The Baltimore City lien certificate: what must be paid before the deed can transfer

In Baltimore City, a deed that takes an owner off the title will not be accepted for city taxes and recording until it comes with a current lien certificate and every lien on that certificate has been paid. This guide explains what the certificate shows, how long it takes, what happens when a property has been through tax sale, and how the deed moves through the city once the liens are paid. It is written for sellers, buyers and agents on a sale inside the city line.

Baltimore County is a separate jurisdiction with its own lien certificate and its own rules; our Baltimore County closing costs guide covers that side. A mailing address does not tell you which side of the line a home is on, so check the property on SDAT’s Real Property Search before relying on anything here.

What the lien certificate is, and when you need one

A lien is a claim against the property itself, not just its owner. The lien certificate (or lien sheet) is the Bureau of Revenue Collections’ list of the city’s claims on one property. It can be ordered online or from the Liens office in Room 1 of the Abel Wolman Municipal Building, 200 N. Holliday Street, and it costs $55. The city does not offer an online lookup of a property’s liens; ordering the certificate is the way to see them.

The city generally needs a certificate whenever someone comes off the title. That covers every sale, a transfer from a person to a company, and an estate property passed from the personal representative to an heir. Adding a spouse or child to a deed, a life estate deed with full powers, a ground rent deed and some living trust transfers do not need one.

What can show up on it

• Property tax. Any unpaid state or city property tax.
• Water and sewer bills. The city charter requires the certificate to list water and sewer bills along with other city charges, and treats them as liens on the property until paid, so they must be paid like any other lien.
• Notations for other city bills. The sheet may flag clean and board, alley paving or miscellaneous bills. The settlement agent has to contact the agency named on the sheet to find out whether anything is owed. The city also lists Environmental Control Board citations, property registration bills, minor privilege bills, special benefit district charges and multi-family dwelling license fees among the unpaid bills that can become liens.
• Homeowners’ Tax Credit. If the seller has been receiving this income-based credit, the certificate shows it. The settlement agent must ask the city, at the email address printed on the sheet, for the amount due, and pay it by a separate check to the Director of Finance.
• Tax sale. A note that the property was included in the city’s tax sale (see below).

Two less common cases have their own rules. If the deed is a foreclosure deed and the tax bill carries a homestead credit, that credit has to be repaid before transfer. If the property is in a receivership case, the deed goes to the Liens Department first, which decides whether it can go through the transfer tax office at all.

Every lien paid before the deed goes in

The transfer tax office’s checklist is plain: all liens must be paid in full before the deed is submitted, with validated receipts attached to the certificate.

At settlement, the amounts on the certificate are listed on the settlement statement and paid, much like a mortgage payoff, and the receipts go with the deed. Who bears them is set by the contract of sale. Contracts commonly require the seller to deliver title free of liens, and in that case the liens come out of the seller’s proceeds. Trouble starts when the price will not cover the mortgage and the city’s claims together. Then the gap has to be dealt with, by the seller or with the lender, before the sale can close, and the earlier everyone knows, the more options there are.

Tax sale redemption

Every year, Baltimore City sells its claims for unpaid property taxes and other charges at a tax sale. The highest bidder pays the city and receives a certificate that lets them go to court to take the property. The city explains that an owner can stop this by redeeming the property: paying the claims plus interest and other costs.

If the lien sheet shows a property was in tax sale, it must be redeemed and the tax sale line on the sheet signed off by the city’s Tax Sale Section before the deed goes to the transfer tax office. For a seller, that means an extra payoff and an extra sign-off, so allow time. For a buyer, it means the deed cannot go through until both are done, so a slow redemption can move the settlement date. Owners behind on city bills can ask the city about its Tax Sale Deferral Program, which is meant to keep a property out of tax sale.

Timing: order early, but watch the expiry

• Processing. The city’s checklist says 7 to 10 business days. Orders are handled in the order received and cannot be rushed.
• Validity. A certificate is generally good for 45 days from its date or until June 30, whichever comes first.
• Expiry. If it runs out before the deed reaches the tax office, a new one must be ordered, with another fee and another wait.

Order too late and the certificate may not arrive in time; order too early and it may expire before the deed goes in. If settlement is set far out or slips, plan on a second certificate. Settlements near the end of June need extra care: because no certificate is good past June 30, a deed taken in on or after July 1 needs a new certificate ordered in the new tax year, which starts on July 1.

How the deed moves through the city

Recording a city deed takes two steps.

1. The Transfer and Recordation Tax Office, Room 1, Suite 1B of the Abel Wolman Municipal Building. The office takes walk-ins on Mondays and Wednesdays only: you sign in, wait to be called, and can present up to three documents per turn. The package goes in this order:

• the original deed, signed and notarized (not a copy)
• the lien certificate with validated receipts for every lien
• the city’s own intake sheet, on legal-size paper (the Maryland State Intake Sheet is not accepted)
• a copy of the settlement statement, contract of sale or report of sale
• separate checks to the Director of Finance for city transfer tax, recordation tax and, where it applies, yield tax

A buyer claiming the owner-occupancy credit also needs a signed affidavit of principal residence in the deed.

2. Land records. The deed is then recorded with the Circuit Court for Baltimore City, Land Records and Licenses Division, Clarence M. Mitchell, Jr. Courthouse, Courthouse West, Rooms 610 and 627, 100 North Calvert St., Baltimore, MD 21202. The city also accepts deeds by e-recording through Simplifile.

When a settlement agent handles the sale, the buyer and seller usually do not need to visit either office.

The taxes collected on the deed

The checks presented at the tax office cover:

• 0.5%State transfer tax0.5% of the price.
• 1.5%City transfer tax1.5% of the price.
• $5.00 per $500Recordation tax$5.00 per $500 of the price, about 1.0%.
• Yield taxOnly on sales over $1,000,000.

Worked example. An investor who will not live in the home buys at the city’s median sale price of $285,000. State transfer tax is $1,425, city transfer tax $4,275 and recordation tax $2,850, for $8,550 in all. If the contract says nothing about who pays, Maryland law generally splits these taxes equally between buyer and seller.

A buyer who will live in the home gets a partial exemption: the first $22,000 of the price is exempt from city recordation tax at any price, but from city transfer tax only when the price is under $250,000, and the buyer must sign the affidavit of principal residence described above. At the median price, that saves $220 of recordation tax, so the same purchase by an owner-occupant comes to $8,330. First-time Maryland buyers have their own rules on who pays. Our Baltimore City closing costs guide and first-time buyer guide explain them. These are government taxes only; the instant quote adds title insurance and settlement charges.

Our seller’s checklist and buyer’s checklist cover each side’s part from contract to settlement.

Other title issues to check in the city

• Ground rents. Some homes sit on land that is subject to a ground rent. SDAT keeps a Ground Rent Registry and runs a redemption program through which a homeowner can buy out the ground rent.
• Old boundaries. Party walls, shared alleys and old deed descriptions can leave room for doubt about where one lot ends and the next begins. A survey shows where the lines fall. For more, see why title insurance matters.
• Estates. A personal representative’s deed to an heir, with nothing paid, is exempt from city transfer tax, but the city requires it to be prepared by an attorney, and it still needs a lien certificate.
• Critical area. Every Maryland sales contract, including one for a city home, must carry the Chesapeake and Atlantic Coastal Bays Critical Area notice. The critical area generally reaches 1,000 feet beyond the landward edge of tidal waters and tidal wetlands, so a home need not be on the water to be in it. Check before planning an addition or a deck.

How we handle the lien certificate

When we handle a Baltimore City settlement, our team orders the lien certificate, follows up on any notations and tax sale sign-offs, pays what is owed from the settlement funds, and takes the deed through both city steps for recording. Our attorneys can meet you for settlement at a city address that suits you, at no extra cost, or at our Glen Burnie office, we can also meet online, and weekend and after-hours settlements are available by appointment.

Buyers and sellers can start with residential settlements, and owners selling without an agent with for sale by owner support. Investors can ask about commercial settlements and 1031 exchanges.