Short answer: Sign up with your county. It’s free, and it takes about 10 minutes.
Real answer: King, Pierce and Snohomish counties will email you when a document is recorded in your name or on your parcel. The alert can’t stop a forged deed, but it tells you fast, so you can act. Sign up in every county where you own, under every name on title.
Property fraud alert planner
Which alerts do you need, and under which names?
Pick the counties where you own property and how the title is held. You get every sign-up you need, the names and parcels to register and each county’s steps. You also see how much fraudsters favor a property like yours. Nothing you enter leaves this page.
Your checklist
A plain-language guide, not legal advice. Alerts tell you about a recording; they don’t block one. Sources: King County Recorder’s Office, Pierce and Snohomish County Auditors, ALTA 2026 Critical Issues Study.
Someone can record a forged deed or lien against your home, and in most cases nobody tells you. I signed up in every county where I own property. Now I get an email any time something is recorded in my name or my company’s.
Same thing, other names: property fraud alert, title fraud alert, deed fraud alert, recording notification, and each county’s own name: RANS in King, Owner Alert in Pierce, Recorded Document Notification in Snohomish, Fraud Notify in Mason and Kitsap. Paid “home title lock” services sell the same idea.
How it happens
How title fraud works, and why nobody tells you
The county records what it receives
A deed or lien gets recorded with the county. In Washington, that’s the County Auditor, or in King County, the Recorder’s Office.
Here’s the part most owners don’t know. The county records what it receives in the right form. In its own words, it cannot verify that a document is valid.
So a forger signs your name, adds a fake or stolen notary stamp, and the deed goes on the record. The first sign is often a tax bill, a loan notice or a stranger at the door.
- Step 1A forged deedSomeone signs your name and adds a fake or stolen notary stamp.
- Step 2The county records itIt checks the form, not the signature.
- Step 3Nobody calls youNo letter, no phone call, no knock.
- With an alertYou get an emailThe document type and recording number, so you can act.
Something you didn’t sign can still land on your title
It doesn’t take a forger, either. Strangers can record papers that cloud a title.
A seller of mine had talked to some wholesalers before we listed. They later recorded an affidavit claiming a purchase agreement was in place. It surfaced as an exception on the updated title report for the real sale. The seller had never signed anything. We had an attorney review it before closing.
Who’s at risk
Who gets targeted most
Empty, paid off or far away
Fraudsters pick property where nobody is watching. Vacant lots, rentals, second homes and paid-off homes top the list.
Title companies feel it first. In ALTA’s 2026 study, 59% of title firms faced a seller impersonation attempt in 2025, up from 28% in its 2024 survey.
In June 2026 the FBI warned that fraudsters pose as owners of vacant land. They use stolen data, fake IDs, new email accounts and internet phone numbers.
59% of title firms faced at least one seller impersonation attempt in 2025, up from 28% in 2024.
What an alert does, and doesn’t do
An alert can’t stop a recording. What it buys you is time: days instead of months, while the trail is fresh.
King County
King County: Recording Activity Notification System (RANS)
How to sign up
King County launched RANS on March 3, 2026. It watches names, business names and parcel numbers. There’s no account and no password.
Choose Personal, or Business for an LLC or trust. Enter the name and your email twice. Add a parcel number if you like: the first 10 digits, no dashes.
Click Send Confirmation Email. Within 10 minutes you’ll get a verification email; click the link inside. A second email confirms the alert. Find your parcel in the Parcel Viewer.
Timeframe About 10 minutes
What the alert email shows
Each alert email lists the document type, the date and time it recorded, and the recording number. Type that number into the county’s free records search to see the document.
From: King County Recorder’s Office
Landmark Recorded Document Notification
- Document type
- Deed of Trust
- Recorded
- Nov 3, 2026, 10:14 AM
- Recording number
- 20261103000123
- Next step
- Search the number in the online records search
Worth knowing: King County says your registration may be released under Washington’s public records law.
Pierce County
Pierce County: Owner Alert
How to sign up
Pierce County’s Owner Alert started on December 11, 2025. More than 6,000 people already use it. One email address can watch up to 10 names, parcels, subdivisions or condos.
Click Sign up, enter your email, then type the code the county sends you. Choose Name and type it last name first: Huie Brian, not Brian Huie.
Click the + to add another row, then Update Subscription. You’ll see “Subscribe Successful.” Business names go in as written.
Timeframe About 10 minutes
Pierce’s other three steps
Pierce adds three steps beyond the alert. Keep your mailing address, phone and email current with every county office. Let neighbors or tenants know how to reach you. Check listing sites for your own property now and then.
One more Pierce note: a refinance can record up to three documents at once. That’s normal, and it’s a good test that your alert works.
Snohomish County
Snohomish County: Recorded Document Notification System
How to sign up
Snohomish County has run its Recorded Document Notification System since 2023. It watches your name and your tax parcel number.
Enter your name, email and parcel number, then send the confirmation email. Click the link inside. A second email lists every name and parcel you’re signed up for.
Timeframe About 10 minutes
Snohomish County: Recorded Document Notification
Send confirmation email
Condos, townhomes and more than one name
For a condo or townhome, use the parcel number for your own unit, not the building’s. Make a new profile for each name variation and each other name on title.
To change anything later, unregister with the exact details you used, then register again.
Mason County
Mason County: Fraud Notify
How to sign up
Mason County’s Fraud Notify takes one extra step: it sits behind an account. Start on the Auditor’s Recording page.
Open the records portal and accept the disclaimer. Click Log In, then Sign Up, and create the account.
Log in, click Fraud Notify, then Continue. Pick Individual, Business or Parcel, type the name last name first, and click Add Alert. Click Save; the page shows “Last Saved” and an email follows.
Timeframe About 10 minutes, plus making an account
Lake and cabin owners
Mason County has plenty of cabins around Hood Canal and Lake Cushman. Cabins that sit empty for weeks are exactly what fraudsters look for. Add the parcel, not just your name.
Thurston County
Thurston County: no alert yet, so check it yourself
What Thurston offers instead
Thurston County has no email alert today. Its Auditor’s fraud page says the best guard is checking your own records regularly.
Search the Online Recording Index by your name or parcel number. Or email [email protected], or call 360-786-5405, with your parcel or address; staff will tell you what recorded recently.
- Option 1Search the indexThurston’s Online Recording Index, by your name or parcel number.
- Option 2Email or call[email protected] or 360-786-5405, with your parcel or address.
- RoutineEvery three monthsA calendar reminder. Look for anything you didn’t sign.
- Empty homeCheck it oftenA trusted neighbor, and no mail piling up.
A simple routine
Timeframe A few minutes, every three months
Set a calendar reminder every three months and look. Once you know the screens, it takes a few minutes.
Thurston adds sensible advice for empty homes: check often, ask someone you trust to look in while you’re away, and don’t let mail pile up.
Other counties
Kitsap, Clark, Chelan, Yakima and other Washington counties
Four more counties with alerts
Kitsap, Clark, Chelan and Yakima counties run free alerts too. Asotin County lists one as coming soon.
Every alert covers one county only. Own in two counties, sign up in both. In any other county, search the auditor’s site for “fraud alert” or “recording notification.”
After an alert
If an alert shows up
Expected, unsure or wrong
Open the document with the recording number in the email. Most alerts are routine: a refinance, a sale or a lien you expected.
If it’s yours, you’re done. If you’re not sure, call the recording office with the number. Pierce, for example, will explain a document’s purpose by phone.
If you don’t recognize it and it describes your property, move fast. The county can’t remove a recorded document or take legal action for you.
Who to call
Call law enforcement and an attorney the same day. Report it to the FBI’s IC3 too. Then tell your lender, if you have one, and keep every email.
Title lock
Do you need a paid title lock service?
Not a lock, not insurance
You’ve heard the ads. Paid “home title lock” services watch the county records and email you when something changes. The FTC calls title lock insurance not a lock and not insurance.
In King, Pierce and Snohomish, the county does the same watching for free. Washington lawmakers considered a voluntary county title protection program in 2026; the bill stalled in the House.
| Free county alert | Paid title lock | Owner’s title insurance | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cost | $0 | A monthly or yearly fee | Paid once, at closing |
| Watches the county records | Yes | Yes | No |
| Blocks a forged deed | No | No | No |
| Helps defend your title | No | No | For covered risks; read your policy |
What actually protects your ownership
Your real protection is the owner’s title insurance you bought at closing, an attorney if fraud happens, and a fast alert.
Sellers and buyers
Selling or buying: what title and escrow already check
Sellers
When you sell, the title company checks your ID before you sign. Expect a photo ID, often a second ID, and a notary.
Confirm any wire instructions by phone, at a number you already know. Treat any emailed change to wire instructions as fraud until you confirm it by phone.
Selling
- Photo ID, often a second ID, and a notary
- Confirm wire instructions by phone
- Read every line of the title report
Just bought
- Your deed records at closing
- Sign up the week you get keys
- Every name on the new deed
Buyers
Your new deed records at closing. Sign up for the alert the week you get your keys, under every name on the new deed.
Read every line of the title report, too. It’s where a strange recording shows up first.
FAQ
Frequently asked questions about property fraud alerts
Is the county property fraud alert really free?
Yes. King, Pierce and Snohomish counties charge nothing. King County says you never need to renew; you stay signed up until you unsubscribe.
Does a property fraud alert stop someone from stealing my house?
No. It tells you when something is recorded, so you can act fast. King, Pierce and Snohomish each say plainly that the alert doesn’t prevent fraud.
Can the county remove a fraudulent deed?
No. The county can’t remove or change a recorded document. Fixing it takes a new recording or a court order, so call an attorney.
What is King County RANS?
RANS is the Recording Activity Notification System, King County’s free alert. It emails you when a document matching your name or parcel is recorded.
How do I sign up for Pierce County Owner Alert?
Go to piercecountywa.gov/owneralert, verify your email with a code, then add up to 10 names or parcels. Type names last name first.
Does Thurston County have a property fraud alert?
Not yet. Search its Online Recording Index by name or parcel, or email [email protected] with your parcel number and ask what recorded recently.
Does Snohomish County have a property fraud alert?
Yes. Its Recorded Document Notification System watches your name and tax parcel number. It has run since 2023.
I own in two counties. Do I sign up twice?
Yes. Each alert covers only its own county’s records. Sign up in every county where you own property.
Why did I get an alert for someone else?
Common names match other people’s documents. Check the parcel and legal description on the document. If it isn’t yours, ignore it.
Do I need a paid home title lock service?
Not in King, Pierce or Snohomish. The FTC says title lock insurance is not a lock and not insurance. The county alert does the watching for free.
Who should sign up first?
Owners of vacant land, rentals, second homes and paid-off homes, and heirs. Pierce adds seniors, retirees and military families stationed away.
Is my email address private?
Mostly. King, Pierce and Snohomish all note that what you enter may be released under Washington’s public records law.
The bottom line
Ten minutes a county, no cost, and you’ll hear about a forged deed in days instead of months.
If you own property in King, Pierce or Snohomish County, I’d do it this week. Then do the same for your parents.
Related: what title insurance covers, what to do once your offer is accepted, and the King County property tax appeal deadline.
Sources
- King County, “Property owners can now sign up for the new Recording Activity Notification System”, March 3, 2026
- King County Recorder’s Office, RANS instructions, accessed November 2026
- King County Recorder’s Office, RANS FAQ, accessed November 2026
- Pierce County, “Free Owner Alert service helps protect people from property fraud”, December 11, 2025
- Pierce County Auditor, Owner Alert Service and FAQ, accessed November 2026
- Pierce County Auditor newsletter: statewide title fraud workgroup, Owner Alert subscribers, October 2026
- Snohomish County, Recorded Document Notification System, accessed November 2026
- Mason County Auditor, Recording and Fraud Notify, accessed November 2026
- Thurston County Auditor, How to Guard Against Property Fraud, accessed November 2026
- Kitsap County Auditor, Fraud Notify, accessed November 2026
- Clark County Auditor, free notification service for recordings, October 13, 2021
- Chelan County Auditor, Recording Notification Service, accessed November 2026
- Yakima County Auditor, Recording and Property Fraud Alert, accessed November 2026
- HousingWire, on ALTA’s 2026 Critical Issues Study (released September 14, 2026), 2026
- ALTA, “FBI Warns of Rising Vacant Land Seller Impersonation Scams”, June 18, 2026
- FTC, “Home title lock insurance? Not a lock at all”, August 2024
- Washington Legislature, HB 2298 (voluntary property title protection program), 2026 session