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

If you are looking for property in Stevens County, three county offices have what you need. The County Auditor records deeds, deeds of trust, and plats. The County Assessor values all parcels in the county, and the County Treasurer issues tax bills and collects taxes. Together they cover 2,478 square miles of northeastern Washington. County records have anchored the region, with younger neighbors cut off from Stevens, and many early chains of title starting in Colville.

The market sits against a backdrop of timber, farms, and lake country. Homes are located on in-town lots in Colville and Chewelah, waterfront and waterfront-like lots on Lake Roosevelt, forest acres, and river country at Kettle Falls. Water frontage and timberland shape values.

Recent records reveal the underlying factors influencing the local real estate market, with a median home value of $241,400 and median rent of $740, alongside a median household income of $50,608 and a median real estate tax rate of 0.67 as a percentage of the property’s assessed value.

How to Look Up Stevens County Property Records

Most property questions are addressed in three free county resources. The Property Search, a joint effort of the Assessor and Treasurer, displays ownership, values, and tax details, plus sales and map search tabs. The Auditor's self-service system is on the Recording page and opens the recorded index. The parcel number links the systems.

Who Keeps Stevens County Property Records

Washington property records sit at the county level, and the Public Records Act makes them public. Stevens County splits the work among three elected offices:

• RCW 36.22.010 assigns the Stevens County Auditor as the county recording officer, where deeds, deeds of trust, surveys, liens, plats, and maps are kept. Staff retrieves records, but they cannot provide legal advice.

• The Stevens County Assessor values each parcel. Staff submits taxes and due dates to the Treasurer, and directs zoning or land-division questions to Land Services at (509) 684-2401.

• The Stevens County Treasurer, reached at (509) 684-2593, bills and collects property taxes for the county and its districts and collects the state Real Estate Excise Tax on sales.

How to Search Stevens County Property Records Online

• Use the Property Search portal. Choose the search type, enter the owner’s name, address, or parcel number, and click the Sales Search tab and the Map Search tab to find the transaction details and boundaries.

• ⁠Take the owner’s name to the Auditor’s Self-Service System via the Recording page. Search by document, legal description, names, or auditor’s file number.

• Check the latest deed to confirm you have the right owner; trace it back to prior deeds to confirm all grantees match the grantors, and ensure the grantee listed on the deed of trust, lien, and easement matches the grantor.

• Finally, contact the Treasurer at (509) 684-2593 to determine the property's tax status. Delinquent taxes incur penalties and additional fees, and the county can foreclose if taxes are significantly delinquent.

County Auditor: Deeds, Deeds of Trust, and Plats

The Stevens County Auditor is an elected official who is the recording officer for Colville, Chewelah, Kettle Falls, and all towns and townships in the county. In Washington, deeds of trust are used instead of mortgages; therefore, for purchases financed through Washington, you will most often see deeds of trust.

Document types recorded include:

• Warranty deeds, quitclaim deeds, real estate contracts

• Reconveyance of deeds of trust, and assignments

• Liens, lis pendens, easements

• Plats, surveys, and maps

• Military discharges and marriage records

Post and adhere to first page rules: return address, assignment/release reference numbers, document title, and grantors & grantees. The trustee and lender rely on the deed of trust, along with a shortened version of the legal description that includes a page reference and tax parcel numbers (if items are missing), and a cover page.

County Assessor: Ownership, Values, and Parcel Data

The Assessor appraises every parcel at 100 percent of true and fair market value, as Title 84 RCW requires. Values are updated annually from sales, with physical inspections on the state’s six-year cycle, keeping timber, farm, lake, and town parcels current.

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

County Treasurer: Taxes, Bills, and Payments

The Treasurer is the county's tax collector. Washington has 2 halves to the year: April 30th is the deadline for first-half taxes; October 31st is the deadline for second-half taxes; delinquent taxes will earn interest and penalties under RCW 84.56.

The Treasurer is also the state's agent for the Real Estate Excise Tax. Direct all questions about how much and when it is due here; the tax must be paid, or the exemption must be noted, before the Auditor will record a conveyance.

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

The 1 Percent Levy Limit and How Bills Are Set

Voter-approved excess levies are in addition to a 1 percent rate ($10 per $1,000) set by Washington's Constitution for regular levies. Under a separate rule, the 101 percent limit caps annual revenue growth from the previous year plus new construction at 1 percent in each district.

This is a revenue cap, NOT an assessment cap. Even if the market continues to increase, your assessed value can appreciate, and a parcel's appreciation rate can exceed the district average so that the parcel will have a higher share of the levy.

Senior, Disabled, and Veteran Relief

Washington is above average in its generosity through one of its relief programs, which the Assessor administers. Excess levies will not be assessed, and the taxable value will be capped for eligible homeowners age 61 or older, or disabled, who are below the county income limits.

You can also defer taxes as a lien to be paid when the property is sold. Veterans with a 100 percent service-connected disability who meet the deferral program requirements are eligible to have taxes deferred. See the Assessor and the Department of Revenue as required by RCW 84.36.

Appealing Your Value

Start at the Assessor's office (509) 684-6161, and they will guide you through the process for determining the value. A formal appeal is made with the county Board of Equalization in the county courthouse on or before July 1 or the date printed on the valuation notice. An appeal to the State Board of Tax Appeals is available, where the owner is responsible for presenting comparable sales.

GIS Maps and Parcel Viewer

Stevens County's GIS and Mapping Department provides parcel layers, which appear through the Property Search map tab. The Washington State Digital Archives host the county's directory, and the Department of Revenue's Directory connects each county's portals for historical records.

Details available include:

• Ownership of parcels and acreage.

• The assessment data is associated with the Property Search records.

• A Lake Roosevelt and river frontage reference layer.

• The national forest boundary surrounds private land.

• Digitized historical county records through the State Archives.

Foreclosure and Tax Sales

Trustee Foreclosure on Deeds of Trust

Most home foreclosures in Washington are nonjudicial because the state uses deeds of trust. The trustee designated in the deed of trust holds a foreclosure sale under the Deed of Trust Act (RCW 61.24) without court approval. The trustee holds a public auction, and the sale is recorded on Notices with the Auditor.

Judicial Tax Foreclosure by the Treasurer

If property taxes are three or more years delinquent, the Stevens County Treasurer may foreclose on the property through the Superior Court under RCW 84.64. This means the property itself is sold at public auction. Washington does not issue tax lien certificates. Instead, the county sells the land itself, not the liens to investors.

Costs to Access Property Record

How to Record a Document

• On the first page, include the following: return address, document title, reference numbers, all grantors and grantees, a shortened legal description (with a page reference), and the parcel numbers. If not, attach a cover page.

• Fill in the REET affidavit. Excise tax must be paid or the exemption noted by the Treasurer prior to the Auditor recording the conveyance.

• Send in-office or by mail with the recording fee; call the toll-free line with questions from anywhere in the county.

• After recording, the image is added to the permanent indexed record, and the original goes back to the address of the instrument.

FAQs

Quick Reference: Your Stevens County Property Records Checklist

Key Contacts and Official Portals