Yes, foreclosures are public record. In every state, once a lender takes formal action to foreclose, the key documents are filed with the county recorder or the local court, where anyone can look them up. That openness is built into the property system: buyers, title companies, and other creditors all need to see when a home’s title is in dispute, so the filings that create that dispute are recorded where the public can find them.
Where Foreclosure Filings Are Recorded
Which office holds the paperwork depends on how your state handles foreclosure.
Judicial Foreclosure States
In a judicial foreclosure, the lender sues the borrower. The lawsuit is filed in the local court, and the lender usually also records a lis pendens with the county recorder to warn the public that a claim has been filed against the property. Because the case moves through the court system, the complaint, motions, hearing dates, and final judgment all sit in the court’s case file. Roughly half of all states use judicial foreclosure as the primary or exclusive method.
Non-Judicial Foreclosure States
In a non-judicial foreclosure, no lawsuit is filed. The lender or trustee records a notice of default with the county, and later a notice of sale announcing the auction date. Everything is filed directly with the county recorder. Many Southern and Western states use this process, and some states let lenders choose either method.
Either way, the records are public. In judicial states you check both the county land records and the court docket. In non-judicial states, the county recorder’s office is usually the only place you need to look.
When a Foreclosure First Shows Up
A missed payment is not itself a public foreclosure filing. Federal regulations require your mortgage servicer to wait until you are more than 120 days delinquent before making the first foreclosure-related filing, and if you have a complete loss mitigation application under review, the servicer generally cannot proceed during that time.1eCFR. 12 CFR 1024.41 – Loss Mitigation Procedures
After that first filing, more documents follow. A notice of sale or notice of trustee sale is recorded to announce the auction date, time, and location. Advance notice periods vary by state but typically run somewhere between 20 and 90 days before the sale. Once the auction happens, the transfer document, often called a trustee’s deed upon sale or a sheriff’s deed, is also recorded, closing out the paper trail.
What the Filings Reveal
A foreclosure filing usually contains:
- The full legal names of the borrower or borrowers and the lending institution or servicer.
- The property’s street address and its formal legal description, which may reference lot and block numbers, subdivision plat maps, or metes and bounds.
- The original loan amount, and often the outstanding principal balance plus any amounts in default, accrued interest, and fees.
- The reason for the filing, typically missed payments, though other breaches of the mortgage agreement can also trigger foreclosure.
- The scheduled date, time, and location of the auction, if a notice of sale has been filed.
Financial breakdowns often separate principal from attorney fees, late charges, and other costs added by the lender. For bidders and other interested parties, that itemization shows the full debt attached to the property.
What Should Be Redacted
Public does not mean everything is exposed. In federal bankruptcy proceedings, filers must limit Social Security numbers to the last four digits, show only the year of birth, and truncate financial account numbers. Most state courts and county recorders follow similar redaction standards, though the details vary. Responsibility for redacting sensitive information falls on the party filing the documents, not on the clerk or recorder receiving them.2Legal Information Institute (LII) / Cornell Law School. Rule 9037 – Protecting Privacy for Filings If you find your own filing online with more personal information than the rules allow, contact the office that recorded it.
How to Look Up a Foreclosure
County Recorder or Clerk’s Office
Notices of default, lis pendens filings, notices of sale, and trustee’s deeds are recorded with the county recorder, county clerk, or registrar of deeds. Many counties run online portals where you can search by owner name or parcel identification number. Fees for certified copies vary by jurisdiction and commonly run a few dollars per page. If there is no online access, you can visit in person and use public terminals to search the grantor-grantee index, which tracks every recorded document tied to a property.
Court Records
In judicial states, the lawsuit itself sits with the local court. Case files usually include the complaint, the borrower’s response if one was filed, motions, hearing schedules, and the final judgment. Most courts offer electronic case search by owner name, case number, or property address.
Private Foreclosure Listing Sites
Commercial sites aggregate foreclosure data from county and court records nationwide. They can be a useful starting point, but they pull from public sources on their own schedules, so listings can lag or contain errors. Verify anything you find on an aggregator against the official county or court record before acting on it.
Can a Foreclosure Record Be Sealed or Removed?
Generally, no. Foreclosure filings in county land records cannot be sealed or expunged the way some other records can. The recording of property transfers and liens is treated as essential to a reliable title system, and foreclosure is not among the civil matters that qualify for sealing in most jurisdictions.
If a case is dismissed because you caught up on payments or reached a settlement, the dismissal is added to the record. The original filing still appears, but the dismissal shows the case did not end in foreclosure. It’s worth checking both the court file and the county land records to confirm that any lis pendens or notice of default has been properly released or withdrawn. Some states have created sealing processes for eviction filings, but foreclosure records have not followed the same path. If you are worried about a dismissed case still showing up, a real estate attorney in your state can advise whether a release of lis pendens or another corrective filing is appropriate.
Credit Report vs. Land Record
Foreclosure appears in two very different places, and it helps to keep them separate. Lenders report foreclosure directly to the major credit bureaus, and the bureaus also collect it from public records. Under the Fair Credit Reporting Act, a foreclosure can stay on your credit report for up to seven years from the date of the first missed payment that led to the default.3Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 15 USC 1681c – Requirements Relating to Information Contained in Consumer Reports
That seven-year clock only applies to the credit report. The county land record does not drop off. The foreclosure remains part of the property’s chain of title indefinitely. In practice, the credit impact fades as you rebuild your payment history, well before the entry itself expires.
Public Visibility Attracts Scams
Because your name, address, and default status are visible in the record, scammers scrape foreclosure filings to target homeowners. Expect unsolicited calls, letters, and emails offering to stop the foreclosure or modify the loan for an upfront fee. The FTC’s Mortgage Assistance Relief Services Rule makes it illegal for a company to charge you any fee before it has actually delivered a written offer of relief from your lender that you have accepted.4Federal Trade Commission. Mortgage Relief Scams Anyone demanding money upfront, guaranteeing a modification, telling you to stop paying your lender, or claiming a government or lender affiliation they cannot verify is a warning sign. Free help is available through HUD-approved housing counseling agencies.