In Escambia County, deeds are recorded in the Official Records kept by the Escambia County Clerk of the Circuit Court and Comptroller, and evictions are filed in county court at the M.C. Blanchard Judicial Building, 190 West Government Street, Pensacola. Pensacola Beach property is usually a leasehold involving the Santa Rosa Island Authority. We meet clients by phone or video.
Escambia County sits at the far western end of Florida, and its real estate market has a feature found almost nowhere else in the state: much of Pensacola Beach is not bought and sold as ordinary fee simple land. Add a historic downtown, a large rental market, waterfront homes on the bayous and growing areas to the north around Cantonment, and the questions owners bring us vary widely. This page sets out where deeds are recorded, how evictions move through the local court, and what is different about property on Santa Rosa Island.
Communities we serve in Escambia County
- Pensacola, including downtown, East Hill and the neighborhoods along the bayous
- Pensacola Beach on Santa Rosa Island
- Perdido Key
- Cantonment, Molino and the northern part of the county
Recording deeds with the Escambia County Clerk
The Escambia County Clerk of the Circuit Court and Comptroller records deeds, mortgages and liens in the county's Official Records. Recording fees are set statewide by section 28.24 of the Florida Statutes, and documentary stamp tax is collected when a deed is recorded.
| Item | Amount |
|---|---|
| Recording, first page | $10.00 |
| Recording, each additional page | $8.50 |
| Each name indexed beyond four | $1.00 |
| Documentary stamp tax on a deed | 70 cents per $100 of consideration |
An assignment of a beach leasehold is also recorded in the Official Records, which is why title work on Pensacola Beach involves both the Clerk's records and the lease itself.
The Escambia County property fraud alert
Escambia's Clerk runs an electronic notification service that emails subscribers when instruments are recorded under the names they register. It is a simple safeguard for owners of second homes, vacant lots and rentals, which are the properties most often targeted by forged deeds. An alert does not stop a fraudulent filing. If a deed you did not sign appears, the remedy is usually a lawsuit to quiet title, which our real estate litigation page explains.
Homestead and portability in Escambia County
Homestead applications go to the Escambia County Property Appraiser. Florida law requires the application, form DR-501, by March 1 of the tax year (section 196.011), and you must own the home and live in it as your permanent residence on January 1. The Escambia County Tax Collector describes the filing window as January 1 through March 1.
Homestead limits yearly increases in assessed value to 3 percent or the change in the Consumer Price Index, whichever is lower. If you are moving from another Florida homestead, portability under section 193.155(8) can carry much of that accumulated difference to the new home, up to $500,000, provided you had a homestead exemption on any of the three prior January 1 dates. Portability requires its own form attached to the homestead application. Pensacola sees many buyers who relocate for work, and they are often the ones who qualify. Our Florida homestead exemption guide covers the details.
Pensacola Beach leaseholds
Most property on Pensacola Beach is held under a lease rather than as outright ownership of the land, and the Santa Rosa Island Authority administers those leases for Escambia County. That changes how a purchase works:
- Read the master lease. The lease sets the term, the lease fee, permitted uses and whether the lease can be assigned without consent. The Authority's records show that some leases have been amended to require its prior approval before a sale or assignment.
- Check subleases. Subleases proposed by a master leaseholder go to the Authority for approval and can carry conditions.
- Record the assignment. On a sale, the Authority asks for a copy of the recorded assignment of lease to update its records, and a lease fee is assessed under each individual agreement.
- Review taxes and insurance.
Evictions in Escambia County Court
Residential evictions are filed with the Clerk's County Civil division at the M.C. Blanchard Judicial Building, 190 West Government Street, and heard in Escambia County Court in the First Judicial Circuit. A landlord must first serve the right notice: three days for unpaid rent, counted without weekends and legal holidays under section 83.56(3), or seven days for other violations. Section 34.041 sets the filing fee for a removal of tenant action at $180, with summons and sheriff service costs on top. After judgment, possession returns only through a writ of possession served by the sheriff. Under section 83.425, local governments cannot add their own residential landlord tenant rules, so chapter 83 controls deposits, notices and lease terms across the county. Our Florida eviction and landlord and tenant pages explain the steps for both sides.
Closings, title and commercial leasing
We review purchase contracts, title commitments and surveys, and resolve the issues that stall Escambia closings, including unreleased liens, boundary questions on older lots and property that passed to heirs without probate. When an estate must be opened first, our Escambia County probate page explains the process. Our real estate closings page covers our role from contract to recording. For businesses, we negotiate retail, office and restaurant leases, including subleases on beach leaseholds, through our commercial real estate practice. Owners planning ahead can see our Pensacola estate planning page.
How we work with Escambia County clients
Escambia County clients meet with an attorney by phone or video, or in person at any of our Florida offices. We handle real estate matters for areas without an office remotely, and we arrange signings before a local notary. Your first consultation is free, and because the firm limits its caseload, you work directly with an attorney throughout. Learn more on our real estate law page, or contact us about your Pensacola property.
More help in Escambia County
We also help Escambia County clients with:
