Martin County, NC Property Records: Search Deeds, Owners, Tax Records, and Maps

A few doors away at the Martin County Governmental Building, 305 East Main Street in Williamston, are the county's property records. The Register of Deeds is located in Room 115 on the first floor, and the Tax Assessor is located in Room 127. They both provide copies pursuant to the North Carolina Public Records Law. The index books go back to 1771, three years before the county's 1774 charter, and have records of 461 square miles of farmland on the Roanoke River.

The homes here are among the most affordable in North Carolina, and sales frequently exceed the typical 30 to 56 days. The stock encompasses in-town residences, farmhouses, brick ranches, and manufactured homes in Williamston and Robersonville, located on peanut country acreage. The economy is dominated by agriculture and timber, and river ecotourism is emerging along the Roanoke's paddle trails.

Recent records show the underlying factors influencing the local real estate market: The median home value is {median_home_value}, the median rent is {median_rent}, the median household income is {median_household_income}, and the median real estate tax rate is {median_real_est_tax} percent of the home's assessed value.

How to Look Up Martin County Property Records

Three free county resources provide most answers to property questions. The Register of Deeds remote access site is used to look up records starting from 1771. The county has a GIS and mapping site for its records and maps, including property tax maps and cards, which are linked from the Tax Assessor's page, and the county tax search includes bills and records for property taxes.

Who Keeps Martin County Property Records

Property records are maintained at the county level in North Carolina and are open to anyone, pursuant to the North Carolina Public Records Law at NCGS Chapter 132. Martin County has several offices that share the responsibility:

• The Martin County Register of Deeds is custodian of all land records, from deeds and deeds of trust to easements, plats, and UCC filings. It also keeps the county’s vital records and veterans’ discharges. It does not perform title searches or give legal advice.

• The Martin County Tax Assessor in Room 127 lists, appraises, and assesses real and personal property, and processes present-use value, elderly and disabled relief, and exemption applications. A separate Tax Collector bills and collects.

• The Martin County Clerk of Superior Court, in the same building, oversees foreclosure hearings and estate files. Deeds of trust are recorded with the Register of Deeds, but power-of-sale foreclosures run through this office.

How to Search Martin County Property Records Online

A full search generally entails two to three county resources, in order.

• Begin with the tax search or the GIS and mapping site to verify the parcel, owner, and assessed value, and take note of the parcel number.

• Take the owner’s name to the remote access site. The Full System supports up-to-date indexed records and the state's current indexing rules.

• Use the Imaging System only by book and page for older work, and use the county's indexes back to 1771 in the Scanned Index Books.

• Identify the present owner by looking at the latest deed, then trace back to previous deeds, ensuring each grantor corresponds to the previous grantor. Perform the same check on the lien and restrictive covenants index.

• Finish with the Tax Collector to confirm the tax status. A county tax lien attaches to the property on January 1 and stays until the bill is paid in full.

Register of Deeds: Deeds, Deeds of Trust, and Plats

Williamston and the 10 towns and communities in the county are under the charge of an elected Register of Deeds, who records them. In North Carolina, deeds of trust are used instead of mortgages, which is why you will see this type of security instrument on most North Carolina-financed purchases.

Document types recorded include:

• Warranty deeds, special warranty deeds, and quitclaim deeds

• Deeds of trust, cancellations, assignments, and releases

• Easements, agreements, and powers of attorney

• Plats, assumed names, partnerships, and UCC filings

• Veterans’ discharge records, held confidentially

These books are older than the county. Indexes are created as far back as 1771, before 1774, when Martin County was separated from Halifax and Tyrrell counties, and today are kept in the Governmental Building. The square, towered Italianate courthouse built in 1885 is now a cultural center in downtown. The free Property Notification service sends you an email whenever a document is filed under a registered name.

Tax Assessor: Ownership, Values, and Parcel Data

The Tax Assessor, as the name implies, makes sure to list, appraise, and assess all real and personal property in Martin County, and states the numbers simply. The last revaluation was completed on 01/01/25, and the county expects the next revaluation to be in full effect on 01/01/33, the full eight-year cycle. The 2025 Schedule of Values is displayed on the office's pages.

Use the county’s tools or contact the office to find:

• The current legal owner of any parcel

• The parcel number that links county record systems

• Assessed value, land value, and building value

• Property tax cards and tax maps through the GIS site

• Any active homestead, disability, veteran, or present-use exclusion

Each January, the office mails listing abstracts to personal property owners, and completed forms are due back by January 31. With 2025 values fresh, assessments now track the market closely.

Tax Collector: Tax Bills and Payments

The Tax Collector drafts and collects the tax for the county. The rate is set each spring by the commissioners, bills are sent out in late summer, and taxes are delinquent the day after January 5th if they are not paid.

Interest is 2% for January and a 0.75% rate thereafter. The county's tax search will allow you to look up the tax bill on its website; make sure to have the parcel number available.

Property Tax in Martin County: Rates, Exemptions, and Appeals

When a Martin County tax bill comes to your door, it is divided into two components – the assessed value determined by the Tax Assessor, and the rate determined each spring by the Board of Commissioners. To determine how much you owe, multiply the two together. The county's current rate is clearly stated with revaluation of 2025: 72 cents per $100 of value. Within Williamston, Robersonville, and the smaller towns in the county, town rates are added in.

Homestead and relief programs

North Carolina offers three statutory relief programs, and an owner may take only one. The Tax Assessor processes each application, filed on Form AV-9 by June 1.

Appealing your value

Begin by conducting an informal review with the Tax Assessor at (252) 789-4350 and provide similar sales or correct property information. If this fails, appeal to the county Board of Equalization and Review that meets in the spring. An appeal can be made to the North Carolina Property Tax Commission. No changes in the market can be taken into account after the January 1 valuation date.

GIS Maps and Parcel Viewer

Martin County publishes property tax cards and tax maps on its GIS and mapping website, linked from the Tax Assessor’s page. For data that crosses county lines, the state runs NC OneMap, and the state’s flood mapping program covers the Roanoke corridor.

Details available include:

• Parcel boundaries with ownership information

• Cards for property taxes that are based on each parcel

• Roads, streams, and Roanoke River base layers

• Statewide imagery and flood layers via NC OneMap

• Reference data for town and township boundaries

The Roanoke lowlands flood during serious storms, so study the flood layers and insurance costs before buying near the river bottoms.

Foreclosure and Tax Sales

North Carolina is a unique state in foreclosure matters, and two avenues are important when researching property.

Power-of-sale foreclosure

Foreclosure by the deed of trust's trustee under a power of sale is the most common process for home foreclosures. A hearing is held before the Clerk of Superior Court, and the sale is conducted at the Clerk of Superior Court's Williamston courthouse. The winning bid is not final immediately after the auction; however, per NCGS 45-21.27, there is a 10-day upset bid period during which other people may bid up the price.

Property-tax foreclosure

The county can foreclose the tax lien by court action under NCGS 105-374 or in rem under 105-375 if taxes are unpaid. North Carolina does not sell tax liens, and there is no right of redemption after the tax lien is sold. This is the first time that the buyer of a property is bidding for the property itself during a court-ordered sale, and of course, there is the 10-day upset-bid rule.

Costs to Access Property Records

Searching online is free. Fees apply when you need a copy or are recording a new document, and deeds and deeds of trust carry different recording fees.

Recording fees are set by NCGS 161-10, and the excise tax is set by NCGS 105-228.30. Make money orders payable to the Martin County Register of Deeds, and confirm the schedule before filing.

How to Record a Document

The instrument recording standards are clearly outlined on the NCGS web page under the heading Conveyances (NCGS Chapter 47):

• Present instruments on 8.5-by-11 or 8.5-by-14-inch paper. Use a 3” margin at the top of the first page and a ½” margin on each of the other sides and pages.

• The standards apply to instruments dated July 1, 2002, or later, based on the date of execution, not presentation for recording.

• Calculate fees. A deed costs $26.00 for the first 15 pages, and a deed of trust costs $64.00 for the first 35 pages. In addition, a conveyance is liable for $1.00 for each $500.00.

• Please deliver it in in person to Room 115 or mail it to P.O. Box 348 accompanied by payment. The original is returned to the filer, and the image is added to the online system.

FAQs

Quick Reference: Your Martin County Property Records Checklist

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