Who pays for the owner’s policy in Leon County?
The buyer customarily pays for the owner’s title policy in Leon 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 Leon 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 Leon 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 Leon County
Deeds and mortgages record with the Leon 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 Leon 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 Leon County records, in its offices’ own words
What the office that records deeds and mortgages says about how it works.
- Boundary changes
- The Clerk links a county notice that a land transaction changing property boundaries, in whole or in part, must first be approved by Leon County’s Department of Development Support and Environmental Management (DSEM). The notice adds that getting a parcel identification number is not compliance with land development regulations. Source: Boundary changes
- Witnesses
- Since January 1, 2024, the Clerk will not record an instrument that conveys, assigns, encumbers or disposes of title to real property unless each witness’s name and post office address are legibly printed, typewritten or stamped immediately beneath the witness’s signature. Source: Witnesses
- Deed requirements
- The Clerk’s recording requirements include the name and address of each person signing and each person receiving the property, the legal description, the name and address of the natural person who prepared the instrument, and a 3-inch square at the top right of the first page (1 x 3-inch on later pages) for the Clerk’s use. Source: Deed requirements
- Online records
- The Clerk’s online search states that its Official Records, including the deed and mortgage books, are validated and current from 01/01/1945, and plats through Book 27 Page 27. Source: Online records
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 Leon topicsNext Liens and charges that stay with the property
County liens, utility charges and assessments in Leon County
What the county’s offices and its code say about charges and liens a buyer can inherit.
- Capped code liens
- A code lien for junk in the yard or an overgrown lot stops growing at $10,000. Repeat violations, and liens under other sections of the code, have no cap unless the code says so. Source: Capped code liens
- Road paving assessments
- Special assessments for County road improvements are liens on each parcel from the day the assessment resolution is recorded. They are collected like county taxes, with the same interest, penalties and tax sale rules. Source: Road paving assessments
- Assessment lien certificates
- To pay for road projects, the County may sell its special assessment liens as certificates. Payments still go to the County, and a certificate holder can sue in its own name to enforce the lien. Source: Assessment lien certificates
- Nuisance abatement liens
- When the County abates a nuisance, it bills the owner by certified mail. If the bill goes unpaid for 30 days, the County can record a lien on the land for the cost, interest and fees, which can be foreclosed except on a homestead. Source: Nuisance abatement liens
- Stormwater on common areas
- Leon’s stormwater assessment on the common areas of a condominium or platted subdivision is shared by the unit or lot owners. If one owner doesn’t pay, the lien goes on that owner’s unit or lot, not on the common area. Source: Stormwater on common areas
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.
Law particular to Leon County
What the county’s charter, its code or a Florida law sets for Leon in particular.
- Flood disclosure
- A seller or landlord who knows a home has flooded or is flood-prone must say so in writing before the contract or lease, unless the buyer can see it or knows. Skipping it risks a fine of up to $500 but doesn’t impair the title. Source: Flood disclosure
- Assessment disclosure
- A seller must tell a buyer in writing about special assessments the seller knows are on the home or pending, such as for two-thirds/two-thirds road projects or energy improvements, when the buyer can’t reasonably find them. Source: Assessment disclosure
- Lots split before 1991
- Single-family lots created by deeds recorded on or before October 31, 1990, are treated as nonconforming and excepted from Leon’s subdivision review and density limits. The rest of the land development rules still apply to them. Source: Lots split before 1991
- Foreclosure registration
- Within ten days of filing a foreclosure or recording a lis pendens, the lender must register the property with the County and name a local property manager. Registration is renewed yearly until the case ends or the lender takes title. Source: Foreclosure registration
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 Leon 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.