Who pays for the owner’s policy in St. Lucie County?
The seller customarily pays for the owner’s title policy in St. Lucie 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 St. Lucie 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. Lucie 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. Lucie County
Deeds and mortgages record with the St. Lucie County Clerk of the Circuit Court.
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. Lucie County deed and a Levy County deed of the same length record for the same money.
All documents are recorded upon receipt. They must then be indexed, verified and scanned to appear on public records before they are mailed back to the customer. The turn-around time is normally seven to ten days.
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.
The turnaround above is the office’s own published statement, not a commitment it makes to us or a time we can promise you. Offices change these pages without notice. On a file where the recording date matters, ask us and we will check what the office is actually doing that week.
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. Lucie 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 every deed to contain the grantor’s and grantee’s addresses, and warns that recording a new deed may affect property tax exemptions. Source: Deed requirements
- Where to record
- The Clerk lists recording among the services at its main office, 201 S. Indian River Drive in Fort Pierce, but not among those at its St. Lucie West branch in Port St. Lucie. Source: Where to record
- E-recording limits
- The Clerk lists document types that need special handling and cannot be e-recorded, among them lis pendens, plats, documents related to declarations of condominium, notices of homestead, notices of contest of lien, and transfers of a lien or judgment to a cash or surety bond. Source: E-recording limits
- Online records
- The Clerk’s online records cover deed records from 1905 through 1960 and official records from 1980 to the present. Official records from 1960 to 1979 are listed as coming soon. 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 St. Lucie topicsNext Liens and charges that stay with the property
County liens, utility charges and assessments in St. Lucie County
What the county’s offices and its code say about charges and liens a buyer can inherit.
- Demolition liens
- Outside the cities, the cost of demolishing or removing an unsafe building is a lien ahead of everything but taxes. It dates from the recorded notice, bears 6 percent a year, and can be enforced by suit after one year. Source: Demolition liens
- Lot cleanup costs
- If the County has to clean up an overgrown or junk-filled lot, the owner has 20 business days to pay. After that the cost earns judgment-rate interest, can be recorded as a lien, and goes on the tax bill if still unpaid by September 1. Source: Lot cleanup costs
- Unpaid road impact fees
- Road impact fees missed at permit, or in a city that doesn’t collect them for the County, are billed to the permit holder and the owner. Once delinquent they carry a ten percent fee, judgment-rate interest and a recorded claim of lien that ranks with taxes. Source: Unpaid road impact fees
- PACE assessments
- A PACE financing agreement must be recorded within five days of signing, and from then on the assessment is a lien equal to county taxes. A seller who skips the PACE disclosure to a buyer doesn’t make the assessment any less valid. Source: PACE assessments
- Culvert financing
- Owners can have the County finance repairs to an existing driveway culvert and repay them on the tax bill. The signed agreement is recorded, but only each year’s installment is a lien, and a missed payment doesn’t make the rest come due. Source: Culvert financing
- Garbage fees
- In the urban unincorporated area, garbage collection fees for a home are the owner’s to pay, covering every occupant’s use. The County can collect them on the tax bill. Source: Garbage fees
- Code fine reductions
- Once a violation is fixed, the owner can ask in writing for a reduction of a County code fine. The request is brought to the Code Enforcement offices, weekdays 8 to 5, and goes to the Code Enforcement Board. Source: Code fine reductions
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. Lucie County
What the county’s charter, its code or a Florida law sets for St. Lucie in particular.
- Hutchinson Island septic
- On Hutchinson Island, a house on a septic tank must hook up to central sewer within 90 days of notice that lines run within 200 feet of it. No new septic system has been allowed there since April 1, 1993 without a waiver. Source: Hutchinson Island septic
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. Lucie 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.