Clay County, IL Property Records: Search Deeds, Owners, Tax Records, and Maps
If you're searching property records in Clay County, three county offices have the information you need. The County Clerk doubles as Recorder of Deeds. The Supervisor of Assessments handles parcel data, and the Treasurer handles tax bills. The system covers roughly 13,000 residents in the county and runs entirely at the county level under Illinois law.
Spanning 468 square miles in southeastern Illinois, Clay County’s real estate market is centered in Flora, Louisville, Xenia, and Clay City. The rural landscape between these towns consists of farmland, timber tracts, and active oil and gas extraction operations. The local housing market is made up almost entirely of single-family detached homes, and properties tend to stay on the market for 80 to 110 days. This makes the selling pace just a bit slower than the rest of the state.
Recent records reveal the underlying factors influencing the local real estate market, with a median home value of {median_home_value} and median rent of {median_rent}, alongside a median household income of {median_household_income} and a median real estate tax rate of {median_real_est_tax}, serving as a percentage of the property's assessed value.
How to Look Up Clay County Property Records
Clay County offers three dedicated web portals for public property searches. The Clay County Property Tax Inquiry Portal is used to view tax bills, payment histories, and basic parcel identifiers. To find who owns a property or check its assessed value, use the Clay County GIS Map. Furthermore, legal title history, including recorded deeds and mortgages, is tracked via the CIC Remote Access subscription platform.
To get physical or certified copies of real estate documents, contact the Clay County Clerk & Recorder's Office at (618) 665-3626 or in person at Louisville.
If you need… | Use this office | Free online portal |
|---|---|---|
A deed, mortgage, lien, or plat | County Clerk and Recorder | |
Ownership, assessed value, exemptions | Supervisor of Assessments | |
A tax bill or to pay taxes | County Treasurer | |
A parcel map or GIS layer | Clay County GIS |
Who Keeps Clay County Property Records
Public access to Clay County property records is governed by the Illinois Freedom of Information Act, codified at 5 ILCS 140. The tax-side rules come from the Property Tax Code at 35 ILCS 200. The county splits the work three ways:
The Supervisor of Assessments sets assessed values for every parcel, processes the homestead exemption applications that reduce tax bills, and updates the parcel database the Treasurer relies on.
The County Clerk and Recorder houses all recorded real estate documents in Clay County, including deeds, mortgages, liens, plats, and easements. The county combines this role with the County Clerk position under one elected official.
The County Treasurer mails the annual tax bills, processes payments, runs the annual tax sale, and handles redemption from tax buyers.
Clay County was created in December 1824 and organized in March 1825. It was named for Henry Clay. Land records date back to the county's organization.
How to Search Clay County Property Records Online
For most Clay County property research, this five-step path through the three county portals works. It produces a complete picture of who owns a property, what it's assessed at, what's been recorded against the title, and whether the taxes are current:
Open the Supervisor of Assessments portal. Search by address, by owner's last name, or by PIN. The result shows ownership, assessed value, sales history, exemption status, and the property's class designation under 35 ILCS 200.
Move to the Treasurer's portal. Tax bills, payment history, and taxing-district breakdowns are all there. Delinquent parcels are flagged.
For deeds and other recorded documents, use the County Clerk and Recorder's search. Most Clay County searches accept grantor name, grantee name, document number, PIN, or date range. Some counties offer free guest access while others use Tapestry or Laredo for paid full access.
Build the chain of title by starting at the current deed and tracing back. Each grantor in the chain should match the grantee on the previous deed. Gaps usually mean missing records that a title company will need to research.
For parcel mapping, the county GIS portal is the source. Layers include parcels, zoning, school districts, voting precincts, and floodplains. Aerial imagery is usually available at multiple recent dates.
Assessor: Ownership, Values, and Parcel Data
The Supervisor of Assessments' office values every parcel in Clay County. For homeowners, the relevant output is the equalized assessed value, which combines with the local tax rates to determine the annual tax bill.
Office | Supervisor of Assessments |
|---|---|
Address | 111 E. Chestnut St., P.O. Box 178, Louisville, IL 62858 |
Phone | (618) 665-3370 |
Hours | Mon–Fri (typical office hours; confirm before visiting) |
Search portal | |
Search by | Address, owner name, or PIN |
County Clerk and Recorder: Deeds, Mortgages, and Liens
The County Clerk and Recorder holds the public registry for title documents in Clay County. The office records, indexes, and makes available every deed, mortgage, lien, and related documents affecting real estate property in the county.
Office | County Clerk and Recorder |
|---|---|
Address | 111 E. Chestnut St., Room 106, P.O. Box 160, Louisville, IL 62858 |
Phone | (618) 665-3626 |
Online search | |
Search by | Grantor, grantee, document number, PIN, or recorded date |
Treasurer: Tax Bills and Payments
Tax bill work in Clay County runs through the Treasurer. The office bills property taxes twice per year, accepts payments, conducts the annual tax sale, and handles owner redemptions after a sale.
Office | Clay County Treasurer |
|---|---|
Address | 111 E. Chestnut St., P.O. Box 88, Louisville, IL 62858 |
Phone | (618) 665-3727 |
Payment portal |
Property Tax in Clay County: Rates, Exemptions, and Appeals
Property tax in Clay County works the same way as in most Illinois counties: a third-of-market-value assessment ratio, state equalization, statutory exemptions, and then a stack of taxing-district rates. The local detail is which exemption tiers apply and what the township assessor structure looks like.
Homestead exemptions
Several homestead exemptions reduce the equalized assessed value before the tax rates apply. These are the most commonly used in Clay County:
General Homestead Exemption: Up to $6,000 EAV reduction for owner-occupied homes (35 ILCS 200/15-175). Clay County uses the baseline tier (applicable in most Illinois counties) under the three-tier statutory structure.
Senior Homestead Exemption: Up to $5,000 EAV reduction for owners 65 and older under 35 ILCS 200/15-170.
Senior Citizens Assessment Freeze: Freezes assessed value at a base year for seniors with household income at or below $75,000 (indexed to CPI from 2026).
Disabled Veterans Standard Homestead: Tiered by VA disability rating: $2,500 EAV at 30-49%, $5,000 at 50-69%, and full exemption at 70%+.
Persons with Disabilities and Home Improvement: $2,000 EAV reduction for permanent disability; separate four-year exemption shielding up to $75,000 of improvement value.
Appealing an assessment
The Illinois two-step appeal process applies in Clay County. The Board of Review hears the first round (30-day filing window after the notice). The Illinois Property Tax Appeal Board hears the second round of appeals from the Board of Review's decision.
GIS Maps and Parcel Viewer
Clay County maintains a GIS portal layering parcels, zoning, school districts, voting precincts, and floodplains over recent aerial imagery. The viewer is web-based, and most layers download as shapefiles.
County GIS portal: The county's web GIS layers parcels, zoning, and floodplains with recent aerial imagery for Clay County.
Illinois Geological Survey clearinghouse: The state-level ISGS clearinghouse hosts statewide layers including soil, hydrology, and DEM data.
Foreclosure and the Annual Tax Sale
There are two foreclosure pathways in Clay County. Mortgage foreclosure is judicial under 735 ILCS 5/15-1101, handled by the Circuit Court. Tax-delinquency foreclosures run through the Treasurer's annual tax sale under 35 ILCS 200, Article 21.
Annual tax sale
Clay County's annual tax sale is the Treasurer's mechanism for clearing prior-year tax delinquencies. The bid system runs in reverse: buyers compete by accepting a lower penalty interest rate, with the lowest bidder winning the certificate.
Right of redemption
Property owners have two to two-and-a-half years to redeem after the tax sale under 35 ILCS 200/21-345. Redemption requires paying the original taxes, the penalty interest at the bid rate (compounded every six months), tax-buyer costs, and any subsequent taxes the buyer paid.
Scavenger sales
If your property taxes have gone unpaid for three years or more and were not sold at the yearly tax sale, your property’s tax debt is moved to the scavenger sale, which takes place every two years. Scavenger bidding uses dollar amounts (not interest rates).
Costs to Access Property Records
Looking up Clay County property records online is free across all three county offices. Fees apply when you need a copy of a recorded document or are filing a new document for recording.
Illinois moved most counties to a single flat fee per document class in 2019. Clay County operates under that Predictable Fee Schedule, codified at 55 ILCS 5/3-5018.1. Non-conforming documents, wrong paper, wrong margins, or missing data will pay the doubled penalty fee.
Property transfers in Clay County pay two transfer taxes: state ($0.50 per $500 of consideration) and county ($0.25 per $500). Chicago and a few of its suburbs add a municipal transfer tax; most municipalities do not.
Service | Fee (Clay County) |
|---|---|
Online search at the Recorder's portal | Free |
Plain copy of a recorded document | Per-page fee set by county ordinance |
Certified copy | Plain-copy fee plus certification charge |
Deed (flat fee, all-in) | Set per Predictable Fee Schedule under 55 ILCS 5/3-5018.2(c)(1) |
Mortgage (flat fee, all-in) | Set per Predictable Fee Schedule |
Non-conforming document penalty | Doubled fee under 55 ILCS 5/3-5018.2(c)(5) |
State real estate transfer tax | $0.50 per $500 of consideration |
County real estate transfer tax | $0.25 per $500 of consideration |
How to Record a Document
Recording a document in Clay County is a four-step process. Most people don't do it themselves; title companies handle closings, but quitclaim deeds, lien releases, and similar one-off filings follow this path:
Verify the document is properly formatted. Under 55 ILCS 5/3-5018.2, documents need 8.5"x11" white paper at 20-lb or better, black ink only, half-inch margins all around, and a blank 3"x5" space in the upper-right corner of page one for the recording stamp.
Calculate the recording fee from the county's Predictable Fee Schedule. Non-conforming documents are charged double under 55 ILCS 5/3-5018.2, so making sure your document meets formatting requirements can save you money.
For property-transfer documents, complete the PTAX-203 through Illinois MyDec before filing. The MyDec submission produces a stamp number that goes on the deed. Clay County participates in MyDec like all Illinois counties.
File at the County Clerk and Recorder: in person at P.O. Box 160, Louisville, IL 62858; by mail with a check or money order; or via an e-recording vendor (Simplifile and CSC handle most Clay County electronic filings). The recording process typically finishes within two to three business days.
The recording number assigned by the office becomes the permanent locator for the document. Note it down, as future title search or document copy requests will use this number as the primary lookup key.
FAQs
Yes. Clay County maintains transparency by providing open access to local property documents under the Illinois Freedom of Information Act (5 ILCS 140). Members of the public have the legal right to review local land deeds, property liens, mortgage agreements, and tax valuations. Accessing, searching, and viewing the primary digital indexes is free to the public. However, the county charges standard administration fees for printing physical or certified copies.
The Illinois Department of Revenue issues a yearly state equalization factor to guarantee assessment equity across county lines. State law requires real estate assessments to equal exactly 33.33% of a property's true market value. This factor is crucial because many local taxing districts, like school or fire protection, overlap across multiple county borders. Without an equalization multiplier, a property owner in one county could pay unfair tax proportions compared to a neighbor with an identical home in an adjacent county. It functions strictly to balance the tax burden rather than directly increasing local government spending levies.
The annual tax sale in Clay County is held for properties with delinquent real estate taxes. At the sale, investors bid on the tax liens by offering the lowest penalty rate they are willing to accept. The winning bidder pays the outstanding taxes to the county on the owner's behalf. After the sale, the owner has time to redeem the property within two and a half years under 35 ILCS 200/21-345 by paying the required amount. Failure to redeem may allow the tax buyer to pursue ownership through a tax deed proceeding.
A title search begins by locating the property's deed and ownership history through the Clay County Recorder's records. You may search the online land records database using the owner's name, document number, or other available information.
Review all recorded documents for liens, judgments, mortgages, or other encumbrances. It is important to verify that each transfer was properly recorded and that ownership passed correctly from one owner to the next. For complex transactions, many buyers hire a title company or real estate attorney to perform a professional title examination.
In Clay County, the County Clerk and Recorder functions are combined under one elected office. As County Clerk, the office handles elections, vital records, county board records, and various administrative duties. Recorder responsibilities include recording deeds, mortgages, releases, and other property documents. Although the duties differ, they are administered by the same office in Clay County due to its small population.
Yes, you can record property documents through Clay County's eRecording program. Eligible documents may be recorded online. Documents are transmitted electronically in a secure environment, and recording fees are paid digitally. Electronic recording can significantly reduce processing time compared to traditional paper submissions. Once approved, the document is recorded and returned electronically. Approved vendors include services such as Simplifile, CSC, Hopdox, and ePN.
Quick Reference: Your Clay County Property Records Checklist
Match your specific task to the row below for the fastest path through Clay County's three-office system.
If you want to… | Do this |
|---|---|
Verify ownership | Run an address search at the Assessor. Verify against the latest recorded deed at the County Clerk and Recorder. |
Pull a deed copy | Use the County Clerk and Recorder search. Older records may require an in-person visit. |
Check the tax bill | Pull the bill from the Treasurer's portal. Payment installments run from June 1 to September 1 each year. |
File a homestead exemption | Apply once at the Supervisor of Assessments. General Homestead carries forward automatically; Senior, Senior Freeze, and Disability exemptions require annual reaffirmation. |
Appeal your assessment | File with the Board of Review within 30 days of the notice. Escalate to PTAB if needed. |
Find tax-sale inventory | Check the Treasurer's published delinquent list ahead of the annual tax sale. |
Record a new document | Confirm 55 ILCS 5/3-5018 formatting. File the PTAX-203 through MyDec at the same time. Submit it at the Recorder's office or via e-recording. |
Key Contacts and Official Portals
Office | Details |
|---|---|
Supervisor of Assessments | 111 E. Chestnut St., P.O. Box 178, Louisville, IL 62858· (618) 665-3370 · portal |
County Clerk and Recorder | 111 E. Chestnut St., Room 106, P.O. Box 160, Louisville, IL 62858. (618) 665-3626 · portal |
County Treasurer | 111 E. Chestnut St., P.O. Box 88, Louisville, IL 62858. (618) 665-3727 · portal |
Illinois Property Tax Appeal Board |