Snohomish County Recorder Mechanics Lien Filing

You can file your mechanic liens in person, by mail or through an eRecording submitter.

In Person

Submit documents in person at the Snohomish County Auditor’s Office, 1st floor of the Robert J. Drewel Building.

In person customers can make payment for recording fees with check, money order, cashier’s check, Visa or Mastercard.

By mail

Submit documents with recording fee to:

Snohomish County Auditor’s Office
Recording Division
3000 Rockefeller Ave, M/S 204
Everett, WA 98201

Recording fees can be paid with check, money order or cashier’s check payable to Snohomish County Auditor.

Through an eRecording submitter

Recordings can be submitted through one of the many e-recording submitters currently qualified to file documents electronically with the county.

Refer to the list of qualified eRecording submitters for more information about submitting documents electronically.

Corporate Service Company
1-866-652-0111
https://www.erecording.com/

eRecording Partners Network
1-888-325-3365

Home

Simplifile
1-800-460-5657
https://simplifile.com/

Indecomm Global Services
1-877-272-5250
http://www.inteledocdirect.net/

eRecording submitters may charge a fee in addition to the standard recording fees.

The Snohomish County Auditor’s Office does not publicly disclose information on recording backlog.

If your construction project is located in Snohomish County, then yes, you should file your lien here.

The Snohomish County Auditor’s recording requirements are as follows:

When any instrument is presented to a county auditor or recording officer for recording, the first page of the instrument shall contain:

1. A top margin of at least 3 inches and a 1-inch margin on the bottom and sides, except that an instrument may be recorded if a minor portion of a notary seal, incidental writing, or minor portion of a signature extends beyond the margins.

2. The top left-hand side of the page shall contain the name and address to which the instrument will be returned.

3. The title or titles, or type or types, of the instrument to be recorded indicating the kind or kinds of documents or transactions contained therein immediately below the 3-inch margin at the top of the page.

4. The auditor or recording officer shall be required to index only the title or titles captioned on the document.

5. Reference numbers of documents assigned or released with reference to the document page number where additional references can be found, if applicable.

6. The names of the grantor(s) and grantee(s), as defined under RCW 65.04.015, with reference to the document page number where additional names are located, if applicable.

7. An abbreviated legal description of the property, and for purposes of this subsection, “abbreviated legal description of the property” means lot, block, plat, or section, township, range, and quarter / quarter section, and reference to the document page number where the full legal description is included, if applicable.

8. The assessor’s property tax parcel or account number set forth separately from the legal description or other text.

9. All pages of the document shall be on sheets of paper of a weight and color capable of producing a legible image that are not larger than 14 inches long and 8 and one-half inches wide with text printed or written in eight point type or larger. All text within the document must be of sufficient color and clarity to ensure that when the text is imaged all text is readable. Further, all pages presented for recording must have at minimum a 1-inch margin on the top, bottom, and sides for all pages except page one, except that an instrument may be recorded if a minor portion of a notary seal, incidental writing, or minor portion of a signature extends beyond the margins, be prepared in ink color capable of being imaged, and have all seals legible and capable of being imaged. No attachments, except firmly attached bar code or address labels, may be affixed to the pages.

— A cover sheet is required for documents in which the first page does not contain the necessary index fields or the 3-inch top margin.

— All pages must conform to formatting requirements for margins, page size, font size, color, legibility, seals, and attachments.

— A cover sheet will not relieve you of the responsibility of meeting the formatting requirements for all subsequent pages.

Documents which were signed prior to January 1, 1997 may be recorded without reformatting, but a cover sheet will be required.

Documents which do not meet the requirements will be returned for reformatting. If the only requirement not met is a minimum margin specifications, the document can be recorded by including a signed cover sheet with an emergency non standard surcharge of $50 included.

All pages of the document must be on sheets of paper of a weight and color capable of producing a legible image that are not larger than 14 inches long and 8 and one-half inches wide with text printed or written in eight point type or larger.

The first page must have a top margin of at least 3 inches and a 1-inch margin on the bottom and sides, except that an instrument may be recorded if a minor portion of a notary seal, incidental writing, or minor portion of a signature extends beyond the margins.

Further, all pages presented for recording must have at minimum a 1-inch margin on the top, bottom, and sides for all pages except page one, except that an instrument may be recorded if a minor portion of a notary seal, incidental writing, or minor portion of a signature extends beyond the margins, be prepared in ink color capable of being imaged, and have all seals legible and capable of being imaged.

Recording fees can be paid with check, money order or cashier’s check payable to Snohomish County Auditor. Recurring customers can also set up an escrow account from which recording fees can be drawn. You can contact the Recording Supervisor at 425-388-3055 for more information about setting up an escrow account.

The Snohomish County Auditor’s standard recording fee is $103.50 for the first page and $1.00 for each additional page.

Additional Recording Fees

Each additional title or reference number: $103.50

Lien Fees

City, State or County Lien or Release of Lien: $39.00 for the first page and $1.00 for each additional page

Sewer or Water Lien or Release of Lien: $103.50 for the first page and $1.00 for each additional page

Employment Security Lien or Release of Lien: $36.00 for the first page and $1.00 for each additional page

Copy Fees

Copy of a Recorded Document: $1.00 per page
Certification of a Copy of a Recorded or Filed Document: $2.00
Label indicating a Conformed Copy: $1.00 per label

You can obtain a recorded copy of your lien in person, by phone, by mail or online.

In person

You can visit the Snohomish County Auditor’s office located at:

3000 Rockefeller Ave. M/S 204
Everett, WA 98201

Ph: 425-388-3483
Fax: 425-388-3094

Hours
Monday – Friday
9 a.m. – 5 p.m.

Records since July 6, 1984 are available on public computer terminals and records prior to July 6, 1984 are viewable on microfilm readers.

Recording staff are available to assist customers with their searches and to take payment for copies.

By phone

If you want the recording staff to conduct a search of recorded documents for you, you can submit a request by phone. Staff will take your request, perform the records search and then contact you to pay for copies using a credit card. A search fee of $8/hour may be charged for requests pertaining to documents recorded prior to 1976 or when significant staff time is required.

By mail

You may submit a request for copies of recorded documents by mail. Complete a Records Search By Mail form and submit it with exact payment to the Snohomish County Auditor’s Office, 3000 Rockefeller Ave, M/S 204, Everett, WA 98201. A search fee of $8/hour may be charged for requests pertaining to documents recorded prior to 1976 or when significant staff time is required. If you are unsure of the exact amount, a check for a “not to exceed” amount may be submitted. The Recording Division is unable to provide change for by mail records searches.

Online

Snohomish County makes available online watermarked versions of most documents recorded since July 1976.

You can search Snohomish County recorded documents online at: http://www.snoco.org/RecordedDocuments/

Non-watermarked and/or certified copies of any recorded document can be obtain for a fee through the Recording Division.

Copy fees are as follows:

Copy of a Recorded Document: $1.00 per page
Certification of a Copy of a Recorded or Filed Document: $2.00

You can get the property’s legal description from the Snohomish County Auditor’s office in person.

You can search Snohomish County Auditor’s recorded documents online at: http://www.snoco.org/RecordedDocuments/

You can also search for property legal descriptions online with the Snohomish County Assessor at:
https://snohomishcountywa.gov/5167/Assessor