Who pays for the owner’s policy in St. Johns County?
The seller customarily pays for the owner’s title policy in St. Johns 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 St. Johns 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 St. Johns 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 St. Johns County
Deeds and mortgages record with the St. Johns County Clerk of the Circuit Court and 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 St. Johns 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 St. Johns County records, in its offices’ own words
What the office that records deeds and mortgages says about how it works.
- Deed requirements
- The Clerk requires original wet-ink signatures on documents recorded in person or by mail, and asks for the prepared-by statement, with the preparer’s name and address, at the top left corner of the first page. Source: Deed requirements
- Where to record
- The Clerk says all of its offices provide full recording services: the Public Service Center, 4040 Lewis Speedway, St. Augustine, with no appointment, and the Julington Creek and Ponte Vedra annexes by appointment. Source: Where to record
- Fraud alert
- The Clerk’s free Property Fraud Alert emails subscribers every time an Official Records document is recorded under a name they have asked it to watch. Source: Fraud alert
- Foreclosure sales
- Foreclosure sales are held online on specified Thursdays at 12:00 p.m. EST, on the auction site the Clerk links, and the Clerk does not accept payments for them over the counter. 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 St. Johns topicsNext Liens and charges that stay with the property
County liens, utility charges and assessments in St. Johns County
What the county’s offices and its code say about charges and liens a buyer can inherit.
- Code lien reductions
- The County won’t reduce a code lien for an owner who bought after it was recorded, saying it should have been paid at closing. It also won’t reduce one that a title insurance policy missed. Source: Code lien reductions
- Buyers under contract
- With a signed contract and a closing before the next hearing, a buyer’s lien reduction request goes straight to the County Commission. A reduced amount must be paid within 30 days of approval, or the full lien stands. Source: Buyers under contract
- Code status letters
- Code Enforcement confirms the code status of a parcel for $58, and warns that its answer is not a title search. Source: Code status letters
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 St. Johns County
What the county’s charter, its code or a Florida law sets for St. Johns in particular.
- Vacant property registry
- Since March 5, 2019, owners, mortgagees and trustees of vacant or abandoned property must register it online with the County’s registry and pay a fee. Source: Vacant property registry
- Short-term rentals
- East of the Intracoastal Waterway, each short-term vacation rental unit must be registered with the County and renewed every 12 months. Owner-occupied homesteads, and multifamily units under an association or onsite management, are exempt. Source: Short-term rentals
- Workforce housing resale
- Homes sold under the County’s workforce housing zoning carry a recorded deed restriction. For two years after the first sale, the owner must live there and the price can’t top a cap based on $260,000, adjusted yearly. Source: Workforce housing resale
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 St. Johns 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.