Calhoun County Property Records

Calhoun County property records are public documents covering all real estate in this small Panhandle county west of Tallahassee. The Calhoun County Property Appraiser in Blountstown maintains assessment records for every parcel, and the clerk of court keeps deed filings and other recorded instruments. Together these offices provide the complete public record of ownership, value, and title history that buyers, owners, and researchers need when working with Calhoun County real estate.

Calhoun County Property Appraiser

The Calhoun County Property Appraiser's office is at 20859 SE Central Avenue in Blountstown, Florida 32424. The office phone number is 850-674-4545. The property appraiser section of the county government website can be found at calhouncountygov.com/property-appraiser. This is the starting point for parcel lookups, exemption information, and contact details for the Blountstown office.

Calhoun County is one of Florida's least populous counties. Much of the land is forested, agricultural, or used for hunting and recreation. The property appraiser must assess all real property at just value each year under Florida Statutes Chapter 193, which presents unique challenges in a market with low transaction volume and many rural parcels that seldom change hands.

For a county this small, the appraiser's office handles everything from residential lots in Blountstown to timberland tracts along the Apalachicola River. The office works with limited staff, so calling ahead before a visit is always a good idea.

The Calhoun County property appraiser page at calhouncountygov.com lists office contact information and links to available online resources for parcel data.

How to Search Calhoun County Property Records

Calhoun County's online search options are limited compared to larger Florida counties. The county website links to available property search tools, which allow basic lookups by owner name, address, or parcel number. For more detailed records or older historical data, an in-person visit to the property appraiser at 20859 SE Central Avenue in Blountstown is often the most effective approach.

When visiting in person, bring whatever information you have about the parcel. An address, a prior owner's name, or a legal description will help staff locate the record quickly. Calhoun County's parcel numbering system follows a standard Florida format, and staff can search by multiple criteria if one field doesn't produce a clear result.

Deed records and instruments affecting title are kept at the Calhoun County Clerk of Circuit Court. The clerk records and indexes these documents under the requirements of Chapter 28. Florida's Chapter 119 Public Records Law applies to all of these documents, making them available to anyone who asks. The clerk's office is also in Blountstown, near the county courthouse.

If the county's own search tools don't meet your needs, the Florida Department of Revenue provides statewide resources including a directory of county officials at floridarevenue.com. This page lists current contact information for all 67 Florida county property appraisers, including Calhoun County.

Note: For rural Panhandle counties like Calhoun, some older records may only exist in paper form at the courthouse. Title research going back more than 20 or 30 years may require working with physical deed books rather than a digital database.

What Calhoun County Property Records Show

Each parcel record in Calhoun County includes the standard elements required under Florida law: owner name and mailing address, property address (if assigned), parcel identification number, legal description, and assessed values for the current year. For rural counties, the legal description often describes land using metes and bounds or government survey coordinates rather than a plat reference, so it can be longer and more technical than a typical subdivision lot description.

Value data in the record shows the just value (market value as determined by the appraiser), the assessed value after any applicable cap or classification, and the taxable value after all exemptions are removed. For many Calhoun County parcels classified as timberland or agricultural land, the assessed value may be considerably lower than the just value because agricultural classification reduces the taxable base to reflect the land's productive use value rather than its potential market value.

Sales history shows recorded transactions with dates, prices, and deed type. In a county with low sales volume, each transaction carries significant weight in the appraiser's valuation analysis. Under Chapter 192, every parcel must be on the tax roll, so even parcels that have not sold in decades have a current record on file. Extra features, building data, and land use data fill out the rest of the record for improved properties.

Homestead Exemption in Calhoun County

Calhoun County homeowners who use their property as a permanent primary residence qualify for Florida's homestead exemption, which reduces taxable value by up to $50,000. The first $25,000 applies to all taxing authorities. The second $25,000 covers values between $50,000 and $75,000 and excludes school taxes.

Applications are filed at the property appraiser's office in Blountstown by March 1 of the tax year for which you want the exemption. Bring a Florida driver's license or ID card showing your address at the property, proof of ownership, and your Social Security number. For most Calhoun County homeowners, the in-person application process is the primary option since online filing may not be available through the county system.

Once you have the homestead exemption, Section 193.155 of the Florida Statutes applies the Save Our Homes cap. This limits how much your assessed value can go up each year to 3% or the rate of inflation, whichever is less. In a slow-moving market like Calhoun County, where home prices tend to be stable, this cap may not create as much of a gap as it does in faster markets. Still, it protects homeowners from sudden value spikes. If you move to another Florida home, portability lets you carry part of your accumulated benefit to the new property.

Other exemptions available through the Calhoun County Property Appraiser include those for seniors with limited income, veterans with service-connected disabilities, surviving spouses of veterans and first responders, and persons with total and permanent disabilities. Call the office at 850-674-4545 to find out which exemptions may apply to your situation and what documents are required.

Calhoun County Property Tax Process

Property taxes in Calhoun County follow Florida's statewide calendar. The property appraiser certifies the tax roll by August 1. TRIM notices go out in August, showing each property owner the proposed assessed value and the proposed millage rates from the county and other taxing authorities. The notices also list the dates of public budget hearings so owners can attend and comment.

If you think your assessed value is wrong, contact the property appraiser's office first. Many disputes can be resolved without a formal hearing. If not, you can file a petition with the Calhoun County Value Adjustment Board. The VAB is independent from the appraiser and holds hearings where you present your evidence. Petition deadlines are on your TRIM notice.

Tax bills come from the tax collector in November. Discounts run 4% in November, 3% in December, 2% in January, 1% in February. Full payment is due March 31. After April 1, unpaid taxes become delinquent and certificates are sold. The Florida Department of Revenue's taxpayer information page explains this process in detail and applies to Calhoun County property owners as it does to those in every other Florida county.

Official Records at the Calhoun County Clerk

The Calhoun County Clerk of Circuit Court is the custodian of all recorded instruments affecting real property in the county. This includes all types of deeds, mortgages, mortgage satisfactions, mechanic's liens, judgment liens, and lis pendens filings. Each document is assigned a recording number, indexed, and made available to the public under Florida's Chapter 119 open records requirements.

The clerk's indexing duties under Chapter 28 create a grantor-grantee index that forms the backbone of title research in the county. Anyone doing a title search for a Calhoun County property must trace the chain of ownership through these records to confirm there are no gaps, defects, or unresolved liens. For a rural county with lower transaction volume, the chain of title may be simpler than in an urban market, but it still requires careful review. Copies of recorded documents are available in person or by mail request from the clerk's office in Blountstown.

For a broader view of how the recording system fits into Florida's property law framework, the Florida Department of Revenue property page provides context that applies to Calhoun County and all other counties statewide.

Cities in Calhoun County

Calhoun County has no cities that meet the population threshold for a dedicated city page on this site. Blountstown is the county seat and the largest municipality. Altha is the only other incorporated town in the county.

Nearby Counties

Calhoun County is surrounded by other Panhandle counties. Each has its own property appraiser and official records system.