Deeds and Liens Live at the Hood County Clerk — but They Won't Run a Title Search

When a Hood County property changes hands, the deed gets recorded at the County Clerk's office on Pearl Street, not at the appraisal district. The CAD only sets values, while the clerk keeps the legal record of who owns what and what's filed against it. Once a document is recorded, anyone can buy a copy as proof of ownership, to show a lien, or for whatever legal need comes up, and the clerk's online index lets you search recorded documents from home.

Here's the line the office draws hard: they will not run a lien search for you. Looking across all the records to certify what's owed against a property is a title search, and the clerk says outright that's not their job. A written record search they do perform runs $5.

For a sale or an inheritance, that means the online index is a starting point, not the final word. It can show you a recorded deed or a filed lien, but it isn't a title opinion, a survey, or legal advice. That's what a title company and a surveyor are for.