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

Three county offices help you research properties in Kittitas County. The steady housing flow of college towns along the west side of the pass, as well as the timothy-hay ranches of the valley, keep upper-county prices lively, as do the valley's buyers coming over the pass from Puget Sound who populate the college-town neighborhoods of Ellensburg, Roslyn, Cle Elum, the resort of Sun City, the Yakima Valley plains, and the Columbia River.

Recent records reveal the underlying factors influencing the local real estate market, with a median home value of $429,600 and median rent of $1,154.5, alongside a median household income of $69,542 and a median real estate tax rate of 0.56 as a percentage of the property’s assessed value.

How to Look Up Kittitas County Property Records

Most questions about property are addressed in three free county resources. The Assessor's Property Search and the Treasurer's TaxSifter can show ownership, values, and tax details. The Auditor's Official Records Search, accessed on the Recording page, includes records from 1994 onward. Using the parcel number will connect the sites.

Who Keeps Kittitas County Property Records

The county holds property records, and the public can access them under the Public Records Act. Kittitas County has three elected offices that share the responsibilities:

• RCW 36.22.010 states that the Kittitas County Auditor is the county's recording officer for deeds, deeds of trust, liens, and plats. The recording page accurately describes its role; records are open for filing, and each record is assigned a different filing number. The office issues document certifications for court use.

• The Kittitas County Assessor determines the value of all real and personal property and provides valuation notices in paperless format. It clearly directs its lanes: taxes to the Treasurer's office, permits to Community Development, recording to the Auditor's office.

• The Kittitas County Treasurer collects and disburses county taxes, invests county funds, publishes the TaxSifter portal, and processes the Real Estate Excise Tax (REET) with a searchable affidavit archive.

How to Search Kittitas County Property Records Online

A complete search usually means checking two or three county systems.

• Start with the Assessor’s property search. Search for a parcel by owner name, address, or parcel number, and record the parcel number, values, and characteristics.

• Using the owner name, go to the Recording page in the Auditor’s Official Records Search. Basic search includes the grantor/grantee name, recording date, document number, book and page, parcel number, and document type, with advanced tract-index capability.

• The online archive goes back to 1994, while older records are available at the counter in Suite 105, where staff searches cost $8 per hour.

• An affidavit report shows what was sold and at what price, based on the official record.

• Complete this with the Treasurer at (509) 962-7535 to verify tax status. Taxes accrue interest and penalties, and if a taxpayer is delinquent for a long time, the county forecloses.

County Auditor: Deeds, Deeds of Trust, and Plats

The City of Ellensburg, Cle Elum, Roslyn, Kittitas, South Cle Elum, and the valley and mountain country between are under the Kittitas County Auditor's recording authority. Washington doesn't use mortgages; it uses deeds of trust instead. This is the type of security instrument you will see on most financed purchases, recorded under RCW 65.08.

Document types recorded include:

• Warranty deeds, quitclaim deeds, and real estate contracts

• Deeds of trust, reconveyances, and assignments

• Liens, covenants, and easements

• Surveys, plats, and boundary line adjustments

• Agreements, contracts, and releases

Document recording guarantees legal ownership (the document is recorded and available), and records are indexed as of the filing date. The historical search feature also includes public records and state archives. Certification is available only for full documents, not excerpts.

County Assessor: Ownership, Values, and Parcel Data

The Assessor appraises all parcels at 100% of true and fair market value as stipulated in Title 84 RCW. The office updates values each year based on sales and conducts inspections on the State's 6-year cycle, but owners can choose to receive paperless valuation notices.

Use the Property 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, sales history, and maps

• Current-use enrollment and exemption status

The enrollment of farmland and open spaces under Chapter 84.34 RCW affects hay ranches and range ground, and taxes them on current use, not market value.

County Treasurer: Taxes, Bills, and Payments

The Treasurer bills and collects taxes for the entire county. The year is divided into two half periods: the first half taxes are due April 30; the second half taxes are due October 31, and delinquency charges interest and penalties as provided by RCW 84.56.

The office provides practical self-service materials such as TaxSifter (balances) and paperless statements, and posted instructions for changing mailing addresses and owner names. Those small record-keeping tasks ensure bills reach the right mailbox.

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

The 1 Percent Levy Limit and How Bills Are Set

Washington's Constitution limits regular levies to 1 percent of assessed value (or $10 per $1,000) and requires that excess levies for the schools and other districts be added on by voter approval. In addition, a separate rule, known as the 101 percent limit, restricts the annual increase in revenue per district to 1 percent more than the previous year, plus new construction.

It is a revenue cap and not an assessment cap. Parcel values can increase rapidly in resort country, with higher rises than the district average resulting in a higher proportion of the levy, while district revenues remain capped.

Senior, Disabled, and Veteran Relief

Washington has one of the more liberal relief programs, administered in the name of the Assessor. If a homeowner is 61 or disabled and earning income below the county income limit, they will not have to pay excess taxes and can have their taxable value frozen.

Qualifying veterans with a 100% service-connected disability are eligible for the same program, and a separate deferral entitles the owner to a deferred tax as a lien at interest. Refer to the Department of Revenue and Assessor as per RCW 84.36.

Appealing Your Value

Call the Assessor's office (509) 962-7501, and they will explain how the value was determined. File a formal appeal with the county Board of Equalization on or before July 1, or as indicated on the valuation notice. The next level of appeal is the State Board of Tax Appeals, and the owner must bring in similar sales.

GIS Maps and Parcel Viewer

The county makes its parcel mapping available through the Assessor's Property Search, supported by the county courthouse departments. The Washington State Digital Archives is the county's historical repository, and the Department of Revenue directory connects each county's portals.

Details available include:

• Named parcel boundaries along with ownership and acreage.

• Assessment information related to the property search records.

• Note that the Columbia and Cascades reference layers were selected.

• Resort and plat details in the upper county.

• Processed county records from the past for digitization at the State Archives.

Parcel maps are for assessment purposes only. Check any parcel boundary with recorded plats, surveys, and a licensed survey before taking action.

Foreclosure and Tax Sales

Trustee Foreclosure on Deeds of Trust

Because Washington uses deeds of trust, most home foreclosures are nonjudicial. After default, the trustee named in the deed of trust conducts a foreclosure sale under the Deed of Trust Act, RCW 61.24, without a court order. The Auditor records notices, and the sale happens at a public auction.

Judicial Tax Foreclosure by the Treasurer

Property taxes three or more years delinquent lead to foreclosure by the Kittitas County Treasurer through the Superior Court under RCW 84.64, ending in a public auction of the property itself. Washington is not a tax-lien-certificate state, so the county sells the land, not liens to investors.

Costs to Access Property Records

Searching online is free. Recording carries Washington’s substantial statutory surcharges under the statewide schedule.

How to Record a Document

Record it pursuant to RCW 65.08, and ensure the Washington deed complies with RCW 64.04.020: It must be in writing, signed by the grantor, notarized, and include a full legal description. The four-step process:

• Formatted to Washington standards, including the 3-inch top margin on page one, 1-inch margins throughout, and the parcel number separated from the legal description.

• REET affidavit completed, with payment of excise tax by the Treasurer or notation thereof.

• Filed either in-office or by mail with a recording fee, or inquire about approved electronic recording vendors.

• A document’s filing number is assigned, the image archived in permanent record, and the original returned to the address cited in your instrument.

FAQs

Quick Reference: Your Kittitas County Property Records Checklist

Match each row to your task to find the fastest path through the system.

Key Contacts and Official Portals