Arizona Legal Description | Find Your Quitclaim Deed Info

How to Find Your Arizona Legal Description

During the process of filling out the Arizona Quitclaim Deed Form, you will encounter the question of providing the “LEGAL DESCRIPTION” for your Arizona property. Sometimes this can be a difficult stumbling block for completing the Form.

The best source for this information is from a previous document. Perhaps you have the closing papers from the sale of the property.

If you have your legal documents at home, you probably can find a paper containing the Legal Description. If not, and you have explored every source, you still have options available short of actually visiting the county seat.

Most Arizona county recorder offices or county assessor offices provide an online database for property searches. You can easily obtain the Legal Description by visiting the appropriate county website and conducting a search by name, address, or parcel number.

Arizona County Property Search Links

FAQs About Legal Descriptions

What is a Legal Description?

A Legal Description is the formal, surveyed description of a property's exact boundaries and location — such as a lot, block, and subdivision name, or a metes-and-bounds description — used to uniquely identify the parcel on recorded documents like a quitclaim deed. It is not the same as the property's mailing address.

Can I retrieve the legal description online?

In most cases, yes. Most Arizona county recorder or assessor offices provide a free online property search by owner name, address, or parcel number, which will display the recorded legal description for that property.

What if my county does not provide online records?

Check a prior recorded document you may already have, such as your closing or settlement papers, since the legal description is usually printed there. Otherwise, contact the county recorder's or assessor's office directly by phone or in person and they can look it up for you.