Who pays for the owner’s policy in Walton County?
Walton County has no settled custom for the owner’s policy: the buyer pays on some sales and the seller on others.
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 Walton 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 Walton 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 Walton County
Deeds and mortgages record with the Walton County Clerk of 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 Walton County deed and a Levy County deed of the same length record for the same money.
We cannot guarantee documents will be recorded on the same day that we receive them. If you have a time-sensitive document, we recommend recording your document in person at one of our office locations. Our E-recording service times are from 8:00 AM - 4:30 PM CST.
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 Walton 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 has offices at 571 U.S. Highway 90 East in DeFuniak Springs and at the South Walton Courthouse Annex, 31 Coastal Centre Boulevard, Santa Rosa Beach, open Monday to Friday, 8:00am to 4:30pm Central Time. It recommends recording a time-sensitive document in person at one of them. Source: Where to record
- E-recording
- The Clerk’s e-recording service times are 8:00 AM to 4:30 PM CST, and it says it cannot guarantee documents will be recorded on the same day it receives them. Source: E-recording
- Online records
- The Clerk links an Official Records Alpha Index Search covering 1885-1976. Source: Online records
- Foreclosure sales
- Foreclosure sales have been held online since Monday, March 2, 2009. The successful bidder pays the balance, the registry of court service charge and the foreclosure sale fee in person at the Clerk’s office by 4:00 P.M. CST on the day of the sale. 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 Walton topicsNext Liens and charges that stay with the property
County liens, utility charges and assessments in Walton County
What the county’s offices and its code say about charges and liens a buyer can inherit.
- Code fines
- Walton’s code board can fine up to $1,000 a day for a first violation, $5,000 a day for a repeat and $15,000 for one that can’t be undone. A recorded fine order is a lien on the land and on anything else the violator owns. Source: Code fines
- Service assessments
- County service assessments are a lien equal to taxes and, unless law says otherwise, ahead of earlier mortgages until paid. When billed on the tax bill, the lien attaches as of the prior January 1, the tax lien date. Source: Service assessments
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.
Property tax and the Tax Collector in Walton County
What the county’s offices say about collecting the property tax and what goes on the bill.
- North Walton mosquito tax
- North of the Choctawhatchee River and Bay, and in DeFuniak Springs, Freeport and Paxton, the tax bill carries a mosquito control tax of up to one mill. Left unpaid, it goes to tax certificates and tax deeds like county taxes. Source: North Walton mosquito tax
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, its code or its charter. 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 Walton County
What the county’s building officials publish about permits and building inspections.
- Permits held for violations
- No further permit or development order issues for a property with an active or unresolved code violation, other than one needed to fix it. Source: Permits held for violations
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 Walton County
What the county’s charter, its code or a Florida law sets for Walton in particular.
- Vacation rental certificates
- Renting a house short-term needs a County vacation rental certificate, renewed every year. When the certificate transfers to a new owner, the unit has to be re-certified at the time of transfer. Condominiums are exempt. Source: Vacation rental certificates
- Affordable housing restrictions
- Homes built under the County’s affordable housing density bonus carry deed restrictions keeping them affordable for at least ten years if sold, or 20 years if rented. The restrictions run with the land, and the County can enforce them. Source: Affordable housing restrictions
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 Walton 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.