Stratford Deed Records

Deed records in Stratford are kept by the Town Clerk at 2725 Main Street. Stratford has over 53,000 people and is part of Fairfield County on the coast of Long Island Sound. All land records, deeds, and property transfers get filed with the Town Clerk. The office keeps all deeds and mortgages for property in Stratford. You can search land records in person or use online tools to look up deeds and transfers. Connecticut law requires all deeds for Stratford land to be filed with the Town Clerk, not at a county office.

Stratford Town Clerk Office

The Stratford Town Clerk handles all land records for the town. This is where you file new deeds and get copies of old ones. The clerk keeps records of all property transfers in Stratford. If you own land or a home in Stratford, your deed is on file here. The office is open to the public for land record searches during business hours.

You can walk in to search land records at the clerk office. Bring the name of a property owner or the street address. Staff will help you find the right book and page. Copies cost $1 per page. If you need a certified copy of a deed, add $2 for the seal. Most people who search deed records in Stratford want to check title before buying a home or to find out who owns a piece of land.

How to Search Deed Records in Stratford

Stratford deed records are part of the statewide land records system. Many Connecticut towns use online tools so you can search from home. Stratford participates in the Connecticut Town Clerks Portal and other land record databases. These sites let you look up deeds by name or date. Some show the full deed image so you can see what was filed in Stratford.

The Connecticut Town Clerks Portal has Stratford land records you can search for free. The site is open all day and night. You see the index with names and dates at no cost. If you want to print a deed image, you pay a small fee. Most Stratford deed records back to the 1980s are online. Older deeds may need an in-person visit to the clerk office in Stratford.

You can also use US Land Records to search for Stratford deeds. Pick Stratford from the town list. Type in the grantor name or grantee name. A grantor is the one who sells or gives the land. A grantee is the one who gets it. This site shows you the book and page number for each deed. You can view images if you sign up for access. This makes it easy to find deed records in Stratford without going to town hall.

To find a specific deed in Stratford, you need:

• Owner name or past owner name
• Street address of the property
• Year the deed was filed
• Book and page number if you know it

If you do not know the year, you can search by name. The index will show all deeds for that person in Stratford. This helps if you want to trace title or see how land changed hands over time.

Filing Deeds in Stratford

When you buy or sell land in Stratford, you must record the deed with the Town Clerk. Under Connecticut General Statutes Title 47, a deed must be filed in the town where the land sits. An unrecorded deed is valid between the buyer and seller, but it does not protect you from claims by others. Filing the deed gives public notice that you own the land in Stratford.

Recording fees in Stratford follow the state schedule set by law. As of July 1, 2025, the fee is $70 for the first page and $5 for each added page. If the deed has a MERS nominee, the first page costs $160. These fees apply to all towns in Connecticut, so Stratford uses the same rates as other places in Fairfield County. Check the Connecticut Statutes Chapter 92 for the full list of clerk fees.

You can file deeds in Stratford in person or use e-recording. E-recording lets you submit a deed online through one of four approved vendors. The Town Clerk accepts files from Simplifile, CSC, ePN, and Indecomm. You upload your deed as a PDF and pay the fee online. The clerk reviews it and records it the same day if it meets all the rules. This is faster than going to town hall in Stratford.

All deeds must meet state format rules. The deed must be on white paper, 8.5 by 11 inches or 8.5 by 14 inches. Use black ink and a font size of at least 10 points. The grantor must sign the deed and have their name printed below the signature. A notary must sign as well. You also need to show the grantee mailing address on the deed or you pay an extra $5. If you skip the printed names under signatures, you pay an extra $1. These small fees add up, so check your deed before you file it in Stratford.

Note: Land records in Stratford date back to when the town was formed in 1639, making it one of the oldest towns in Connecticut.

Conveyance Tax in Stratford

Stratford requires a conveyance tax on most property sales. This is a state tax and sometimes a local tax too. The Connecticut Department of Revenue Services collects this tax when you file a deed for a sale or transfer with a price over $2,000. You must submit Form OP-236 along with the deed to the Town Clerk in Stratford. The clerk forwards the tax form to the state within 10 days.

State conveyance tax rates are:

• 0.75% for homes up to $800,000
• 1.25% on the amount over $800,000 for homes
• 1.25% for commercial property and land

Stratford may also have a local conveyance tax. Many towns in Fairfield County add a small local tax on top of the state tax. Call the Town Clerk at (203) 385-4025 to ask about the current local rate in Stratford. Some transfers are exempt from the tax, such as gifts between family or deeds with no money changing hands. The tax form has a list of exempt transfers. If you think you are exempt, you still file the form but mark the exemption box.

You can file the conveyance tax form online through the myCTREC portal. This is the state system for real estate conveyance tax. You fill out Form OP-236 on the site and pay the tax by credit card or e-check. Once done, you print the form and bring it to the Stratford Town Clerk with your deed. The clerk will not record a deed without the tax form if the sale price is over $2,000.

Types of Deed Records in Stratford

The Stratford Town Clerk keeps many types of land records. Deeds are the most common. A warranty deed is used when you buy a home. A quitclaim deed is used to transfer land without a sale, like between family. Each type of deed gets filed the same way in Stratford, but the legal effect is different.

Other land records in Stratford include mortgages, which create a lien when you borrow money to buy land. Releases remove a mortgage or lien after you pay it off. Easements grant rights to use part of someone else's land, such as for a driveway or utility line. Attachments and judgments put claims on property for unpaid debts. Maps and surveys show property lines and lot size. Affidavits address title issues like name changes or boundary disputes.

All these documents are indexed by grantor and grantee. The grantor is the person who gives up an interest in the land. The grantee is the one who receives it. This index system makes it possible to trace the chain of title in Stratford. A chain of title lists every owner from the earliest deed to the current one. Under Connecticut law, a 40-year chain of title is usually enough to prove marketable title.

Maps filed in Stratford have separate fees. A simple map with two or fewer parcels costs $20 to file. A subdivision map with three or more lots costs $30. The clerk keeps a map index so you can find surveys by subdivision name or lot number. These maps help you see the exact boundaries of land in Stratford.

Fairfield County Deed Records

Stratford is in Fairfield County. All land records for Stratford are filed with the Stratford Town Clerk, not at a county office. Connecticut does not have county recording. Each town keeps its own land records. For more on how Fairfield County land records work, see the county page with links to all 23 towns in the county.

View Fairfield County Deed Records

Nearby Cities in Connecticut

Other cities near Stratford with their own land records include Bridgeport, Milford, Fairfield, and Shelton. Each town in Connecticut keeps separate deed records. If you own land in more than one town, you file deeds in each place where the land sits.