
What the county’s offices and its code say about charges and liens a buyer can inherit.
- Clean-up assessments
- If the County cleans up a nuisance, the owner has 20 business days to pay before the cost is recorded as a lien. Still unpaid by the next June 1, it goes on the tax bill, where nonpayment can lead to a tax certificate and a tax deed. Source: Clean-up assessments
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.
Property tax and the Tax Collector in Gulf County
What the county’s offices say about collecting the property tax and what goes on the bill.
- Cape San Blas beach taxes
- Cape San Blas has its own taxing units for beach renourishment. The County may levy up to ten mills in the Gulfside and Gulfside Interior units and up to two mills on the bayside. Source: Cape San Blas beach taxes
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, its code or its charter. 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 Gulf County
What the county’s building officials publish about permits and building inspections.
- Park impact fee
- Gulf’s park impact fee is paid before a home’s building permit issues, and the duty to pay it runs with the land. If the permit lapses before the house is built, a refund can be requested within 90 days. Source: Park impact fee
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 Gulf County
What the county’s charter, its code or a Florida law sets for Gulf in particular.
- Vacation rentals
- Every vacation rental home must register with the County by September 1 each year and pay a $100 annual license fee. The County building department inspects each unit once a year. Source: Vacation rentals
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.
Foreclosure and tax deed sales in Gulf County
How the county’s offices run the sales, as they describe them.
- Splitting a parcel
- An owner can split a parent parcel in two by minor replat only once. If the roads don’t meet County standards, each deed must say the County won’t own or maintain them until they do. Source: Splitting a parcel
- Gifts and inheritance
- Dividing land by inheritance or a gift deed doesn’t count as a subdivision under Gulf’s development rules. Source: Gifts and inheritance
Each line restates what the page linked beside it said when it was read, on October 16, 2026: a page of the office that runs the sale, 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.
How Bayit Title handles a Gulf 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.