Every time you buy or sell a home, your name, address, and transaction details become part of the public record. County assessors, recorders, and tax offices are legally required to maintain these records and, in most cases, make them searchable online. While you cannot fully erase your information from government property files, there are real steps you can take to minimize your exposure and keep your personal details out of easy reach.
Why Property Records Are Public
Property ownership is public record by law in every U.S. state. This transparency exists to protect buyers, lenders, and the public interest — it ensures that anyone can verify who owns a given parcel of land, confirm there are no competing claims, and review the history of a property before purchasing it. County assessors and recorders are the custodians of this information, and they are generally required to provide access upon request.
That said, "public record" does not have to mean "easy to find on Google." There is a meaningful difference between information that exists in a government filing cabinet and information that appears on the first page of a search for your name. Much of the privacy risk comes not from the records themselves, but from how widely they are distributed online.
What Counties Can Do to Help
While the underlying records remain public, a growing number of counties offer programs that reduce how visible your name is in their online search tools.
Online Display Suppression
Some counties allow property owners to request that their personal name be removed from the county's online searchable records. Instead of displaying your full legal name, the listing will show a generic label like "Current Owner." Counties that have offered versions of this include:
- Harris County, Texas — allows name suppression from their online property search portal
- St. Louis County, Missouri — offers options to replace the owner's name with a generic designation in online results
The records themselves are not altered — anyone who visits the county office in person or files a formal records request can still access the full information. But suppressing the online display prevents casual searches from revealing your name and address.
Dedicated Privacy Programs
A few counties have gone further by creating formal privacy programs. Pinellas County, Florida, for example, offers a "Protect My Name from Public Record Release" program that allows qualifying individuals to request that their name be withheld from public-facing record releases. Eligibility and scope vary, so it is worth contacting your county recorder or clerk directly to ask what options they provide.
Contact Your County Assessor
Procedures vary widely from one jurisdiction to another. The best first step is always to contact your county assessor's or recorder's office directly. Ask specifically whether they offer any name suppression, redaction, or privacy protection for online property records. Some counties have informal processes that are not advertised on their websites.
State-Level Protections
Several states have enacted laws that restrict access to property records for specific groups of people who face elevated safety risks. These protections commonly apply to:
- Law enforcement officers and their families
- Judges and prosecutors
- Domestic violence survivors with active protective orders
- Victims of stalking or harassment
Address Confidentiality Programs
Many states operate Address Confidentiality Programs (ACPs) that provide a substitute mailing address — typically a state-managed PO Box — for use on public records. Washington state was a pioneer in this area, passing the first ACP law in 1991. Today, most states offer some version of an ACP, primarily for survivors of domestic violence, sexual assault, stalking, and trafficking.
If you qualify for your state's ACP, the substitute address can be used on property records, voter registration, and other government filings, effectively preventing your real home address from appearing in public databases.
Eligibility Is Often Limited
State-level protections and ACPs are typically reserved for individuals who can demonstrate a credible safety threat. If you do not qualify for a formal program, the ownership restructuring and data broker removal strategies described below may be more practical options.
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One of the most effective long-term strategies for keeping your name off property records is to hold title through an entity rather than in your personal name. Common approaches include:
Land Trusts
A land trust allows you to transfer property ownership to a trust, with a trustee (often an attorney or title company) listed on the public deed instead of your name. The trust agreement, which names you as the beneficiary, is a private document and does not appear in public records. Land trusts are recognized in most states, though the rules vary.
Limited Liability Companies
Purchasing or transferring property to an LLC separates your personal name from the deed. The LLC is listed as the owner on all public records. For maximum privacy, form the LLC in a state that does not require public disclosure of member names, such as Wyoming, Delaware, or New Mexico.
Revocable Living Trusts
A revocable living trust can hold property with the trust name — not your personal name — appearing on the deed. Unlike a land trust, a revocable living trust also provides estate planning benefits. The trust document itself is private and not filed with the county.
Before restructuring ownership, consult with a real estate attorney. Transferring property to an entity can have implications for your mortgage, homestead exemption, property taxes, and insurance coverage.
Remove Your Data From Brokers Who Scrape Property Records
Even if you successfully suppress your name from a county's online portal, the damage may already be done. Data brokers and aggregators like PropertyShark, CoreLogic, Zillow, and dozens of people-search sites routinely scrape county property records and incorporate them into their own databases. Once your ownership information is in their systems, it remains there regardless of what the county does with its own website.
This is where the problem becomes much larger than a single county office. Your property data may be spread across:
- Property-specific data brokers (PropertyShark, CoreLogic, ATTOM Data)
- People-search sites (Whitepages, Spokeo, BeenVerified, Radaris)
- Real estate platforms (Zillow, Redfin, Realtor.com)
- Public records aggregators (Intelius, TruePeopleSearch)
Each of these has its own opt-out process, and many will re-add your data when they refresh their databases from public sources. PrivacyOn monitors over 100 data broker sites — including property data aggregators — and automatically submits removal requests whenever your information is found. When brokers re-scrape county records and your data reappears, PrivacyOn catches it and removes it again.
Additional Steps to Protect Your Property Privacy
- Enable WHOIS privacy on domain names: If you own any website domain names, make sure WHOIS privacy protection is enabled so your home address does not appear in domain registration records
- Use a PO Box or virtual mailbox: For any future registrations, filings, or online accounts, use an alternative address rather than your home address
- Monitor your exposure: Periodically search for your name combined with your address on Google and major people-search sites to identify new exposures
- File Google removal requests: If your property details appear prominently in Google search results, use Google's personal information removal tool to request de-indexing
Ongoing Protection Matters
Property records are continuously updated and re-scraped by data brokers. A one-time removal is rarely enough. PrivacyOn's continuous monitoring ensures that when your data resurfaces — on property sites, people-search engines, or anywhere else across 100+ brokers — it is removed again automatically, starting at $8.33 per month.