Adams County, WA Property Records: Search Deeds, Owners, Tax Records, and Maps

If you're doing property research in Adams County, three county offices have the information you need. The Adams County Auditor records deeds, trusts, and plats. The Adams County Assessor maintains the value of each parcel, and the Adams County Treasurer collects payments due from each parcel. Altogether, they cover 1,925 square miles in the Columbia Basin region, stretching from the dryland wheat country to the west of the county and the irrigated lands to the east.

Two economic regions influence real estate characteristics in Adams County. Ritzville is the county seat and the center of the wheat-producing area. At the same time, the largest city, Othello, is located in the heart of the potato and onion belt in the county’s irrigated lands. Local home styles range from the Ritzville and Lind farm-towns to the developing suburbs of the county’s largest city.

Recent data highlights economic trends shaping the local real estate market, including $178,750 median home value, $818.5 median rent, $65,228 median household income, and 0.86 median real estate tax as a percentage of the property’s assessed value.

How to Look Up Adams County Property Records

Two public databases provide parcel details. The TaxSifter search tool offers ownership and value details, as well as the tax bill, while the MapSifter tool displays maps. Recorded documents are different, as the Adams County Auditor does not have an online portal. Deed research is possible only by appointment, by mail, or by using the State’s Digital Archives collection for the county.

Who Keeps Adams County Property Records

Since property records in Washington belong to the counties and are maintained by county officials appointed by the state, they are public records under the Public Records Act. Adams County assigns this responsibility to three elected officials:

• Adams County Auditor: responsible for recording deeds, real estate contracts, liens, and other real property instruments as the county recorder. All documents are permanently stored as public records according to the law (RCW 36.22.010). The recording process establishes constructive notice to the world (RCW 65.08).

• Adams County Assessor: responsible for the appraisal of all real and personal property in the county to distribute the tax obligation among taxing districts. This division also handles all documentation for value challenges or exemptions.

• Adams County Treasurer: responsible for collecting payments from taxpayers for all 29 taxing districts in the county. The Adams County Treasurer also handles delinquencies, foreclosures, and the Real Estate Excise Tax.

How to Search Adams County Property Records Online

A complete search here combines the online parcel tools with the Auditor’s in-office records.

• Start at the TaxSifter search. Look up the parcel by owner name, address, or parcel number, and note the parcel number, values, and tax history.

• To verify the parcel location in the county’s tax system, including the property boundaries, use the Open MapSifter tool, also available as a parcel viewer.

• To find the deed, contact the Auditor’s office at (509) 659-3247. You can request an index search for $8/hour with a one-hour minimum, or search yourself at the counter using the on-site copy machines.

• You may also search the Digital Archives for the county’s recorded deed collection, which is a valuable resource for researching historical deeds before visiting the courthouse.

• To verify tax status, please call the Adams County Treasurer's office at (509) 659-3227. Any delinquencies will be subject to further interest and penalties and could result in a county foreclosure.

County Auditor: Deeds, Deeds of Trust, and Plats

The county auditor is the recording officer for Adams County, covering Ritzville, Othello, Lind, Washtucna, Hatton, and the farmland in between. In Washington, deeds of trust secure real property and do not use standard mortgage contracts, so you are likely to encounter these instruments when dealing with a financed purchase.

Document types recorded include:

• Warranty, quitclaim deeds, and real estate contracts

• Deeds of trust, reconveyance, assignments

• Liens, lis pendens, easements

• Surveys, plats, adjustments

• Military discharges, marriage records

The books in the county date back to the county's founding in 1883, when it was split from Whitman County. They are kept in the current Ritzville courthouse, which has housed them through three generations since 1940. Documents are received with a date stamp and indexed for easy access, and while the county does not have a web portal, the counter and Digital Archives offer a convenient way to explore the collection.

County Assessor: Ownership, Values, and Parcel Data

The assessor values all parcels at 100 percent of the market value per Title 84, as of the county’s formation in 1883. The county updates values based on sales every year. It conducts on-site inspections following the State’s six-year cycle to verify that farmland, irrigated land circles, and town plots are assessed accurately.

Use the TaxSifter search or contact the office to find:

• The current legal owner of any parcel

• The parcel number that links county record systems

• Assessed land, improvement, and total values

• Property characteristics, acreage, and tax roll detail

• Current-use enrollment and exemption status

Farm and agricultural enrollment under Chapter 84.34 RCW matters enormously here, taxing qualifying land on its current use rather than market value across both the dryland and irrigated districts.

County Treasurer: Taxes, Bills, and Payments

The Adams County Treasurer is responsible for all tax collection for the county's 29 taxing districts. In Washington, the fiscal year is divided into two halves, with first-half taxes due on April 30 and second-half on October 31. Delinquencies begin to accrue interest and penalties under RCW 84.56.

The Adams County Treasurer also serves as the agent for the state’s Real Estate Excise Tax, and no transaction may close until this office either receives the due payments or notes on the document that the Real Estate Excise Tax is exempt. Be sure to leave early, as the office closes at noon.

Property Tax in Adams County: Levies, Exemptions, and Appeals

The 1 Percent Levy Limit and How Bills are Set

The State of Washington limits regular levies to one percent of assessed value, or $10 per $1,000, with voter-approved excess levies distributing additional funds to local school districts and other agencies.

The same budget act of 2011 also imposes the 101 percent limitation on all counties in the state, with the one percent growth limit applying to each district’s revenues, in addition to new construction. This law limits local governments' ability to raise property taxes, in response to the 2008 crisis, and encourages fiscal responsibility.

Senior, Disabled, and Veteran Relief

Washington offers one of the most comprehensive relief programs for seniors and persons with disabilities, administered by the Assessor’s office. Persons 61 years of age or older who meet the county’s income criteria are entitled to an exemption from excess levies and may apply for a freeze of their assessed value, under the same criteria.

Veterans with a 100 percent service-connected disability are eligible for a Veteran’s Property Tax Exemption under the same program. In addition, qualifying persons may defer their property taxes under a Veteran’s Tax Deferral and repay them as a lien at the local Department of Finance, with interest. For more information on these programs, consult the Department of Revenue and the Adams County Assessor’s office under RCW 84.36.

Appealing Your Value

To appeal your property assessment, contact the Adams County Assessor’s office at(509) 659-3200 to discuss your options. To formally protest your value, contact the county’s Board of Equalization by July 1, or within the time frame specified in your valuation notice. You may further appeal to the State Board of Tax Appeals, proving that comparable sales indicate a lower value than the assessed one.

GIS Maps and Parcel Viewer

Adams County assessor's parcel maps are available as the MapSifter parcel viewer, which can be searched by parcel number, address, or owner. Historical documents are available in the Washington State Digital Archives, and the Department of Revenue's directory maintains links to all county portals.

Details available include:

• Parcel boundaries with ownership and acreage

• Assessment data tied to TaxSifter records

• Section, township, and range mapping across the Basin

• Reference layers for towns, roads, and irrigation country

• Digitized historical deeds through the State Archives

Foreclosure and Tax Sales

Washington handles the two kinds of foreclosure very differently, and both matter for property research.

Trustee Foreclosure on Deeds of Trust

In most cases, home foreclosures in Washington are non-judicial because they secure a deed of trust, not a mortgage. As such, the trustee carries them out without judicial intervention. Upon default, the deed of trust is foreclosed according to the Deed of Trust Act, RCW 61.24, by conducting a public sale auction.

Judicial Tax Foreclosure by the Treasurer

For tax delinquencies of three or more years, the Adams County Treasurer initiates a tax foreclosure in the superior court under RCW 84.64. The county publishes its foreclosure procedures and sale listings on the Adams County Treasurer’s foreclosures page. Washington does not have a tax-lien certificate program; as such, the Adams County Treasurer sells real property rather than to investors.

Costs to Access Property Records

Parcel searching online is free. The Auditor’s counter services carry posted fees, and recording carries Washington’s substantial statutory surcharges.

How to Record a Document

Recording documents is a process governed by the statutes, specifically RCW 65.08 for recording and RCW 64.04.020 for deeds, which have certain requirements. To prepare a deed for recording:

• Fill out the REET affidavit. The Adams County Auditor will not record a conveyance unless the Treasurer has verified the payment of the Real Estate Excise Tax, or a note of exemption is attached to the document.

• You can submit the completed document either in person at the Office of the Auditor in Ritzville or by mail, with the recording fees included. Upon submission, the document will receive a timestamp, which determines its priority.

• Once recorded, the document joins the permanent indexed record, and the original returns to the address on the instrument.

FAQs

Quick Reference: Your Adams County Property Records Checklist

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