Real Estate/Land Records

Land records are a part of the Maryland State Archives holdings. They are available online at http://mdlandrec.net where you’ll be able to pick your own password and have access within minutes.

Any problems that arise in MDLandRec can be addressed through the “Contact the Help Desk” link on bottom of the page in the original version or the “Send Image Feedback” link in the right column of the new version.

To determine the current block number for a property, visit the State Department of Assessment and Taxation website.  After you enter the address, the current Ward, Section, and Block number appear at the top of the information concerning the address (which includes owner, location & structure, value, transfer, exemption, and homestead application information).

Quick Guide to Using MD Land Records

• Obtain a (free) username and password
• Once signed in, click the drop down menu at top and select “Baltimore City”
• You can search via the Block Search (the default) which gets hits that might be missed if you did a specific address, or you can go over to the left and select “Address”
• Enter either the block number (see above for how to obtain your block number) and street name (do not include st., ave., ln, etc.) in the Block Search or enter your house number and street (do not include st., ave., ln.) in the Address Search
• All the records for that property or block from 1972 to the present will appear.  If you are looking for current information, this should appear here.  If you are hoping to go back and trace the history of the building, click on the oldest record available.
• Somewhere in that record should be a paragraph reading something along the lines of “Being the same lots of ground described in a deed dated _____ and recorded among the Land Records of Baltimore City in Liber XXX No. 1111, Folio 222, from so-and-so”  You now have the data you need to move back to the next deed.
• Back on the search results screen, click on the “Jump to New Volume” link in the yellow bar at the top of the page.
• The initials (if there were any) go in the Clerk box, the No. 1111 goes into the Book box, and the Folio 222 goes in the Page box.  This should take you to the previous deed, which you should be able to use in the same way to continue further back in time
• If you would like more detailed instructions, please visit the MdLandRec.Net Baltimore City User’s Guide