Midland County Property Records

Midland County property records are maintained by the County Clerk and are available online through the county's official portal. All deeds, mortgages, oil and gas leases, liens, and other land documents are indexed and accessible to the public. As one of the major urban centers of West Texas and the Permian Basin, Midland County has an active real estate market and a high volume of property filings. This guide explains how to search those records and what resources are available.

Midland County Clerk Office

The Midland County Clerk at co.midland.tx.us is the official custodian of all property records in the county. The office records deeds, deeds of trust, oil and gas leases, mineral deeds, mechanic's liens, lien releases, easements, and plat maps. Online access to current records is available through the county's public search portal at no cost for basic name searches.

The Midland Central Appraisal District at midlandcad.org maintains the property tax rolls for all taxable property in the county. Their online portal lets you search by owner name, address, or account number. Use both the clerk's deed records and the CAD database together for the most complete property research in Midland County.

Search Midland County Property Records

The Midland County Clerk's online portal at co.midland.tx.us allows free public access to search recorded instruments by grantor name, grantee name, document type, or date range. Document images are available online for most current records. For older records not yet digitized, a visit to the clerk's office may be needed.

The Midland Central Appraisal District at midlandcad.org provides a searchable database of all taxable parcels in the county. If you know the property address but need the owner name or account number, the CAD search is the fast starting point. Ownership data there is updated annually and may lag slightly behind very recent transactions.

For real estate in Midland, oil and gas leases and mineral rights documents are especially common in the clerk's records. The Permian Basin's energy activity means that mineral deeds, royalty assignments, and surface use agreements are filed alongside traditional residential and commercial real estate instruments. All of these are public records.

Note: Third-party services like TexasFile also have Midland County records indexed and can be used as an alternative search interface for those who prefer it.

Types of Property Records in Midland County

The County Clerk records all instruments that affect real property in Midland County. Under Texas Property Code Section 12.001, recording an instrument gives legal notice to the world. Each document gets an instrument number and is indexed under all party names.

Common record types in this Permian Basin county include warranty deeds, special warranty deeds, quitclaim deeds, deeds of trust, oil and gas leases, mineral deeds, royalty assignments, surface use agreements, pooling agreements, mechanic's liens, lien releases, federal and state tax liens, easements, pipeline right-of-way agreements, and subdivision plats. The volume of energy-related filings in Midland County is among the highest in the state, reflecting the county's role at the center of the Permian Basin oil industry. Surface and mineral interests are often severed, meaning they may be owned by different parties and tracked through separate recorded instruments.

Under Texas Property Code Section 13.001, anyone who buys or lends on Midland County property is bound by what has been recorded, whether or not they reviewed the records.

Midland Central Appraisal District

The Midland Central Appraisal District at midlandcad.org handles appraisal of all real and personal property in the county for tax purposes. Their database is searchable by owner name, address, or account number and provides ownership history, appraised values, exemptions, and property characteristics. For mineral interests, the CAD may maintain separate accounts for the surface and mineral estates when they are owned differently.

If your property is appraised too high, you can protest before the appraisal review board. File by May 15 or within 30 days of your notice, whichever comes later. The Texas Comptroller's Property Tax Assistance Division provides statewide guidance on the protest process and property tax rules applicable in Midland County.

Recording Fees and Procedures

Recording a document with the Midland County Clerk costs $26 for the first page and $4 for each additional page. The extra name indexing fee is $0.25 per name beyond five parties. These are set by state law and do not vary by county.

Documents can be filed in person at the courthouse, by mail, or through eRecording services. Midland County's active real estate and energy markets mean that eRecording through vendors like Simplifile is widely used by local title companies and law firms. For mail submissions, include a check payable to the County Clerk and a return envelope for the original stamped document.

Certified copies cost $1.00 per page plus a $5.00 certification fee. Uncertified copies are less expensive and sufficient for most research needs.

Texas Public Information Act

Midland County property records are public documents under Texas Government Code Chapter 552. Anyone can request access without giving a reason. The clerk's office must respond within ten business days. Because Midland County has an active online portal, most records are accessible immediately.

If access is denied or delayed, the Texas Attorney General's Open Government Division handles complaints and issues binding opinions on what records must be released. Online document images may have personal identifiers redacted under Texas Property Code Section 11.008, but the full original records are retained at the clerk's office.

Additional Property Research Resources

The Texas General Land Office holds historical land grant records for Midland County going back to the original surveys of West Texas. These records trace original land patents and are searchable online through the GLO archive. For surface and mineral title research going back to the earliest ownership, the GLO records are an essential starting point.

The Texas Secretary of State's SOSDirect system is valuable in Midland County for looking up the legal status of oil and gas companies that are parties to recorded instruments. UCC filings and business entity records are searchable through SOS. The Texas State Law Library provides free research guides on Texas property law topics, including mineral rights and oil and gas recording requirements.

Nearby Counties

Midland County is in the Permian Basin. Properties near county lines may be recorded in a neighboring county.