Find Dover Property Records
Dover property records cover deeds, mortgages, plats, and related instruments filed with the Kent County Recorder of Deeds going back to the 1700s. As Delaware's state capital and the Kent County seat, Dover has a deep record history that researchers, buyers, and property owners can search online or in person. Whether you need to confirm ownership, trace a chain of title, or pull documents for a real estate transaction, the offices that serve Dover provide clear paths to get what you need.
Kent County Recorder of Deeds
Property records for Dover are maintained by the Kent County Recorder of Deeds, located at 555 Bay Road, Dover, DE 19901. The office is led by the Honorable Eugenia Thornton. You can reach the office by phone at 302-744-2314 or by email at Recorder@kentcountyde.gov. Office hours run Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Document recording is accepted from 8:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. A drop box is available outside the office for after-hours Deeds materials.
The Recorder handles deeds, mortgages, plats, powers of attorney, financing statements, and all other instruments that affect real property in Kent County. Every property record tied to Dover addresses flows through this office. That includes new deeds when homes change hands, liens filed against properties, and any easements or restrictions that run with the land. The Recorder indexes all documents as names appear on the legal instrument itself, so searches work best when you use the exact name form as written on the original document.
The image below shows the Kent County Recorder of Deeds office, which handles all Dover property recording.
Kent County Recorder of Deeds office, 555 Bay Road, Dover, DE.
The office records all deeds, mortgages, and instruments affecting real property in Kent County, including Dover.
Search Dover Property Records Online
The Kent County Recorder provides an online search portal at uslandrecords.com. The database covers real property indices and images certified from January 30, 1874 to the present. Searching is free. You can view documents online with a watermark at no charge. To download or print clean copies, the cost is $2.00 per page. Researchers who need regular access can purchase a monthly subscription for $75, which covers unlimited downloads during that period.
The search portal allows you to look up records by owner name, document type, date range, or book and page number. Name searches match the name as it appears on the legal document, so variations in spelling or abbreviation may affect your results. If you do not find what you expect, try alternate spellings or check both a person's maiden name and married name. The system covers the vast majority of recorded instruments going back to 1874, but older records from the 1700s and early 1800s may require a visit to the office or the Delaware Public Archives.
Note: Kent County also offers a free Property Fraud Alert service that notifies you within days whenever a document is recorded in your name in the county system.
Kent County Levy Court Property Search
For ownership and assessment data, the Kent County Levy Court property search is the place to start. This tool provides current ownership information, source of title, sale prices, transfer dates, legal descriptions, land and building descriptions, and assessment history for properties in Dover and throughout Kent County.
The interface includes an interactive map so you can browse by location rather than just by name or parcel number. Search options include property address, owner name, or parcel ID. This tool is particularly useful when you know the address of a Dover property but do not yet know who owns it or what it last sold for. Assessment history is helpful for tracking how a property's value has changed over time, which can matter when you are researching older transactions.
This resource is separate from the Recorder's portal. The Levy Court search covers assessment and ownership records while the Recorder's system covers recorded instruments like deeds and mortgages. Using both together gives you the most complete picture of a Dover property's history.
Delaware Law and Recording Requirements
Delaware's property recording rules come from several parts of state law. Delaware Code Title 9 Chapter 96 sets the recording requirements for all counties. Every deed or instrument must include a parcel identification number and a "prepared by" statement on the first page before the Recorder will accept it for recording. These are firm requirements. A document that is missing either element will be returned unfiled.
Delaware Code Title 25 Chapter 1 governs deeds directly. One key rule: deeds in Delaware are never changed or corrected by altering the original document. If an error needs fixing, a new deed must be prepared and recorded alongside the original. This preserves the chain of title as an unbroken sequence of recorded documents. Anyone researching Dover property history will encounter this practice, particularly on older properties that have changed hands multiple times.
Note: Delaware's Title 6 Chapter 46 Fair Housing law allows property owners to request redaction of discriminatory covenant language from older recorded deeds.
Realty Transfer Tax and Dover's Share
Delaware imposes a 3% Realty Transfer Tax on real estate sales under Delaware Code Title 30 Chapter 54. The tax applies to the sale price and is typically split between buyer and seller. Dover receives a 5.3700% allocation of the distributed share of Realty Transfer Tax receipts. That makes Dover the largest municipal recipient outside of Wilmington. For those tracking the financial side of Dover real estate transactions, this tax forms a part of the recorded transfer documents.
The tax is paid at the time of recording and appears in the transaction records associated with each deed. When you pull a deed from the Kent County online search system, the consideration amount and any tax information is part of the recorded document. This makes deed records useful not just for legal purposes but also for understanding the sale history of a property.
Transfer on Death Deed
A new option became available to Delaware property owners in 2025. Under Delaware Code Title 25 Chapter 2, owners can now use a Transfer on Death Deed to designate a beneficiary who will inherit property without going through probate. The deed must be recorded with the Kent County Recorder before the owner's death. It does not take effect during the owner's lifetime and can be revoked or changed at any time by recording a new document.
For Dover property owners, this is a straightforward way to plan for the transfer of real property. The document is recorded at 555 Bay Road just like any other deed. Because it becomes part of the public record, heirs can confirm their interest by searching the Recorder's database after the owner passes. The Kent County resident services page has information about Transfer on Death Deeds and other recording options.
Dover City Records Offices
Several offices within the City of Dover maintain records related to land and development that supplement what the Kent County Recorder holds.
The Dover Planning Department manages zoning maps, subdivision plats, site plans, and the city's comprehensive plan. If you need to know a property's zoning classification or want to review subdivision approvals, this is the office to contact. Zoning compliance letters are available through the Planning Department. The department also administers historic preservation rules, which apply to properties in Dover's several historic districts listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
The Building Permits and Inspections office holds records of building permits, certificates of occupancy, and inspection reports for construction projects within city limits. If you are buying a property and want to verify that improvements were permitted and inspected, this office has those records. Final inspections result in certificates of occupancy, which confirm a structure was built or renovated in compliance with the city building code.
For property taxes, the Dover Finance Department collects city property taxes based on assessed values set by the Kent County Assessment Office. The city applies its own tax rate to that assessed value. Tax records can help confirm ownership and current assessed value when you are researching a Dover address.
Delaware Superior Court Records
The Delaware Superior Court for Kent County sits at 38 The Green, Dover, DE 19901, phone (302) 735-1900. Superior Court records can become relevant to property research when there are liens arising from civil judgments, foreclosure actions, or other court proceedings that attach to real property. Judgments entered in Superior Court can become liens against real property owned by the defendant in the county where the judgment is docketed.
When tracing the full status of a Dover property, it is worth checking both the Recorder's records and the court docket for any active judgments or lis pendens filings. A lis pendens is a notice of pending litigation that is recorded with the Recorder and appears in the property index. It alerts buyers that there is active legal action involving the property.
Delaware Public Archives
The Delaware Code Title 9 sets the framework for the state's official recording system, which the image below illustrates from the official Delaware Code website.
Delaware Code Title 9 Chapter 96, the recording requirements for all Delaware counties.
Title 9 Chapter 96 governs how deeds and other property instruments must be prepared and recorded across all Delaware counties, including Kent County.
For older Dover property records that predate the online database, the Delaware Public Archives at 121 Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard North, Dover, DE 19901 holds historical documents going back to the colonial period. The Archives has land records, probate files, and other documents that can fill gaps in very old chains of title. Researchers working on properties with long histories may find records at the Archives that do not appear in the Recorder's digital system.
The image below shows the Delaware Public Archives, which is located in Dover and holds historical land records.
Delaware Public Archives, 121 MLK Jr. Blvd North, Dover, DE 19901.
The Delaware Public Archives in Dover holds property records from the colonial era through the present, supplementing the Kent County Recorder's database for deep historical research.
Note: The Delaware Public Archives is open to the public and can be reached directly in Dover, making it convenient for in-person research into older Dover property records.
Kent County
Dover property records are filed and maintained through Kent County. For county-level information about the Recorder, assessment office, and other record-keeping offices that serve Dover, visit the Kent County page.
Nearby Cities
Other cities in the area also have property record pages covering their local recording offices and search options.