Lasalle County, IL Property Records: Search Deeds, Owners, Tax Records, and Maps
La Salle County property records cover approximately 69,000 parcels of land. The local real estate trend in the county is largely shaped by the county’s diverse economy and affordable housing. Three county offices manage these property records. These are the Recorder of Deeds Office, the County Assessment Office, and the County Treasurer’s Office.
The county's housing stock is concentrated in Ottawa (the county seat), La Salle, Peru, Streator, Mendota, and Marseilles. La Salle is the fifth-largest county in Illinois by land mass. The real estate market is generally stable with listings closing within 50 to 80 days. Most sales consist of single-family detached homes.
Recent records reveal the underlying factors influencing the local real estate market, with a median home value of {median_home_value} and a 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} as a percentage of the property's assessed value.
How to Look Up La Salle County Property Records
Most La Salle County property records can be accessed through three online resources:
The Supervisor of Assessments provides ownership information and assessed values.
The Recorder of Deeds’s portal maintains recorded documents such as deeds, mortgages, and liens.
Users can review current and historical tax bills along with other tax-related data through the Treasurer’s online property tax inquiry system.
For deed copies and other official land records, contact the Recorder of Deeds Office at (815) 434-8226 or visit the Etna Road Complex in Ottawa.
If you need… | Use this office | Free 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 | La Salle County GIS |
Who Keeps La Salle County Property Records?
In La Salle County, three offices keep property records and make them available to the public on request under the Illinois Freedom of Information Act. Here is how the three offices share this responsibility:
The Supervisor of Assessments equalizes township-level assessments to the statutory 33.33% ratio, administers homestead exemptions, and serves as Clerk of the Board of Review during the appeal season.
The Recorder of Deeds maintains the public chain of title for La Salle County. It operates independently from the County Clerk's Office.
The County Treasurer prepares the tax bills, accepts payment through the year, conducts the delinquent tax sale annually, and processes owner redemption from tax buyers.
How to Search La Salle County Property Records Online
The most reliable way to find La Salle County property records is to search the portals of all three offices managing the record. The Assessor's portal gives you ownership and valuation, while the Recorder's portal gives you the recorded chain of title. Finally, the Treasurer's portal provides details of the tax bill.
Begin with the La Salle County Assessor portal. The search interface accepts address, owner name, and PIN. Each result reveals current ownership, the assessment value, characteristics like square footage and year built, recent sales prices, and any homestead exemptions filed.
Cross-check the tax record at the La Salle County Treasurer portal. The Treasurer has information about current and past tax bills, the taxing-district breakdown, payment status, and any delinquency or active refund.
Use the Recorder of Deeds online system to search for deeds, mortgages, liens, or other recorded documents. The portal allows searches by party name, document number, PIN, or recorded date. Free guest searches show the index. Full images often require a pay-per-search or subscription option.
Trace ownership history by working backward from the current deed. The grantor on each deed should be the grantee on the one immediately before it. A break in that chain signals a missing document worth flagging for a title professional.
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
The Supervisor of Assessments Office handles property valuation in La Salle County. This is the office to consult for ownership records, equalized assessed values, property class codes, sales history, and the homestead exemptions on file for a parcel.
Office | Supervisor of Assessments |
|---|---|
Address | La Salle County Government Complex, 707 E Etna Rd, Ottawa, IL 61350 |
Phone | (815) 434-8233 |
Hours | Mon - Fri (Confirm typical office hours before visiting) |
Search portal | |
Search by | Address, owner name, or PIN |
Recorder of Deeds: Deeds, Mortgages, and Liens
Deed and lien recording in La Salle County is handled by the Recorder of Deeds's Office. Once a document is recorded, it enters the public index and becomes available in future title searches.
Office | Recorder of Deeds |
|---|---|
Address | 707 E Etna Rd, Ottawa, IL 61350 |
Phone | (815) 434-8226 |
Online search | |
Search by | Grantor, grantee, document number, PIN, or recorded date |
Treasurer: Tax Bills and Payments
La Salle County's Treasurer handles tax bills, payments, and tax-sale matters. Bills are mailed each year according to the Illinois statutory schedule. The online portal supports both lookup and payment.
Office | La Salle County Treasurer |
|---|---|
Address | 707 E Etna Rd, Ottawa, IL 61350 |
Phone | (815) 434-8219 |
Payment portal |
Property Tax in La Salle County: Rates, Exemptions, and Appeals
The Illinois Property Tax Code governs how La Salle County calculates and collects property taxes.
Fair market value × 33.33% assessment ratio × state equalization factor − exemptions = equalized assessed value
Assessed value × combined tax rate = bill.
Homestead exemptions
The main exemptions that La Salle County homeowners qualify for fall into five categories. Each reduces the EAV before the combined tax rate is applied:
General Homestead Exemption: Up to $6,000 EAV reduction for owner-occupied homes (35 ILCS 200/15-175). La Salle 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 aged 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 reduction at 30-49%, $5,000 at 50-69% and full exemption at 70% plus.
Persons with Disabilities and Home Improvement: $2,000 EAV reduction for permanent disability and a separate four-year exemption shielding up to $75,000 of improvement value.
Appealing an assessment
Two appeal levels are available in La Salle County. The County Board of Review takes initial appeals within 30 days of the notice. If the Board denies the appeal, escalate to PTAB within 30 days. Successful appeals at either level reduce the EAV and lower the bill.
GIS Maps and Parcel Viewer
Parcel-level GIS data published by La Salle County includes the information regarding school districts, zoning, voting precincts, FEMA floodplains, and aerial imagery. Most of these layers can be accessed via our interactive web viewer or downloaded for analysis.
County GIS portal: The county's web GIS layers parcels, zoning, and floodplains with recent aerial imagery for La Salle 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
In Illinois, there is a difference between mortgage foreclosure and tax-delinquency foreclosure. Mortgage cases (judicial only in Illinois) go through the La Salle County Circuit Court under 735 ILCS 5/15-1101 et seq.. Tax-sale cases are handled by the Treasurer's Office under the Property Tax Code at 35 ILCS 200, Article 21.
Annual tax sale
The La Salle County Treasurer holds an annual tax sale for prior-year unpaid taxes. Tax buyers compete by bidding the penalty interest rate downward from a 9% statutory maximum. The lowest bidder wins a tax certificate, which is a lien rather than ownership.
Right of redemption
Property owners have 2 to 2.5 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
Scavenger sales target properties three or more years tax-delinquent that did not sell at the regular annual sale. The sale runs biennially. The bidding format differs from the annual sale, as bidders submit cash bids on the lien rather than competing on interest rate.
Costs to Access Property Records
Property-records access in La Salle County is free for online searches. Paper copies and certified copies carry per-page fees set by the county, and new recordings follow Illinois's Predictable Fee Schedule.
La Salle County adopted the Illinois Predictable Fee Schedule under 55 ILCS 5/3-5018.1. The schedule replaces per-page fees with a flat fee per document class. Five classes are available. They are deeds, mortgages, leases, miscellaneous, and non-conforming. Non-conforming documents pay double.
Real-estate transfer taxes add to the recording cost. The state charges $0.50 per $500 of consideration, while La Salle County adds $0.25 per $500.
Service | Fee (La Salle 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
Filing a document yourself in La Salle County is straightforward. A quitclaim deed, a release of mortgage, or a personal lien filing follows this four-step path through the Recorder's office:
Confirm the document meets Illinois formatting under 55 ILCS 5/3-5018.2. The document must be on 8.5" by 11" white paper with at least 20-lb weight, printed in black ink, and set at half-inch margins. A clear 3" by 5" area must be left in the upper-right corner of the first page for the recording stamp.
Look up the recording fee on La Salle County's Predictable Fee Schedule. The fee is flat per document class. Non-conforming filings are charged double the standard rate.
If the document transfers property, file the PTAX-203 transfer declaration through MyDec at the same time as the deed. MyDec is the state Department of Revenue's online system. The filing produces a stamp number that the Recorder ties to your document.
Three filing options are available. Walk-in submission at 707 E Etna Rd, Ottawa, IL 61350, mail-in filing (including payment and return envelope), or e-recording through approved vendors like Simplifile or CSC. Once recorded, the document gets a permanent recording number and is added to the public index.
The recording number is the permanent identifier for the document and should be stored with the original record for future research, certified copy requests, or title work.
FAQs
Yes. The Illinois Freedom of Information Act (5 ILCS 140) makes records held by the Assessor, Recorder, and Treasurer available to the public. Online searches across all three portals are free.
The two-step Illinois appeal process applies in La Salle County. File first with the Board of Review within 30 days of the notice. If denied, the appeal may be escalated to the Property Tax Appeal Board (PTAB) within 30 days of the Board's decision.
Land records date back to the county's establishment in 1831. The Recorder's online portal covers records from the 1980s onward, with full document images for more recent decades. Older records require an in-person visit or a record request through the Recorder.
To buy property at the La Salle County tax sale, you’ll need to do several things before the annual sale. First, register with the office and make a deposit. Then you can check the list of delinquent taxes published in the local paper. Bidders compete by bidding the penalty interest rate down; the lowest bid wins. The winning bidder receives a tax certificate, not a deed. After the redemption period of 2 to 2.5 years, you can petition the court to convert your unredeemed certificate into a tax deed.
The real-estate transfer tax in La Salle County is imposed on the transfer of property ownership and is based on the sale price or consideration. It is calculated at a combined state and county rate of $0.50 per $500 at the state level and $0.25 per $500 at the county level.
You qualify for the General Homestead Exemption in La Salle County if you own and occupy the property as your principal residence on January 1. Apply once through the Assessor's Office. The exemption renews automatically each year, provided there are no changes to your residency, ownership, or the property's rental status.
Quick Reference: Your La Salle County Property Records Checklist
This checklist maps the seven most common La Salle County property-records tasks to the office that handles them and the portal that fulfills them.
If you want to… | Do this |
|---|---|
Verify ownership | Use the Assessor portal to identify the listed owner. The Recorder's most recent deed is the legal source if there is a mismatch. |
Pull a deed copy | Search the Recorder of Deeds index. Documents older than the digital index typically need on-site research. |
Check the tax bill | Check the Treasurer's office portal. The Illinois schedule puts installments on June 1 and September 1. |
File a homestead exemption | Apply at the Supervisor of Assessments office. The General Homestead persists after the initial filing. Senior, Freeze, and Disability exemptions usually need annual renewal. |
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 | Check formatting against 55 ILCS 5/3-5018. File MyDec for PTAX-203 simultaneously. Walk-in submission, mail-in filing, or e-recording are all acceptable. |
Key Contacts and Official Portals
Office | Details |
|---|---|
Supervisor of Assessments | La Salle County Government Complex, 707 E Etna Rd, Ottawa, IL 61350 · (815) 434-8233 · portal |
Recorder of Deeds | 707 E Etna Rd, Ottawa, IL 61350 · (815) 434-8226 · portal |
County Treasurer | 707 E Etna Rd, Ottawa, IL 61350 · (815) 434-8219 · portal |
Illinois Property Tax Appeal Board |