Northampton County, PA Property Records

    Northampton County occupies the eastern edge of Pennsylvania, where the Delaware River doubles as a state line, and the Lehigh Valley's industrial past has given way, imperfectly but persistently, to a services and logistics economy. At roughly 323,000 residents and growing at 0.7% annually, it is one of the few places in Pennsylvania where the population trend runs in the right direction.

    The housing market reflects this relative vigor. The average home value stands at $354,795, some 24% above the Pennsylvania statewide average of $286,351, and has risen 2.3% over the past year. Median sale prices have reached approximately $370,000, up nearly 9% year-on-year. Listings go under contract in around 12 days, brisk by any measure, and a reliable indicator that supply remains the binding constraint rather than demand.

    The affordability picture is less tidy. According to Federal Reserve Economic Data, roughly 27–29% of households are cost-burdened, spending 30% or more of their income on housing. Given a median household income of approximately $89,000, this suggests that price appreciation has outrun wage growth with enough consistency to erode the buffer that higher incomes might otherwise provide.

    Property records are maintained at the county level by the Recorder of Deeds; assessments and tax data are administered through separate county offices.

    Who Keeps the Official Land Records

    The official custodian of all land records in Northampton County is the Northampton County Recorder of Deeds, a standalone elected office within the county's Fiscal Affairs division. The elected official is Dorothy Edelman. The office is located at 669 Washington Street, Room L116, Easton, PA 18042-7486.

    Northampton County uses the Landex computer system to record, index, image, and retrieve all documents. Documents are assigned a volume and page reference number.

    Online access is provided through Landex Document Publishing Service (pay-per-document, non-subscriber) and Landex Remote Web (subscription). E-recording is available. A free Record Alert system (name-based, via Landex) allows monitoring of recordings.

    What Northampton County Property Records Include

    The Recorder of Deeds maintains all instruments affecting real property within the county. Recorded document types include deeds (warranty, quitclaim, corrective, and others), mortgages, mortgage assignments, releases, satisfactions, easements and rights of way, leases, agreements of sale, subdivision plans, UCC financing statements, powers of attorney, notary commissions, military discharge papers (DD-214), and other instruments affecting real estate.

    Pennsylvania uses a recorded land title system statewide. Northampton County documents are indexed by grantor or grantee name, document type, recording date, and volume and page reference (Northampton County's terminology for what most counties call book and page).

    A Parcel Certification Fee of $10.00 applies to all deeds and mortgages requiring parcel identification, in addition to the base recording fee. The county's Assessment property search at ncpub.org provides parcel data by address, owner, or parcel number.

    Northampton County's Lehigh Valley location and robust real estate market. Title chains for properties in Bethlehem's South Side may include instruments related to the former Bethlehem Steel property and its successors, including easements, environmental covenants, and redevelopment instruments recorded during the steel site's decades-long transition. Properties along the Delaware Canal corridor may carry canal-related easements and DCNR right-of-way instruments.

    How to Access Northampton County Property Records

    Records can be accessed online via Landex, in person at Room L116, by phone, by mail, or via e-recording.

    Online Access

    Northampton County uses Landex for all document management and remote access. Two online options are available: Landex Document Publishing Service, browser-based, pay-per-document, no subscription required; a $5 processing fee applies to all orders; and Landex Remote Web subscription, time-and-page billed, for frequent professional users.

    The county's Assessment portal at ncpub.org provides property search (by address, owner, or parcel) and displays ownership history, including volume page references for prior deeds, a useful starting point before moving to Landex for document images.

    In Person

    • Address: 669 Washington Street, Room L116, Easton, PA 18042-7486, Hours: Monday–Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. PIN certification recording concludes at 4:00 p.m. Plan to arrive by 4:00 p.m. for any parcel-certification-required documents.

    Public retrieval stations available; all documents imaged and microfilmed. Payment: Business checks, certified checks, money orders, or cash. No personal checks. Exact payment required; no overpayments accepted.

    By Phone

    Call (610) 829-6210 for general inquiries. For recording fee and transfer tax questions: (610) 559-3226.

    By Mail

    Mail documents and payment to: Northampton County Recorder of Deeds, 669 Washington Street, Room L116, Easton, PA 18042-7486. Include a self-addressed stamped envelope for the return of originals.

    E-Recording

    E-recording is available in Northampton County. Simplifile is a confirmed vendor. Contact the office at (610) 559-3226 or the county's Recorder for current vendor options and enrollment.

    What's Not at the Recorder's Office (But Matters for Property Research)

    The Recorder of Deeds is a standalone elected office in Northampton County. Estate and probate records are maintained by the Register of Wills and Orphans' Court; civil court liens and judgments are at the Prothonotary (Civil Division). Both are at 669 Washington Street (county courthouse building). The Prothonotary's Office also accepts passport applications.

    Property assessments are administered by the Northampton County Assessment Office, with a public parcel search at ncpub.org. Zoning is administered at the municipal level across the county's 38 municipalities; the county's Department of Community and Economic Development can provide planning and zoning guidance. Delinquent taxes are handled by the county's Revenue Division. For statewide data, see the Pennsylvania DCED.

    Step-by-Step: How to Pull a Deed Online

    Northampton County uses Landex for online deed access:

    • Go to the Northampton County Assessment portal at ncpub.org and search by address. Under “Owner,” note the current owner's name and the volume and page of the most recent deed in the Owner History.

    • Go to the Landex Document Publishing Service. Select Pennsylvania, then Northampton County.

    Search by the owner's name and document type “Deed.” Verify by matching volume or page numbers from Step 1. Add to cart and check out. The document appears as a PDF. Note: $5 processing fee applies to all Landex orders. This produces a non-certified copy.

    For certified copies or pre-Landex records, contact the office at (610) 829-6210 or visit Room L116 in person.

    Cities & Towns in Northampton County (and Their Record Custodians)

    All recorded property documents for every municipality in Northampton County are maintained by the single Northampton County Recorder of Deeds at 669 Washington Street, Easton. The county has 38 municipalities, 4 cities, plus numerous boroughs and townships.†

    • County Seat or City: Easton.

    • Largest City: Bethlehem.

    • Other Cities: Northampton and Pen Argyl.

    • Selected Boroughs: Bath, Bangor, Delaware Water Gap, East Bangor, Freemansburg, Glendon, Hellertown, Nazareth, Roseto, Stockertown, Tatamy, Walnutport, West Easton, Wilson, Wind Gap, and others.

    • Selected Townships: Allen, Bethlehem, Bushkill, East Allen, Forks, Hanover, Lehigh, Lower Mount Bethel, Lower Nazareth, Lower Saucon, Moore, Palmer, Plainfield, Stockertown, Upper Mount Bethel, Upper Nazareth, Washington, Williams, and others.

    Full municipality list at en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Northampton_County,_Pennsylvania.

    City/Town Resources for Assessments & Taxes

    Property assessments are administered at the county level by the Northampton County Assessment Office. The free public parcel search at ncpub.org allows searches by property address, owner name, or parcel number and displays assessment values, sales history, and volume/page references for recorded deeds.

    Zoning is administered at the municipal level across all 38 municipalities. There is no county-wide zoning ordinance in Northampton County. The county's Department of Community and Economic Development can provide planning and zoning resources.

    For Lehigh Valley–wide planning, the Lehigh Valley Planning Commission (lvpc.org) coordinates regional planning across both Northampton and Lehigh counties. Current-year tax collection is administered at the municipal level; delinquent taxes are handled by the county Revenue office.

    Northampton County-Specific Nuances

    • Parcel Certification Fee of $10.00 on top of the base recording fee. All deeds and mortgages requiring parcel identification carry a $10.00 Parcel Certification Fee in addition to the base recording fee of $75.25.

    A deed for one parcel, therefore, costs a minimum of $85.25 before any overage page or name fees. This is a separate itemized fee, not included in the base rate, and must be accounted for when calculating total recording costs.

    • Volume and page indexing of Northampton County's terminology for the book and page. Northampton County calls its indexing reference a “volume and page” number rather than book and page (as used by most other PA counties).

    The two terms are functionally equivalent; the county's Landex system assigns a volume and page number to each document upon recording. When referencing a prior instrument on a new document (satisfaction, corrective deed, assignment), provide the volume and page number, not a book and page number.

    • PIN certification recording concludes at 4: 00 p.m., thirty minutes before closing. Although the office is open until 4:30 p.m., the cutoff for recording documents requiring PIN certification is 4:00 p.m. Documents requiring parcel certification that arrive between 4:00 and 4:30 p.m. will likely be deferred. Plan in-person submissions for documents with parcel requirements to arrive before 4:00 p.m.

    • No personal checks; exact payment required; no overpayments accepted. Northampton County does not accept personal checks for any payments. Accepted forms: business checks, certified checks, money orders, or cash. The office requires exact payment.

    Overpayments are not accepted. Calculate fees precisely before submitting. The non-compliant fee ($10.00 per document) for failing to meet recording requirements is in addition to any resubmission costs.

    • $10.00 non-compliant fee per document. A $10.00 non-compliant fee is charged per document for failure to meet the recording requirements. This is separate from the returned-document procedures in other counties and appears to be assessed at the time of submission for any requirement deficiency. Ensure all requirements are met before submission to avoid this charge.

    • Statement of Value pages counted in page count but not scanned separately, no extra cost: When a Statement of Value must accompany a deed, the SOV pages are counted toward the document's page total for fee calculation purposes.

    However, because the SOV is not scanned and added to the imaging system (unlike the deed itself), there are no additional imaging or recording costs for those SOV pages beyond the per-page overage fee. This policy was clarified in a January 2015 fee notice from the Recorder's office.

    • Simplifile e-recording available; Landex $5 processing fee on all orders: E-recording via Simplifile is confirmed available. Contact the office for additional vendor options. When obtaining documents online via the Landex Document Publishing Service (Webstore), a $5 processing fee applies to every order in addition to per-page copy fees.

    • Record Alert free via Landex name-based monitoring. The Recorder of Deeds offers a free Record Alert service through Landex. Registrants receive alerts when a document is recorded in their name. The alert is name-based (exact spelling as indexed), not parcel-number-based.

    • Bethlehem city title chains span two counties. The city of Bethlehem is divided between Northampton County and Lehigh County. Properties on the South Side of Bethlehem (including the former Bethlehem Steel site and SteelStacks area) are in Northampton County and are recorded here.

    Properties north of the Lehigh River in Bethlehem are in Lehigh County and are recorded with the Lehigh County Recorder of Deeds. Researchers must confirm which county a Bethlehem property is in before searching. The Assessment portal at ncpub.org covers only Northampton County parcels.

    Typical Contents of a Northampton County Property Record

    When reviewing recorded instruments at the Northampton County Recorder of Deeds, you will typically find:

    • Deeds:

      • Grantor and grantee names (consistent throughout document).

      • Complete legal description, including municipality and county.

      • Consideration amount or Statement of Value (SOV pages counted in page total).

      • Certificate of Residence for the grantee.

      • Parcel identification (required; Parcel Certification Fee $10.00).

      • Notarial acknowledgment (acknowledgment date on or after execution date).

      • For multi-municipality deeds: percentage transfer tax per municipality.

      • Assigned volume and page number upon recording.

    • Mortgages and Related:

      • Lender/borrower names, property description, and loan terms.

      • Parcel identification (Parcel Certification Fee $10.00).

      • Assignments, releases, satisfactions.

    • Other Common Instruments:

      • Easements and rights of way (including Delaware Canal DCNR easements and former Bethlehem Steel site instruments).

      • Subdivision plans.

      • Powers of attorney.

      • UCC financing statements.

      • Notary commissions.

      • Military discharge papers (DD-214).

    Recording Changes to Property Titles

    All new deeds, mortgages, easements, and other instruments affecting real property in Northampton County must be recorded with the Recorder of Deeds. Submissions may be made in person (before 4:00 p.m. for parcel-certification-required documents), by mail, or via e-recording (Simplifile).

    Include the parcel number; the $10.00 Parcel Certification Fee applies to all deeds and mortgages. Pennsylvania's 2% Realty Transfer Tax (1% state + 1% local) applies to most deed transactions. Include a fully completed Statement of Value when required. Include a SASE for return of originals. Payment must be the exact amount; no personal checks, no overpayments. Watch the 4:00 p.m. cutoff for parcel-certification documents even though the office stays open until 4:30 p.m.

    The base deed/mortgage recording fee is $75.25 (4 pages, 4 names) plus a $10.00 Parcel Certification Fee. Additional pages: $2.00 each. Additional names: $0.50 each. Non-compliant fee: $10.00 per document. Assignment or Release of Mortgage: $60.75. Satisfaction of Mortgage: $60.75. Easement or Right of Way: $58.75.

    Practical Research Flow (Checklist)

    A practical approach for researching property records in Northampton County, PA:

    • Search the Assessment portal. Go to ncpub.org and search by address. Note the owner's name and volume page of the most recent deed in Owner History.

    • Confirm the county for Bethlehem properties. Bethlehem city straddles Northampton and Lehigh counties. South Side Bethlehem is in Northampton County; the north side is in Lehigh County. Verify the county before searching.

    • Search online via Landex. Use the Document Publishing Service (Webstore) for occasional access or Landex Remote Web for frequent professional use. $5 processing fee per order.

    • Note all volume/page references. Collect deed, mortgage, release, and other instrument volume/page references for the full title chain.

    • Check for steel site or canal instruments. For South Side Bethlehem parcels (former Bethlehem Steel) or Delaware River/canal-adjacent parcels, look for environmental covenants, easements, and redevelopment instruments.

    • Sign up for Record Alert. Free at landex.com/recordalert/?county=northampton. Name-based alerts.

    • Verify zoning. Contact the specific municipality directly. No county zoning.

    • Check delinquent taxes. Contact the county Revenue office through the county website at norcopa.gov

    • Prepare recording documents. Parcel Certification Fee: $10.00 per deed/mortgage; exact payment (no personal checks, no overpayments); SASE; arrive before 4:00 p.m. for parcel-cert-required documents (office closes at 4:30); SOV when required; multi-municipality % transfer tax stated; non-compliant fee $10.00/document; e-record via Simplifile or submit in person/by mail.

    Appendix A: Municipalities in Northampton County

    Northampton County has 38 incorporated municipalities: 4 cities, plus numerous boroughs and townships.

    • County Seat or City: Easton.

    • Largest City: Bethlehem.

    • Other Cities: Northampton and Pen Argyl.

    • Selected Boroughs: Bath, Bangor, East Bangor, Freemansburg, Glendon, Hellertown, Nazareth, Roseto, Stockertown, Tatamy, Walnutport, West Easton, Wilson, Wind Gap, and others.

    • Selected Townships: Allen, Bethlehem, Bushkill, East Allen, Forks, Hanover, Lehigh, Lower Mount Bethel, Lower Nazareth, Lower Saucon, Moore, Palmer, Plainfield, Upper Mount Bethel, Upper Nazareth, Washington, Williams, and others.

    Full list at en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Northampton_County,_Pennsylvania.

    Appendix B: Key Contacts & Portals

    E-Recording:

      • Simplifile confirmed. Contact (610) 559-3226 for additional vendors.

    • Northampton County Assessment Office (Parcel Property Search):

    • Register of Wills and Orphans' Court:

    • Lehigh Valley Planning Commission (Regional Planning):

    • Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development (DCED):

    • Northampton County Official Website: