Who pays for the owner’s policy in Hamilton County?
Hamilton County has no settled custom for the owner’s policy: the buyer pays on some sales, as around Tallahassee, and the seller on others, as around Gainesville.
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 Hamilton 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 Hamilton 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 Hamilton County
Deeds and mortgages record with the Hamilton 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 a Hamilton 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 Hamilton County records, in its offices’ own words
What the office that records deeds and mortgages says about how it works.
- Plat maps
- The Clerk keeps subdivision plat maps in its Official Records Department. Maps for metes and bounds descriptions are at the Property Appraiser’s office. Source: Plat maps
- Subdivision covenants online
- Hamilton’s planning and zoning site posts deed covenants and plats for its subdivisions, some of the plats unrecorded. Source: Subdivision covenants online
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.
Building permits and safety inspections in Hamilton County
What the county’s building officials publish about permits and building inspections.
- Mobile home move-on permits
- No mobile home may be placed on a Hamilton lot without a move-on permit, good only for the site it names. The person moving the home must get it and post it on the home before the move. Source: Mobile home move-on permits
- RV living moratorium
- Hamilton has a moratorium on living in an RV or camper on a single site. The County won’t issue or accept permits for it until the County Commission lifts the moratorium. Source: RV living moratorium
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 Hamilton County
What the county’s charter, its code or a Florida law sets for Hamilton in particular.
- Family lots
- On agricultural or environmentally sensitive land, Hamilton allows a lot to be deeded to a close relative under a special family lot permit. The deed, or a separate affidavit, must state how the grantee is related to the grantor, and each lot must be at least one acre. Source: Family lots
- Aquifer and wellfield notice
- Any deed or lease for Hamilton land in a high aquifer recharge area or a wellfield management zone must carry a note that the property is subject to the county’s protection rules for that area. Source: Aquifer and wellfield notice
- What counts as a subdivision
- In Hamilton, dividing land into three or more lots is a subdivision, but splitting it into parcels of 40 acres or more with no change in street lines is not. Neither is a lot created under a family lot permit. Source: What counts as a subdivision
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 Hamilton 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.