Who pays for the owner’s policy in Pasco County?
The seller customarily pays for the owner’s title policy in Pasco 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.
That is the custom as we see it on our own files, confirmed on September 24, 2026. It is a report of what is usual, not a rule, and not a promise about your contract.
How the custom runs in the other counties is on who pays for title insurance in Florida.
What does title insurance cost in Pasco 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 Pasco 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 Pasco County
Deeds and mortgages record with the Pasco County Clerk & 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 Pasco 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 Pasco 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 accepts documents for recording over the counter during business hours, or by mail, at its two locations: the East Pasco Government Center in Dade City and the West Pasco Government Center in New Port Richey. Source: Where to record
- Online records
- The Clerk’s Official Records indexes run from 1975 to the present, and document images from 1990 on are viewable online, except those for probate or family law cases, military discharges and death certificates. Source: Online records
- Fraud alert
- The Clerk’s free fraud alert watches the personal and business names a subscriber registers and sends an alert by email or phone when a document is recorded under one of them. Source: Fraud alert
- Foreclosure sales
- The Clerk says foreclosure sales are generally held online beginning at 11 a.m. Monday through Friday, excluding legal holidays; the final judgment sets each sale’s date, time and place. 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 Pasco topicsNext Liens and charges that stay with the property
County liens, utility charges and assessments in Pasco County
What the county’s offices and its code say about charges and liens a buyer can inherit.
- Water and sewer liens
- Pasco water and sewer charges left unpaid 60 days past due become a lien on the property served. It ranks with county taxes and ahead of every other lien, title and claim until paid. Source: Water and sewer liens
- Solid waste assessment
- Pasco’s yearly solid waste disposal assessment on improved land is a lien from January 1 that ranks with county taxes and ahead of other liens. A new home pays a prorated share when its certificate of occupancy issues. Source: Solid waste assessment
- Improvement assessments
- Unpaid Pasco special assessments for improvements or services rank with county taxes and ahead of other liens, prior recorded mortgages included. Miss an installment by 33 days and the County can call the whole balance due. Source: Improvement assessments
- Street lighting assessments
- Street lighting assessments are billed by County Utilities and fall delinquent 30 days after billing. Unpaid ones are liens equal to taxes, bear interest of up to eight percent, and can cost the property its utility service. Source: Street lighting assessments
- Demolition liens
- If the County demolishes a structure and the owner doesn’t pay the invoice within 30 days, the cost becomes a recorded lien with the same priority as taxes, ahead of all other encumbrances. It accrues interest at eight percent from recording. Source: Demolition liens
- Overgrown lot liens
- When the County fixes an overgrown or unsafe condition the owner ignored, it adds a penalty equal to the cost or $75, whichever is more, plus costs and interest. The total is a special assessment lien that ranks with county taxes, ahead of all other liens. Source: Overgrown lot liens
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 Pasco County
What the county’s building officials publish about permits and building inspections.
- Impact fees run with land
- Unpaid Pasco mobility and impact fees stay with the land. So does the right to a refund, which goes to the current owner unless that owner signs it over in a notarized writing. Source: Impact fees run with land
- Overdue taxes stop permits
- Pasco won’t review a development application for land with overdue taxes or other money owed to the County, unless the approval is needed to correct a violation. Source: Overdue taxes stop 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 Pasco County
What the county’s charter, its code or a Florida law sets for Pasco in particular.
- Foreclosure registry
- Within ten days of a lis pendens or foreclosure filing, the filer must register the property with Pasco County, certifying an inspection in the past 30 days and naming a local agent. The registration renews yearly until the property is sold or the case ends. Source: Foreclosure registry
- Rental and vacant homes
- In unincorporated Pasco, a rental home must be registered with the County before a tenant moves in, and so must a home vacant more than 60 days. A buyer who doesn’t move in right away must register or update the registration within 30 days of the sale. Source: Rental and vacant homes
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 Pasco 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.