Access Martin County Property Records

Martin County property records are kept by the County Clerk in Stanton, Texas. The office records deeds, liens, mortgages, oil and gas leases, and all other instruments that affect land in the county. Martin County sits in the Permian Basin, so mineral and surface rights documents are especially common here. This page covers how to find property records, what types exist, how to get copies, and what state law says about public access.

Martin County Clerk Office

The Martin County Clerk is the official custodian of all real property records in the county. The clerk's office is at the Martin County Courthouse in Stanton and is open Monday through Friday during regular business hours. All deeds, deeds of trust, liens, releases, plat maps, oil and gas leases, and related instruments are recorded, indexed, and stored here.

Given Martin County's location in the Permian Basin, the clerk's office handles a large volume of oil and gas lease filings, mineral rights conveyances, and related instruments on top of the standard real property documents. If you are researching a property with both surface and mineral rights, you will want to review both deed records and lease records filed with the clerk.

Online searches for Martin County property records are available through third-party platforms like TexasFile. For certified copies or questions about specific documents, contact the clerk's office in Stanton directly.

How to Search Martin County Records

Search Martin County property records by grantor or grantee name. The clerk indexes all instruments under the names of the parties involved. For deeds, the grantor is the seller or person conveying the property, and the grantee is the buyer or person receiving it. If you are looking for a lien, search under the name of the property owner as the debtor.

Oil and gas leases are indexed under the names of the landowner (lessor) and the company or individual taking the lease (lessee). If you are doing due diligence on a Permian Basin property, a thorough search should cover both the deed index and the oil and gas lease index. Assignments of leases and production payments are also recorded with the clerk.

For older records that may not be in the online system, plan a visit to the courthouse in Stanton. The clerk holds the original indexes going back to when the county was organized. Bring the names of the parties and an approximate date range to make the search more efficient.

Note: Third-party search tools are helpful but may lag behind the official records by days or weeks. Confirm critical findings with the clerk.

Types of Property Records in Martin County

The County Clerk records a broad range of instruments in Martin County. Under Texas Property Code Section 12.001, recording gives legal notice to the public. The most common document types are deeds, deeds of trust, lien notices, and lien releases. But in a Permian Basin county, you also see a heavy volume of oil and gas instruments.

Oil and gas leases convey the right to explore and produce minerals from a property. Assignments of those leases transfer those rights from one company to another. Division orders, production payments, and royalty transfers are also recorded. These instruments exist alongside the standard surface property records. A full property file in Martin County often runs many pages because of the layered mineral rights history.

Other common documents include mechanic's and materialman's liens, tax lien notices, easements, right-of-way agreements, plat maps, and assumed name certificates. Each type is indexed separately, so knowing what type of document you need helps focus your search. The clerk can advise you on which index to check for a particular document type.

Martin County Appraisal District

The Martin County Appraisal District maintains property appraisal records for all taxable property in the county. The CAD database shows current tax roll ownership, appraised values, exemptions, and property descriptions. You can search by owner name, address, or account number at martincad.com.

Mineral interests are appraised separately from surface property in Texas. The Martin County Appraisal District values both. If you own a royalty interest or a working interest in Permian Basin production in Martin County, those interests will appear in the CAD as separate accounts with their own appraised values. Property tax is owed on those interests just like surface property.

Protests on appraised values can be filed before the May 15 deadline each year. The district also handles homestead, over-65, and disability exemption applications. If you recently purchased property, apply for homestead exemption in the first year you qualify to reduce your tax bill.

Recording Fees and Process

The Martin County Clerk charges $26 for the first page of any recorded instrument and $4 for each additional page. This fee is set by the Texas Legislature under Local Government Code Section 118.011. Documents with more than five parties to be indexed carry an additional charge of $0.25 per name above five.

Documents can be submitted for recording in person, by mail, or through eRecording services. Mail submissions need a check or money order payable to the County Clerk. eRecording is the fastest option for title companies and lenders. After recording, the original is returned to the submitting party. The document is then indexed and available for public search, usually within a few business days.

Plain copies cost $1.00 per page. Certified copies require a $5.00 certification fee on top of the per-page rate. Most research tasks only need uncertified copies. Order certified copies when you need them for legal proceedings or a government transaction.

Texas Public Information Act

Property records in Martin County are public documents. Under Texas Government Code Chapter 552, the Public Information Act, any person can request access to government records without stating a reason. You do not need to own the property or be a party to the instrument to access recorded documents.

The clerk must respond to records requests promptly. For property records already in the index, the response is usually fast. If it will take more than ten business days, the office must notify you and give a timeline. Disputes about access can be taken to the Texas Attorney General's Open Government Division.

Online document images may have some fields redacted. Social security numbers and financial account numbers are removed from publicly viewable copies under Texas law. The originals held by the clerk in Stanton contain the full information.

Additional Research Resources

The Texas Comptroller's Property Tax Assistance Division provides statewide information on property taxes, exemptions, and appraisal district processes. The comptroller also publishes value studies on each appraisal district, which can be useful when protesting a value in Martin County.

For historical land records, the Texas General Land Office holds the original patents and survey records for Texas land going back to the Republic of Texas era. Martin County was surveyed and organized in the late 1800s, and those original survey records are available through the GLO archive online.

The Texas Secretary of State's SOSDirect provides UCC filings and business entity records. For oil and gas transactions involving companies, SOS records help identify the correct legal entity name. The Texas State Law Library offers research guides on oil and gas recording, property law, and title issues in Texas.

Nearby Counties

Martin County is in the Permian Basin of West Texas. Check neighboring counties if a property sits near the county line.