Union County is Florida's smallest county by land area. The Census Bureau measures about 243.6 square miles of land, a compact patch of North Florida where the courthouse, lakes, timber tracts and farm roads never feel impossibly far apart. Small does not mean uniform. A drive can move quickly from Lake Butler's town grid to pine woods, crop fields and the shores of Lake Palestine or Lake Butler itself.
Lake Butler is the county seat and only incorporated city, with government offices, schools and local businesses clustered around its center. Worthington Springs, the county's only incorporated town, grew around a mineral spring and the Santa Fe River area. Raiford is the other incorporated municipality, while Providence is a well-known rural community. Parts of the county's identity are also tied to transportation, timber, agriculture and state correctional facilities, all of which have shaped employment and land use.
In a county this compact, rural property descriptions still require plenty of room on the page. A Lake Butler lot may be identified by subdivision plat, but acreage commonly uses section, township and range or a metes and bounds description. Parcels reached by family roads or long-used driveways can raise access questions that a deed form cannot settle. The safest starting point is the prior recorded deed and, when boundaries matter, reliable survey information. A tax-map outline is helpful research, not a legal description.
The Union County Clerk of the Circuit Court & Comptroller serves as county recorder. The office is in the Union County Courthouse at 55 West Main Street, Room 103, Lake Butler, Florida 32054. The main telephone number is 386-496-3711, and the same street address is used for mailed recording submissions. The clerk accepts documents at the counter and by mail and provides electronic recording through approved vendors.
Florida's statutory recording schedule applies: $10 for the first page and $8.50 for each additional page, plus $1 for every indexed name after four. Documentary stamp tax on deeds is generally 70 cents per $100, or fraction, of taxable consideration. The instrument must also meet Florida execution and acknowledgment rules and include the required party, preparer, witness and grantee-address information. A clerk can identify a recording requirement but cannot choose the appropriate deed for a transaction.
The Union County Property Appraiser's site can help confirm the parcel number, situs and assessment record. The clerk's portal provides access to the Official Records index and images that are available online. Those systems have different jobs. The appraiser values property for taxation, while the clerk records the instruments that give public notice of interests in land.
Union County's size makes it tempting to treat every place as familiar, but familiarity is not a substitute for precision. A deed for a Lake Butler home, Worthington Springs river parcel, Raiford lot or Providence acreage should use the correct names and complete legal description. Florida's smallest county still expects a full-sized land record.
Official Records
Where deeds are recorded in Union County
| Detail | Recording information |
|---|---|
| Recording authority | Union County Clerk of the Circuit Court & Comptroller |
| Department | Official Records and Recording |
| Main recording office | Union County Courthouse, 55 W. Main Street, Room 103, Lake Butler, FL 32054 |
| Mailing address | 55 W. Main Street, Room 103, Lake Butler, FL 32054 |
| Telephone | 386-496-3711 |
| Submission | in person at the courthouse, mail, and approved eRecording provider |
| Standard charges | For a standard letter-size instrument, Florida's statutory charges generally total $10 for the first page, $8.50 for each additional page, plus $1 for each indexed name after the first four. Deed documentary stamp tax is generally $0.70 per $100 or part of $100 of consideration. Tax, extra documents, certified copies and vendor charges can change the total. |
| Official Records | Search recorded documents |
| Property records | Open the county property appraiser |
Preparing the instrument
Deed requirements for Union County
Florida law generally requires a deed conveying real property to be signed by the grantor in the presence of two subscribing witnesses. The instrument also needs the parties, legal description, consideration and documentary stamp treatment, acknowledgment, preparer information, return address, and printed witness information required for the particular recording.
For Union County, the recorder currently describes submission this way: in person at the courthouse, mail, and approved eRecording provider Posted standard charges are: For a standard letter-size instrument, Florida's statutory charges generally total $10 for the first page, $8.50 for each additional page, plus $1 for each indexed name after the first four. Deed documentary stamp tax is generally $0.70 per $100 or part of $100 of consideration. Tax, extra documents, certified copies and vendor charges can change the total.
The clerk records documents that satisfy its intake requirements but does not decide whether a deed produces the intended ownership, homestead, tax, mortgage, or estate-planning result. Review the current deed and transfer plan before signing. See Florida Statutes section 689.01 ↗ for the statewide conveyance rule.
Recording places a deed in the county's public records, but it does not replace attorney review of the deed, title, homestead, tax or signing issues.
Sources and verification
- Union County Clerk HomeCurrent agency name, courthouse address, office phone and online-records access.
- Union Clerk eRecordingElectronic recording availability and vendor process.
- Florida Statutes Section 28.24State recording charges for pages and indexed names.
- U.S. Census Bureau QuickFacts, Union CountyLand area and current population context.
- Union County Property AppraiserOfficial parcel and assessment research source.
- Florida Statute 28.24, clerk recording chargesState recording charge framework.
- Florida Department of Revenue, Documentary Stamp TaxDeed tax rates and Miami-Dade distinction.
General information only. This article is not a substitute for legal advice about a particular property or transfer.