Knox County, IL Property Records: Search Deeds, Owners, Tax Records, and Maps
The Knox County property-records system runs across three offices, each handling a different piece of the title-and-tax workflow. The Recorder of Deeds is separately elected. The Supervisor of Assessments handles parcel data, and the Treasurer handles tax bills.
Knox County is located in central Illinois. Knox College and the BNSF Railway shops exert major influence on the county’s real estate market. Listed homes remain on the market between 60 and 90 days. The current inventory consists mostly of single-family detached homes that are concentrated in Galesburg, Knoxville, Abingdon, and Oneida.
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How to Look Up Knox County Property Records
Knox County property records are available to the public via three main portals. Use the Property Tax Inquiry to view ownership information, assessed values, exemptions, tax bills, payment status, and parcel details. You may view GIS data through the Parcel Viewer. Deeds, mortgages, and liens are available through the Laredo or Tapestry platform. For copies of offline deeds or inquiries, contact the Knox County Recorder's Office at (309) 345-6718 or visit the county courthouse in Galesburg.
If you need… | Use this office | Online portal |
|---|---|---|
A deed, mortgage, lien, or plat | Recorder of Deeds | |
Ownership, assessed value, exemptions | Supervisor of Assessments | |
A tax bill or to pay taxes | County Treasurer | |
A parcel map or GIS layer | Knox County GIS |
Who Keeps Knox County Property Records
Under Illinois law, Knox County is the system of record for property in the county. Two statutes shape access to the records. The Freedom of Information Act at 5 ILCS 140 governs which records the public can see. The Property Tax Code at 35 ILCS 200 governs assessment, tax bills, and exemptions. Three offices share the work:
The Supervisor of Assessments appraises all real property in the county, manages exemption applications, and maintains the database that feeds the Treasurer's tax bills.
The Recorder of Deeds is the public registry for deeds, mortgages, liens, plats, easements, and similar instruments. In Knox County, this office is separately elected from the County Clerk.
The County Treasurer bills property taxes each May, processes payments, conducts the annual tax sale for delinquencies, and oversees owner redemptions after a sale.
Knox County was organized in 1825 and named for Henry Knox, the first U.S. Secretary of War. Its county seat is Galesburg, hometown of poet Carl Sandburg.
How to Search Knox County Property Records Online
When you research a property in Knox County, plan to consult three separate portals, one for each of the offices that hold part of the record. Run them in this order, and you'll have a complete picture in minutes:
Begin with the Knox County property tax inquiry. Use criteria such as address, owner name, and PIN to search the portal. Each result reveals current ownership, the assessed value, characteristics such as square footage and year built, recent sale prices, and any filed homestead exemptions.
Pull the tax bill from the Knox County property tax inquiry portal. The platform lists current and prior-year amounts, payment history, taxing-district splits, and flags any delinquency or pending refund.
Recorded documents live with the Recorder of Deeds. You may conduct a search on the Laredo or Tapestry portal by using the party name, document number, PIN, or recorded date. Access index information on the portal for free as a guest, but full images often require a pay-per-search or subscription option.
Once you have the most recent deed, work backward through the chain of title. On each prior deed, the grantor should match the grantee on the one before. Any gap is a red flag that warrants a professional title search.
The county GIS portal handles mapping needs. Parcel boundaries, zoning overlays, FEMA flood zones, and aerial imagery layer onto a single interactive map.
Assessor: Ownership, Values, and Parcel Data
Property valuation in Knox County is handled by the Supervisor of Assessments. The office tracks every parcel's owner, characteristics, equalized assessed value, exemption status, and recent sale activity.
Office | Supervisor of Assessments |
|---|---|
Address | Knox County Courthouse, 200 S Cherry St, Galesburg, IL 61401 |
Phone | (309) 345-3815 |
Hours | Mon–Fri (typical office hours; confirm before visiting) |
Search portal | |
Search by | Address, owner name, sale price, or PIN |
Recorder of Deeds: Deeds, Mortgages, and Liens
Deed and lien recording in Knox County happens at the County Recorder's office. Once a document is recorded, it joins the public index, and any future title search will find it.
Office | Recorder of Deeds |
|---|---|
Address | 200 S Cherry St, Galesburg, IL 61401 |
Phone | (309) 345-3818 |
Online search | https://www.knoxcountyil.gov/departments/county_recorder/knox_county_land_records/index.php |
Search by | Grantor, grantee, document number, PIN, or recorded date |
Treasurer: Tax Bills and Payments
The Knox County Treasurer mails the tax bills, processes payments, runs the annual tax sale, and handles tax-deed redemption. The Treasurer's portal is the source for current bills, payment history, and delinquency status.
Office | Knox County Treasurer |
|---|---|
Address | 200 S Cherry St, Galesburg, IL 61401 |
Phone | (309) 345-3811 |
Payment portal |
Property Tax in Knox County: Rates, Exemptions, and Appeals
The Illinois Property Tax Code governs how Knox County calculates and collects property taxes. The basic math: fair market value × 33.33% assessment ratio × state equalization factor − exemptions = equalized assessed value, then × combined tax rate = bill.
Homestead exemptions
Illinois grants homeowners several statutory exemptions, all administered by the Assessor in Knox County. The major ones:
General Homestead Exemption: Up to $6,000 EAV reduction for owner-occupied homes (35 ILCS 200/15-175). Knox 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%, 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
To appeal your assessment, contact the town assessor. If you are not satisfied with your assessor’s review, file a complaint with the Board of Review within 30 days of receiving the notice. If the Board rules against you, file an appeal with PTAB within 30 days of the Board's final decision.
GIS Maps and Parcel Viewer
Parcel mapping in Knox County runs through the county GIS portal. Beyond parcel boundaries, the GIS includes zoning, school districts, voting precincts, floodplains, and historical aerial imagery from multiple dates.
County GIS portal: The county's web GIS layers parcels, zoning, and floodplains with recent aerial imagery for Knox 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
Illinois runs judicial mortgage foreclosures through the Knox County Circuit Court, under 735 ILCS 5/15-1101 et seq. A separate annual tax sale handles unpaid property taxes, under 35 ILCS 200, Article 21. The two processes work differently and produce different rights.
Annual tax sale
Tax delinquency runs through an annual sale conducted by the Treasurer. The bidding begins at 9%, with buyers bidding the penalty rate down; the lowest rate wins. Winners receive tax certificates rather than deeds.
Right of redemption
Property owners have two to two-and-a-half years to redeem property 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 paid by the buyer.
Scavenger sales
Scavenger sales target properties with tax delinquency for at least three years that didn't sell at the regular annual sale. The sale runs biennially. The bidding format differs from the annual sale as bidders may submit cash bids on the lien rather than competing on interest rate.
Costs to Access Property Records
It is free to search for property records in Knox County online portals. Paper copies and certified copies carry per-page fees set by the county, and new recordings follow Illinois's Predictable Fee Schedule.
The Predictable Fee Schedule applies in Knox County under 55 ILCS 5/3-5018.1. Documents are categorized into five classes, including deeds, mortgages, leases, miscellaneous, and non-conforming, with a single flat fee per class. Non-conforming filings carry a doubled fee.
On top of the recording fee, Illinois imposes a state real-estate transfer tax of $0.50 per $500 of consideration. Knox County also adds another $0.25 per $500. Most municipalities outside Chicago and a few suburbs do not impose a separate transfer tax.
Service | Fee (Knox 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 5/3-5018.1 |
Mortgage (flat fee, all-in) | Set per Predictable Fee Schedule |
Non-conforming document penalty | Doubled fee under 55 ILCS 5/3-5018 |
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
Most Knox County homeowners never record a document directly. The title company handles recording at closing. But if you're filing a quitclaim, a mortgage release, or a personal lien, this is the path through the Recorder's office:
Start with formatting compliance. The statute (55 ILCS 5/3-5018.2) requires 8.5x11 white paper, 20-lb minimum weight, black ink, half-inch margins, and a 3x5 blank space in the first page's upper right corner for the recording certificate.
Pull the recording fee from Knox County's Predictable Fee Schedule. The flat per-document-class fees replace the old per-page system. Skipping formatting requirements in step 1 doubles the fee under statute, so it's worth double-checking your document.
File the PTAX-203 real-estate transfer declaration through Illinois MyDec at the same time you file the deed. Almost every property transfer requires this declaration, including exempt transfers. The MyDec filing accompanies the recording packet.
Submit through one of three channels: walk-in at 200 S Cherry St, Galesburg, IL 61401, mail-in with payment and return envelope, or through an e-recording vendor. Most filings are recorded within a few business days.
Once recorded, the document is part of the public index. The recording number is its permanent identifier. Keep it safe with the original document for any future research, certified copy request, or title work.
FAQs
Yes. Under the Illinois Freedom of Information Act, Knox County property records are classified as public information. Anyone has the right to view or obtain copies of these files regardless of their residency status.
You may view old property records in physical tract books, plat maps, and historical indexes in person at the Knox County Recorder’s Office. It is free to browse the physical books and public computer terminals. The office charges a nominal fee if you ask them to print copies of the documents.
The Illinois Department of Revenue provides an online platform, known as MyDec, to enable anyone to prepare and submit real estate tax declarations. You must file the PTAX-203 form every time you transfer a real estate title from a seller to a buyer.
To determine who owns a property in Knox County, check the property owner’s name through the Property Tax Inquiry system using the street address. Cross-check the results with the information obtained from the Laredo or Tapestry portal. If you do not have remote access, visit the Supervisor of Assessments Office and the Recorder’s Office at the courthouse in Galesburg.
To file a construction lien, according to 770 ILCS 60, you must record a verified claim with the Knox County Recorder of Deeds. Send a notice of lien (60-day or 90-day) to the property owner and primary lenders, if applicable. Draft a written statement that includes the property's PIN, the owner's name, and the amount due. Submit the documents by mail or in person at the Recorder’s Office within four months.
Market value reflects what a home is worth on the open market. On the other hand, assessed value is an amount assigned to a property by the Supervisor of Assessments for taxation purposes.
Quick Reference: Your Knox County Property Records Checklist
The seven most frequent Knox County property-records workflows are summarized here. Each row points you to the right office and the right portal.
If you want to… | Do this |
|---|---|
Verify ownership | Use the Property Tax Inquiry to identify the listed owner. The Recorder's most recent deed is the legal source if there's a mismatch. |
Pull a deed copy | Search the Laredo or Tapestry portal. Documents older than the digital index typically need on-site research. |
Check the tax bill | Use the property tax inquiry to check tax bills. Bills are sent in May, while installments are due June 1 and September 1. |
File a homestead exemption | Submit the homestead application at the Assessor's office. General Homestead is often done once in most cases. For Senior, Senior Freeze, and Disability exemptions, reapply every year. |
Appeal your assessment | File a complaint 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 | Check formatting against 55 ILCS 5/3-5018. File MyDec for PTAX-203 simultaneously. Walk-in, mail-in, or e-recording all work. |
Key Contacts and Official Portals
Office | Details |
|---|---|
Supervisor of Assessments | Knox County Courthouse, 200 S Cherry St, Galesburg, IL 61401 · (309) 345-3815 · portal |
Recorder of Deeds | 200 S Cherry St, Galesburg, IL 61401 · (309) 345-3818 · portal |
County Treasurer | 200 S Cherry St, Galesburg, IL 61401 · (309) 345-3811 · portal |
Illinois Property Tax Appeal Board |