Sign up for Property Watch
Sign up to receive email alerts that will notify you of changes to your property ownership in an effort to guard against unusual activity and potential fraud. To learn more about Property Watch, take a look at our FAQ section below.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Property Watch?
Property Watch is a free automated text and email monitoring service designed to alert property owners of any changes made in our system such as a change in ownership, address, and/or exemption status to prevent fraudulent activity
Why should I sign up for Property Watch?
Property fraud is a very serious issue. Criminals can record fraudulent deeds transferring ownership and then try to mortgage, sell, or rent your property. Property Watch helps stop such unlawful acts by notifying you if there is a change of ownership on your property. Property Watch also serves as an early warning and transparency that something has changed with your property. As stated above on this page we are alerting on exemptions, owner name, owner mailing address, agriculture classification changes, exemption changes, and splits/combines of property. These changes may happen for many reasons such as you are initiating the change or the event of rare errors that could be recorded by any agency involved in the entire transaction of transferring titles, exemptions changes and much more.
What is home title fraud and how can Property Watch help me guard my property against it?
Home title fraud describes the act of a scammer changing the ownership of your property in a fraudulent way such as forging your name on a deed. Historically, property owners check the Property Appraiser’s website as well as updated documents from the Clerk of Court to verify they have not been a victim of home title fraud. With Property Watch, owners no longer need to parse through documents, instead, they will receive email alerts in the event a change is detected by our office.
How do you sign up for Property Watch?
To sign up, you will need be positively identified as the owner of the property you are requesting to receive alerts on by providing your Driver’s License, or ID Card, and date of birth. Non-Florida Driver’s License will also require a photo of your ID. You will also need your Parcel ID Number (Format 00000-000-000) which can be found on our website here. You can also search for a Tangible Personal Property Account for businesses (Format 000000) by using that account number that you can find here.
Who is eligible to sign up for Property Watch?
The Alachua County Property Appraiser’s Office provides this service to property owners in Alachua County at no cost. Our systems work seamlessly with Florida ID records. Anyone with a non-Florida ID will need to submit a photo of their ID. Each person who signs up must have a valid email address to receive the alerts. Once signed up, you will receive a confirmation email. If you do not receive this confirmation email, check your spam folder or re-sign up and make sure you have your correct email address in the correct field. If you DO NOT have a valid email address, you will NOT be signed up for Property Watch.
Have questions or need assistance?
If you need help signing up for Property Watch, please email us at acpa@acpafl.org or call our office at 352-374-5230.
Terms and Conditions
The Alachua County Property Appraiser’s Office (ACPA) makes every effort to produce and publish the most accurate and current information available. The information is maintained for tax roll purposes only and may not be appropriate for other uses. Our office does not guarantee or make any representation regarding the information contained herein. ACPA makes no representation regarding the completeness, accuracy, or timeliness of any information and data posted on our website or that such information and data will be error-free. In the event that the information on ACPA’s official printed documents differ from the information provided by this service, the information on such printed documents shall control and take precedence. This service is not a substitute for a title search.
Ownership records are changed based on deeds, court orders and vital records recorded with the Alachua County Records Division (Clerk of Court’s Office). ACPA has no legal authority to determine whether a deed is fraudulent. If you believe a deed recorded on your property is fraudulent, you should notify law enforcement and then notify ACPA. ACPA has no legal authority to determine who has the better title to property if the public records conflict as to ownership. Although we believe the information shown through Property Watch is the most accurate information we have, we are furnishing you this information without warranty, express or implied, of merchantability, fitness, fitness for any particular purpose, or accuracy as this is simply a free service to advise when an owner name, mailing address, exemption, combine/splits or agriculture classification ever changes from what those statuses were when you signed up for Property Watch. If information requested on the sign-up form is not completed accurately for each question, you are not listed as an owner, or you DO NOT have an active valid email address, then your request will be denied and you cannot be enrolled in the Property Watch program.