General Information

Effective October 1, 2022, the Harrison County Auditor and Harrison County Engineer adopted new minimum requirements for instruments of conveyance and a new document preapproval process.  

The Harrison County Minimum Requirements for Instruments of Conveyance have been adopted by the Harrison County Auditor and the Harrison County Engineer to ensure proper and accurate descriptions of real property and to insure property is accurately described for tax purposes. 

All transfers now require preapproval prior to recording. Documents submitted for preapproval should be unsigned copies, not the original documents meant for recording, in the event changes are required. Documents for preapproval will be accepted via email to mapoffice@harrisoncountyohio.org, postal mail, delivery or in person, and will require a minimum of four days to process. The documents will then be reviewed and preapproved by the Harrison County Map Office, Harrison County Auditor's Office and Harrison County Recorder's Office before being returned, with any changes required explained. A completed Harrison County Document Conveyance Requirements Form must accompany the documents when submitted for preapproval. 

Please review the Harrison County Preapproval Process for more detailed information on the preapproval process and call with any questions.  

Requirements After Preapproval

After preapproval, transfers will be accepted in person, via mail, delivery or dropbox. After processing the Map Office will forward the documents to the Auditor's Office and we will then forward to the Recorder's Office. Dropped or mailed documents should include all required forms and fees to ensure timely processing. If submitting multiple documents, please note the order in which they should be processed. 

The recording process requires three steps, involving the Harrison County Tax Map Office, the Harrison County Auditor's Office and the Harrison County Recorder's Office. All three steps must be completed for the documents to be recorded. 

This page will only address the duties of the Harrison County Auditor's Office. Our goal for processing transfers is 24 hours but may vary depending on daily workload. 

Our office does not prepare deeds. Because deeds are legal documents, we recommend contacting a legal representative for help in preparing any transfer. 

All documents must be complete and legible or will be returned to you unprocessed. 

Ohio Revised Code states you must declare a value on real property being transferred and pay the conveyance fee or show reasons for exemption from the fee, before the Auditor shall complete the transfer. Also under Ohio law, all real estate transfer documents must be presented to the County Auditor prior to being recorded. The Auditor's Office will transfer the owner’s name and address on the real estate tax list and duplicate.  

Every transfer is required to have a named Grantor (Seller) and a named Grantee (Buyer), an accurate legal description, including complete parcel number(s), and a stamp of approval from the Harrison County Map Office for our office to process. 

Conveyance forms are required for every transfer. The Grantee must submit a DTE Form 100 Conveyance Form, declaring a value for a taxable transfer or if exempt a DTE Form 100EX Exempt Conveyance Form explaining the reason for exemption. If required, a DTE Form 101 for participating Homestead Exemption parcels or DTE Form 102 for participating CAUV parcels must also be completed. If the transfer is for multiple parcels and it is difficult to list all numbers on the conveyance form, you can also complete and submit the DTE Attachment Sheet.  

A Conveyance Fee of $4.00 per thousand of the sale price (no rounding) and a Transfer Fee of $0.50 per parcel is due before the transfer will be approved.  The Auditor's Office will only accept check or cash for payment of fees.

Transfers with splits or combinations of parcels will need to be preapproved by the Auditor's Office. Parcel split and combination requests will no longer be accepted in person. These requests can be made by completing the Parcel Split Request or the Parcel Combination Request and sent by email to Lesley Heavilin at lheavilin@harrisoncountyohio.org. A minimum three-day turnaround is required for all split and combination requests. By completing these requests, you will ensure the transfer is correct, including the location of all buildings. 

Common Deed Types with Abbreviations

Related Forms:

DTE Form 100 Conveyance Form 

DTE Form 100EX Exempt Conveyance Form

DTE Attachment Sheet

DTE Form 101 Conveyance of Homestead Property

DTE Form 102 Conveyance of CAUV Property

Parcel Split Request

Parcel Combination Request

Harrison County Minimum Requirements for Instruments of Conveyance

Harrison County Preapproval Process

Harrison County Document Conveyance Requirements Form

Harrison County Transfer Process