How to Record a Document with the Pinellas County Recorder
Recording puts a deed, declaration, or other instrument into Pinellas County's Official Records, the public index title companies, lenders, and courts search. Here's the actual office, current fees, and one open verification gap worth knowing about.
Pinellas County's recorder function is Recording Services, part of the Clerk of the Circuit Court and Comptroller, based at the Clearwater Courthouse (315 Court St., Room 150), with a branch office in St. Petersburg. Recording costs $10.00 for the first page and $8.50 per additional page under Fla. Stat. §28.24; oversize instruments run a separate, higher fee tier. One detail below — the current e-recording vendor list — could not be independently confirmed on the Clerk's own site and should be verified directly before you rely on it.
Why a deed or declaration needs to go on the public record
A notarized deed or affidavit is valid between the signing parties once properly executed. Recording is the separate step that places it into Pinellas County's Official Records, the searchable index title companies, lenders, and courts rely on. Fla. Stat. §28.222 makes the clerk of the circuit court the ex officio recorder in every Florida county; in Pinellas, Recording Services is based at the Clearwater Courthouse, 315 Court St., Room 150, Clearwater, FL 33756 (Official Records is Room 163 in the same building), with a branch office at 545 First Ave. N., St. Petersburg, FL 33701.
I notarize the signatures and confirm the document has what's needed for recording, but submitting it is a separate step the signer, their attorney, or their title company completes directly with Recording Services.
Pinellas County recording fees and documentary stamp tax
Current fees (including the oversize-document tier), formatting requirements, and cited authorities for the Pinellas County Recorder are in the "Pinellas County recording office & requirements" section below, sourced live from the county-recording registry — including one flagged gap: the e-recording vendor list below was sourced from a search-engine summary, not a direct fetch, because every direct attempt to reach mypinellasclerk.gov returned HTTP 403. Verify the current vendor list directly with the Clerk before relying on it for a filing.
How to record a document with the Pinellas County Recorder
Confirm the document meets Florida's recording requirements: original signature, complete notarial certificate, and legibly printed witness names with post-office addresses (effective January 1, 2024 — confirmed via a Clerk Alert PDF tied to the same statutory amendment as other counties).
Calculate the fee, including the oversize-document rate if the instrument is larger than 14 × 8.5 inches.
Choose your filing method: in person at the Clearwater Courthouse or the St. Petersburg branch office; by mail; or e-recording — confirm the current approved vendor list directly with the Clerk given the verification gap noted above.
Pay the recording fee and any documentary stamp tax at submission.
Receive your recorded document back stamped with the official book/page or instrument number confirming it's part of Pinellas County's Official Records.
What EMC does not do
I notarize the signatures on the document and confirm it carries what's required for recording, but I don't submit filings to Recording Services and I don't determine whether a specific transfer or transaction is legally sufficient. That review belongs to the closing agent, title company, or the parties' own attorney.
I am not an attorney licensed to practice law in the State of Florida, and I may not give legal advice or accept fees for legal advice.
Pinellas County recording office & requirements
Clerk of the Circuit Court and Comptroller, Pinellas County — Recording Services
Recording Services, Room 150, Clearwater Courthouse, 315 Court St., Clearwater, FL 33756 (Official Records, Room 163, same building); St. Petersburg Branch Office, 545 First Ave. N., St. Petersburg, FL 33701
Recording fees
| Item | Amount |
|---|---|
| First page | $10.00 |
| first_page_notes | documents not more than 14 x 8.5 in. |
| Each additional page | $8.50 |
| Indexing, each name over four | $1.00 |
| Oversize document, first page | $30.00 |
| Oversize document, additional page | $15.00 |
| Documentary stamp tax, deeds (per $100) | $0.70 |
| Documentary stamp tax, notes/mortgages (per $100) | $0.35 |
Statutory basis: Fla. Stat. §28.24 (recording fee schedule), Fla. Stat. §28.222(1) (clerk as county recorder), Fla. Stat. §201.02 (documentary stamp tax, deeds). Confirm current figures with the recorder's office before finalizing a closing statement.
E-recording
This office accepts electronic recording (e-recording) through approved third-party vendors.
- eRecording Partners Network (ePN)
- Corporation Service Company (CSC)
- Simplifile
- e-Docs Solutions
Vendor list sourced from search-engine snippet of mypinellasclerk.gov/Home/Recording-Services; direct fetch of that URL returned HTTP 403 on every attempt (main .gov domain and both mirrors). Treat as probable-but-unconfirmed pending a direct read.
Formatting requirements
Fla. Stat. §695.26 statewide rule.
- A 3-inch by 3-inch space at the top right-hand corner on the FIRST page is reserved for clerk use (recording stamp).
- A 1-inch by 3-inch space at the top right-hand corner on EACH SUBSEQUENT page is reserved for clerk use.
- Names of each person who executed the instrument must be legibly printed, typewritten, or stamped immediately beneath the signature; same requirement applies to witnesses, notaries, preparers, and grantees where applicable.
- Effective January 1, 2024 (2023 amendment): each witness's name AND post-office address must be legibly printed/typewritten/stamped on any instrument conveying, assigning, or encumbering real property — an email address does not satisfy this.
- Standard document page size is capped at 8.5 x 14 inches; larger instruments (plats, condominium exhibits) are recorded under a different, higher fee tier by most clerks.
- Exemptions from §695.26 formatting: instruments executed before July 1, 1991; court decrees; instruments executed outside Florida; wills; plats; documents prepared by public officers other than notaries.
- A clerk's failure to comply with §695.26 (e.g., recording a noncompliant document) does NOT impair the validity of the recordation or the constructive notice it gives — the requirement binds the preparer/submitter, not the legal effect of recording.
3-inch margin / 3x3 blank-space detail is search-snippet-sourced only, not independently confirmed by direct fetch (403 blocked); treat as probable, not confirmed.
Verify before relying on this
Fee schedule PDF is dated March 2023; Fla. Stat. §28.24 has not changed since 2009 so the total is very likely still current, but no live 2026 fee page fetch succeeded to freshly confirm — this is an inference, not a fresh confirmation. mypinellasclerk.gov blocks direct WebFetch (403) on its HTML pages across domain and mirrors; recommend a manual browser check before the website/Legal-workspace copy treats vendor list and margin detail as fully sourced. Verify the current e-recording vendor list and any figures above directly with the Clerk of the Circuit Court and Comptroller, Pinellas County — Recording Services before relying on them for a filing.
Authority citations
- https://www.mypinellasclerk.gov/Portals/0/General%20PDFs/2023/508_Final%20Fee%20Schedule%20March%202023.pdf
- https://www.mypinellasclerk.gov/Portals/0/Clerk%20Alerts/2023/508_Clerk%20Alert%20New%20Requirements%20for%20Recording%20Documents.pdf
- https://www.mypinellasclerk.gov/Home/Recording-Services
- https://www.mypinellasclerk.gov/Portals/0/Info%20Cards/508_RecordingServices.pdf
- https://floridarevenue.com/taxes/taxesfees/Pages/doc_stamp.aspx
Last verified 2026-07-13 (county_confirmed_fees_via_PDF (fee schedule and doc-stamp rate read directly from an official PDF, dated March 2023); e_recording_vendors_and_margin_detail_unconfirmed (mypinellasclerk.gov HTML pages returned 403 Forbidden on every direct-fetch attempt)). I am not an attorney licensed to practice law in the State of Florida, and I may not give legal advice or accept fees for legal advice.
Related downloads
Frequently asked questions
Where do I physically go to record a document in Pinellas County?
Recording Services is at the Clearwater Courthouse, 315 Court St., Room 150, Clearwater, FL 33756. A branch office is at 545 First Ave. N., St. Petersburg, FL 33701. You can also mail your document or ask about e-recording, though see the vendor-list note below.
How much does it cost to record a one-page deed in Pinellas County?
Recording the first page costs $10.00 under Fla. Stat. §28.24 (confirmed directly from an official March 2023 fee-schedule PDF), plus documentary stamp tax at the standard statewide rate. Oversize instruments are billed at a separate $30 first-page / $15 additional-page tier.
Is the Pinellas e-recording vendor list confirmed?
Not independently, as of this writing. Every direct attempt to fetch mypinellasclerk.gov's recording-services page returned HTTP 403 (blocked), so the vendor list here is sourced from a search-engine summary rather than a direct read. Verify the current approved vendor list by phone or in person with the Clerk before choosing an e-recording provider.
What changed with witness requirements on Pinellas recordings in 2024?
Effective January 1, 2024, witness names must be legibly printed along with a post-office address, confirmed via a Pinellas Clerk Alert PDF tied to the same statewide statutory amendment other counties adopted.
Does the notary who signs my document also record it in Pinellas County?
No. Notarization and recording are separate steps. I complete the notarization and confirm the document meets recording requirements; you, your attorney, or your title company submits it to Recording Services.
Coordinating a real estate closing or loan signing?
The Real Estate & Loan Signing Packet covers notarial fee caps, itemized closing costs, and how document handling and recording fit into one signing appointment.
Get the real estate signing packet →