Who pays for the owner’s policy in Martin County?
Martin County has no settled custom for the owner’s policy: the buyer pays on some sales, as in Broward and Miami-Dade, and the seller on others, as in Palm Beach and St. Lucie on either side of it.
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 Martin 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 Martin 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 Martin County
Deeds and mortgages record with the Martin County Clerk of the Circuit 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 Martin 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 Martin County records, in its offices’ own words
What the office that records deeds and mortgages says about how it works.
- Deed requirements
- The Clerk asks that a deed come with either the sale or transfer price or the amount of documentary stamp tax, and that deeds and agreements for deed include the grantor’s and grantee’s mailing addresses. Source: Deed requirements
- Online records
- The Clerk’s online Official Records index covers documents recorded after January 1, 1986, beginning at Book 660. Source: Online records
- Fraud alert
- The Clerk offers alerts any time a document is recorded using a name a subscriber has listed to monitor. Source: Fraud alert
- Foreclosure sales
- The Clerk holds most foreclosure sales online, on Tuesdays and Thursdays beginning at 10:00 a.m. ET. The winning bidder pays the balance, plus the court registry service charge, in person at the Clerk’s office by 10:00 a.m. ET the next business day. Source: Foreclosure 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 Martin topicsNext Liens and charges that stay with the property
County liens, utility charges and assessments in Martin County
What the county’s offices and its code say about charges and liens a buyer can inherit.
- Code lien reductions
- The Special Magistrate decides requests to release or reduce a County code lien. No reduction can take the lien below ten percent of its total or ten percent of the property’s value, whichever is less. Source: Code lien reductions
- Demolition liens
- When the County tears down an unsafe building, it bills the owner for the demolition. If the bill isn’t paid within 30 days, it becomes a lien payable to Martin County. Source: Demolition liens
- PACE payoff at sale
- A PACE lender in unincorporated Martin County must tell the owner in writing that the assessment is collected like property taxes and can cost the property, homestead included. It must also say the balance may have to be paid in full on a sale or refinance. Source: PACE payoff at sale
- Loxahatchee district liens
- The Loxahatchee River Environmental Control District takes in land in both Martin and Palm Beach counties. Its unpaid charges are a lien on the land served, on a par with taxes. The district records a claim of lien and can foreclose 30 days after serving it. Source: Loxahatchee district liens
- Environmental fines
- A fine from the County’s environmental control hearing board becomes a lien on everything the respondent owns once the time to appeal runs out and the order is filed with the Clerk. Source: Environmental fines
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 Martin County
What the county’s building officials publish about permits and building inspections.
- Selling an unsafe building
- An owner served with notice that a building is unsafe can’t sell, mortgage or lease it until the work is done. Short of that, the buyer must get a copy of the notice, and the Building Official a notarized statement from the buyer taking on the repairs. Source: Selling an unsafe building
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 Martin County
What the county’s charter, its code or a Florida law sets for Martin in particular.
- Homes in foreclosure
- In unincorporated Martin County, a lender must register a property within ten business days of a mortgage default, at $200 a year. It stays on the registry until it is sold to a bona fide purchaser at arm’s length, or the foreclosure ends and the default is cured. Source: Homes in foreclosure
- Impact fee loans
- The County can lend buyers of very low and low income homes all of their impact fees, and moderate income buyers half, with interest. Either loan comes due when the house is sold or transferred, unless the County lets it be refinanced. Source: Impact fee loans
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 Martin 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.