Umatilla County Clerk
About the Umatilla County Clerk
Umatilla County anchors northeastern Oregon's trade and farm economy, split between the fast-growing Hermiston-Umatilla corridor to the west and the older agricultural community around Pendleton, the county seat, to the east. Hermiston has overtaken Pendleton as the county's largest city, driven by agriculture, distribution centers, and a wave of newer data-center investment. With roughly 81,000 residents in a county that also borders Washington State and includes the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation just outside Pendleton, the Clerk's Records office handles a busy, varied caseload of filings.
Cities and Communities Served
Recording jurisdiction runs countywide, not by city limits — if the property sits anywhere within Umatilla County, this is the Clerk’s office that will accept the deed. That includes:
Incorporated cities: Adams, Athena, Echo, Helix, Hermiston, Milton-Freewater, Pendleton (county seat), Pilot Rock, Stanfield, Ukiah, Umatilla, and Weston.
The Umatilla Indian Reservation, home to the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation (Umatilla, Walla Walla, and Cayuse peoples), lies just southeast of Pendleton within Umatilla County. Property within reservation trust land generally is not recorded through the county the same way as fee land — contact the Confederated Tribes' Realty office or the BIA for guidance on trust-land transactions.
Office Details
Address: Umatilla County Courthouse, 216 SE 4th Street, Room 116, Pendleton, OR 97801
Phone: (541) 278-6236
Hours: Monday – Friday, 8:00 AM – 4:30 PM
Recording Fee: Oregon recording fees are set individually by each county and change periodically — check Umatilla County's current fee schedule or call the office to confirm the exact amount before filing.
How to File a Document
- Prepare Your Document: Make sure your deed meets Oregon's formatting and content requirements before you file.
- Get It Notarized: Have the document signed in front of an Oregon notary public or other authorized official. No notary nearby in Pendleton? Oregon allows remote online notarization — you can have your Umatilla County deed notarized online by an Oregon-commissioned notary instead.
- Meet Oregon's First-Page Requirements: Oregon law requires your deed's first page to show the title, grantor and grantee names, the true consideration, and an address for tax statements. If your document doesn't already include this, you'll need to attach a cover sheet, which adds $5 to the recording fee.
- Record It: You can file in person or by mail with the Umatilla County Clerk's Records office.
- Pay the Recording Fee: Oregon recording fees are set individually by each county and change periodically — check the current fee schedule or call the office to confirm the exact amount before filing.
- Keep Your Receipt: Your recorded document (or a certified copy) is your proof of filing.
Filing? Get a Deed the Umatilla County Clerk Will Accept
FREE generic forms are the most common reason Oregon deeds get rejected — usually over formatting, the legal description, or notary acknowledgment.
Two ways to avoid that:
Both are Oregon-compliant and built for the Umatilla County Clerk’s exact requirements.
Disclosure: affiliate links to Standard Legal, our partner — no extra cost to you.
You are not on the official Umatilla County government website. OregonQuitclaimDeed.com is a privately owned website and is not affiliated with any government agency.