I own a home in Connecticut
Mill rates, property taxes, assessments, deeds, and exemptions.
CONNECTICUT GUIDE
Life in Connecticut comes
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From town clerks and mill rates to car tax bills, probate districts, winter storms, and starting a business, CountyOffices gives you clear Connecticut-specific guidance for the things that matter.
Reviewed against official Connecticut government sources • Updated as laws and requirements change
What brings you here today?
I own a home in Connecticut
Connecticut has no county government, so everything about owning a home here runs through your town: your town Assessor values the property, your Tax Collector bills and collects, and your Town Clerk records the deed. Property is assessed at 70% of its appraised value, and each town sets its own mill rate independently - for the 2025–26 fiscal year, rates ranged from about 10.85 mills in Washington to nearly 69 mills in Hartford, so two similarly priced homes in different towns can carry very different tax bills. Towns typically revalue property every five years. If you're 65 or older, or totally disabled, and meet income limits, the state's Circuit Breaker program can credit $150 to $1,250 off your tax bill - apply through your town Assessor between February 1 and May 15. If you disagree with your assessment, appeals go to your town's Board of Assessment Appeals, with strict local deadlines.
Sources: Connecticut Office of Policy and Management, town Assessor offices
I'm buying or selling property
Closings, title searches, town land records, and conveyance taxes.
I'm buying or selling property
Closings in Connecticut typically involve an attorney at the table, more so than in many states - Connecticut is one of the "attorney closing" states, where a real estate attorney generally conducts or reviews the closing itself. Deeds are recorded with the Town Clerk in the town where the property sits, not a county office, since Connecticut has none. Recording triggers Connecticut's conveyance tax, a combined state and municipal tax on the sale price, with the state portion using a tiered rate structure and towns able to add a local portion on top, so the exact rate varies somewhat by town. A title search through the Town Clerk's land records confirms there are no competing liens before closing. Once you buy, remember your new assessed value carries forward from the town's last revaluation cycle (typically every five years) rather than resetting immediately to your purchase price, unlike some states.
Sources: town Clerk offices, Connecticut Dept. of Revenue Services, Connecticut General Statutes Chapter 223
I own a shoreline home
Flood zones, coastal permits, insurance documents, and land records.
I own a shoreline home
Connecticut's Long Island Sound coastline brings flood zone and coastal permitting rules that inland towns don't deal with. If your property sits in a FEMA-designated flood zone, check with your town's building or zoning office before any renovation or addition, since coastal construction often requires elevation certificates and compliance with the town's flood damage prevention ordinance on top of standard building permits. Structural work below the flood elevation, seawalls, docks, and similar shoreline improvements typically also need review from the Connecticut Dept. of Energy and Environmental Protection under the state's coastal management program, in addition to any local permit. Winter nor'easters and coastal storms (roughly November through April) bring both flooding and erosion risk, so keep flood insurance current even if your mortgage doesn't strictly require it, and know your town's evacuation zone before a storm threatens. Deeds and any recorded easements affecting shoreline access are held by your Town Clerk, the same as any other Connecticut property.
Sources: Connecticut Dept. of Energy and Environmental Protection, FEMA, town building/zoning offices
Someone passed away
Probate districts, wills, estates, and filing steps.
Someone passed away
Probate in Connecticut runs through regional Probate Courts, not town or county courts - the state consolidated what had been 117 individual town-based probate districts down to 54 regional districts in 2011, and each district now serves a cluster of neighboring towns with its own elected probate judge. You file in the district covering the town where the deceased lived, not necessarily your own town if you're the one handling the estate. Connecticut offers a simplified process for small estates under a statutory value threshold, letting an affidavit procedure substitute for full probate administration. Property records for any real estate in the estate are held separately by the Town Clerk where the property is located, not the probate court. If the deceased was receiving the state's Circuit Breaker elderly tax credit, that credit doesn't transfer to heirs - whoever inherits and occupies the home would need to independently qualify and reapply.
Sources: Connecticut Probate Court, Connecticut General Statutes Title 45a
I'm getting married or divorced
Marriage licenses, divorce filing, name changes, and town vital records.
I'm getting married or divorced
Marriage licenses are issued by the Town Clerk in the town where the ceremony will take place - not necessarily where either of you lives - and both parties apply together with photo ID. There's no waiting period between applying and receiving the license, and once issued it's valid for 65 days, so plan your application within that window of your ceremony date. Divorce (legally "dissolution of marriage") is filed in Superior Court, and Connecticut requires at least one spouse to have lived in the state for 12 months before a final decree can be entered - you can file before hitting that mark, but the court won't finalize the divorce until the residency period is satisfied. There's also a standard 90-day waiting period from the case's "return date" before an uncontested divorce can be finalized. Connecticut allows both no-fault ("irretrievable breakdown") and fault-based grounds, and courts divide marital property under an equitable distribution standard rather than a straight 50/50 split.
Sources: town Clerk offices, Connecticut Judicial Branch, Connecticut General Statutes Section 46b-44
I'm caring for an aging parent
Senior services, tax relief programs, benefits, and estate planning information.
I'm caring for an aging parent
Connecticut's Circuit Breaker program offers meaningful property tax relief for homeowners 65 or older or totally disabled who meet income limits - a credit of up to $1,250 for married couples or $1,000 for single homeowners, applied directly to the tax bill by the town, with no repayment required. Apply through your parent's town Assessor between February 1 and May 15 each year; some towns also offer their own additional local senior relief programs on top of the state Circuit Breaker, so it's worth asking specifically what your parent's town provides beyond the state minimum. If your parent needs help managing finances or property, a durable power of attorney can avoid the need for court-supervised conservatorship in many situations; conservatorship itself, when necessary, goes through the regional Probate Court covering your parent's town. Area Agencies on Aging, coordinated through Connecticut's statewide Aging and Disability Resource Centers, connect families with local services like meal delivery and in-home care.
Sources: Connecticut Office of Policy and Management, town Assessor offices, Connecticut Dept. of Aging and Disability Services
I need an official record
Birth, death, marriage, court, property, and business records.
I need an official record
Birth, death, and marriage certificates in Connecticut are all held by the Town Clerk in the town where the event occurred - there's no county-level or single statewide office for these, though the state's Dept. of Public Health also maintains a central registry as backup. Property records - deeds, mortgages, liens - are recorded and searchable through the Town Clerk's land records, generally free to search in person with a fee for certified copies; online availability varies by town. Court records for civil, criminal, and family cases are held by the Superior Court Clerk in the judicial district where the case was filed, searchable in part through the state's online case lookup. Probate records - wills, estates, guardianships - are held separately by the regional Probate Court covering the relevant town, not the Superior Court. Business records are filed with the Connecticut Secretary of the State, searchable statewide.
Sources: town Clerk offices, Connecticut Dept. of Public Health, Connecticut Judicial Branch, Connecticut Secretary of the State
I'm starting or running a business
Licenses, permits, EIN, sales tax, and local requirements.
I'm starting or running a business
Registering a business in Connecticut starts with the Secretary of the State's business portal, where you file to form an LLC or corporation and register a trade name. From there, most businesses register with the Connecticut Dept. of Revenue Services for a sales and use tax permit if they'll sell taxable goods or services, and get an EIN from the IRS if they're not a sole proprietor with no employees. Since Connecticut has no county government, local business licensing runs entirely through your town - many towns require a local business license or zoning approval before you open, and requirements vary meaningfully from town to town given how much local land use authority each town retains. If you own tangible business personal property (equipment, furnishings, inventory), you'll need to file an annual personal property declaration with your town Assessor, which factors into your local property tax bill the same way real estate does.
Sources: Connecticut Secretary of the State, Connecticut Dept. of Revenue Services, town Assessor offices
How-To Guides for Connecticut
Connecticut Statewide Probate Guide
Read guide →How do I access court records?
Read guide →How do I appeal my property tax assessment?
Read guide →How do I find an inmate or search a jail roster?
Read guide →How do I find and access senior services?
Read guide →How do I get a business license?
Read guide →How do I get a copy of a birth certificate?
Read guide →How do I get a copy of a death certificate?
Read guide →How do I get a marriage license?
Read guide →How do I pay my property taxes?
Read guide →How do I register to vote or check my registration?
Read guide →How to Research Your Family History in Connecticut
Read guide →Open Records
Read guide →Connecticut works differently. Here's what to know.
No County Government
Connecticut abolished county governments decades ago; your town hall is where local business happens.
No County Government
Connecticut abolished county government entirely, phasing it out between 1958 and the early 1960s, and today it's one of just a couple states with no county-level government at all. There's no county courthouse, no county commissioners, no county sheriff running local jails - nearly everything that a county handles elsewhere in the country is handled by Connecticut's 169 individual towns instead. That means when you're looking for "the county" for anything - property records, tax bills, permits, vital records - the answer in Connecticut is almost always your town hall. This makes Connecticut unusually decentralized: town-to-town variation in tax rates, permitting rules, and local services is often sharper here than the county-to-county variation you'd see in most other states, simply because there's no intermediate layer of government smoothing things out.
Sources: Connecticut Office of Policy and Management, Connecticut General Statutes
Town Clerks Keep the Records
Deeds, vital records, and land records live with your town clerk, not a regional office.
Town Clerks Keep the Records
With no county government, Connecticut's Town Clerk is the record-keeping hub other states spread across a county Recorder, a county Clerk, and sometimes a separate vital records office. Your Town Clerk's office records deeds, mortgages, and liens for property in the town; issues marriage licenses and keeps birth, death, and marriage certificates for events that occurred there; and maintains historical land and vital records going back to the town's founding, in many cases centuries. Each of Connecticut's 169 towns maintains its own separate land records, so if you're researching a property or a family history that spans multiple towns, you'll need to check with each town individually rather than one regional archive. Most Town Clerk offices offer at least some online search now, but depth and searchability vary a lot by town, and older records especially may only be available in person.
Sources: town Clerk offices, Connecticut Town Clerks Association
Planning Regions, Not Counties
Nine regional councils of governments now stand in for counties in state and federal data.
Planning Regions, Not Counties
Connecticut still needs some way to report data and coordinate regional planning even without county government, which is where its nine Councils of Governments and their associated Planning Regions come in. These regions group neighboring towns together for federal data reporting (the Census Bureau formally adopted Connecticut's planning regions as county-equivalents in 2022), transportation planning, and some shared regional services, but they are not governments in the way a county is - they don't levy taxes, they don't run courts, and they have no authority over an individual town's zoning or budget decisions. If you see Connecticut data organized by "county" in a federal dataset today, it's almost certainly using these nine planning regions rather than the old county names, which is worth knowing since the borders don't perfectly match the historic counties Connecticut abolished decades ago.
Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, Connecticut Office of Policy and Management
Your Car Gets a Tax Bill
Towns tax vehicles as personal property, billed each year at the local mill rate.
Your Car Gets a Tax Bill
Connecticut taxes motor vehicles as personal property, billed annually by your town alongside your real estate tax - a genuine surprise to people moving from states where registration fees are the only ongoing vehicle cost. Vehicles are assessed at 70% of their average retail value, similar to how real estate is assessed, and taxed at your town's mill rate. The one statewide protection: motor vehicles can't be taxed at more than a capped rate (currently 32.46 mills) even if your town's real estate mill rate is much higher - so if your town's rate is 50 mills, your car is still only taxed at 32.46, with the state reimbursing the town for the difference. You can appeal the assessed value (specifically the MSRP figure used to calculate it) through your town's Board of Assessment Appeals if you think it's wrong. Miss a car tax payment and it can eventually block your vehicle registration renewal with the state DMV, so these bills aren't ones to let slide.
Sources: Connecticut Office of Policy and Management, Connecticut General Statutes Section 12-71e
Probate Runs by District
Estates go through regional probate courts that each serve a group of towns.
Probate Runs by District
Connecticut's Probate Courts don't align with towns, counties, or the nine planning regions - they run on their own separate map of 54 regional probate districts, each covering a cluster of neighboring towns and each with its own elected probate judge. This system dates to a 2011 consolidation that merged what had been 117 individual town-based probate districts (one per town, in many cases) down to the current 54. Probate Courts handle wills, estate administration, conservatorships, adoptions, and guardianship matters - you file in whichever district covers the town where the person lived, not necessarily your own town if you're settling someone else's estate. Because the consolidation is relatively recent, records for anything probated before 2011 may still be organized under the old, smaller town-based districts, which matters most for genealogical or historical research rather than a current estate.
Sources: Connecticut Probate Court, Connecticut General Statutes Title 45a
Mill Rates Vary by Town
Property tax rates differ town to town, sometimes dramatically.
Mill Rates Vary by Town
Because Connecticut has no county government and no statewide property tax rate, each of the state's 169 towns sets its own mill rate every year through its own budget process - and the spread is dramatic. For the 2025–26 fiscal year, rates ranged from about 10.85 mills in Washington to nearly 69 mills in Hartford, a more than six-to-one difference. Property is assessed at 70% of its appraised value statewide (that part is uniform), so the mill rate itself is what drives most of the variation in what similarly valued homes actually pay from town to town. Mill rates are based on a grand list from two years prior, and most towns revalue property roughly every five years, so a rate can shift meaningfully between revaluation cycles even without an official rate change. If you're comparing cost of living between two Connecticut towns, the mill rate - not just home prices - is essential to look at, since it can offset or amplify a lower purchase price significantly.
Sources: Connecticut Office of Policy and Management
The questions Connecticut residents actually ask
Connecticut county records as a traditional category do not exist because Connecticut abolished county government in 1960. The state's eight counties survive only as geographic designations with no governmental function. The equivalent of county-level public records are held by Connecticut's 169 town and city governments and by state agencies. Researchers expecting a county courthouse, county clerk, or county recorder will find none of those offices in Connecticut. The Town Clerk is the correct starting point for property records, vital records, voter registration, and marriage licenses.
Connecticut county records equivalents are distributed across 169 municipal websites and several state portals. Many Town Clerks provide online land record searching through municipal websites or through the Connecticut Secretary of State's land records portal. The Connecticut Judicial Branch provides online court case information. The Secretary of State's office provides free online business entity searching. Vital records require ordering from the individual Town Clerk or the Connecticut Department of Public Health. For records not available online, Connecticut's FOI Act provides a framework for written requests with a four-business-day response requirement for inspection.
Connecticut birth and death certificates are available from two sources. The Town Clerk in the town where the birth or death occurred holds the original local record and can provide certified copies quickly and at lower cost than the state. The Connecticut Department of Public Health, Vital Records Section in Hartford holds statewide records and can provide certified copies for events anywhere in the state. Birth records are restricted to the individual named, immediate family members, and legal representatives. Pre-1897 vital records are found in town registers and church records, with many collections held by the Connecticut State Library.
Connecticut county records for real property are held by the Town Clerk in the municipality where the property is located. Each of Connecticut's 169 town clerk offices maintains its own land records index covering deeds, mortgages, liens, and maps. Many municipalities provide online land record searching through their websites or through statewide platforms. Searching in person at the Town Clerk's office is generally free. Property tax assessment records are maintained separately by each municipality's Assessor, and tax collection records are held by the Tax Collector. There is no county-level property recording office anywhere in Connecticut.
The Connecticut Judicial Branch provides online access to case information through its public portal at jud.ct.gov. The portal covers Superior Court civil, criminal, family, and housing cases statewide. Case details include party names, charges, hearing dates, and dispositions. Actual case documents require contacting the Superior Court clerk in the relevant judicial district. Probate Court records, which are among the most sought-after Connecticut county records equivalents for estate research, are maintained by the Probate Court for each district and are not part of the Judicial Branch's Superior Court portal.
The Connecticut State Library in Hartford is the primary repository for historical Connecticut county records equivalents, holding microfilmed and digitized vital records, land records, probate records, and church registers from all 169 municipalities. The State Library's online catalog and digital collections are accessible remotely. FamilySearch has digitized significant portions of Connecticut town and probate records. Many towns also hold their own historical Connecticut county records going back to the 17th century, accessible through the Town Clerk's office. The New England Historic Genealogical Society in Boston holds additional Connecticut collections.
Connecticut's Freedom of Information Act at Connecticut General Statutes Section 1-200 et seq. provides public access to records held by all government agencies including town and city offices. Submit a written or oral request to the records custodian at the relevant municipal agency. The agency must permit inspection within four business days. No reason for the request is required. If a request is denied, the requester can file a complaint with the Freedom of Information Commission at no cost. The FOI Commission issues binding decisions and can order disclosure of improperly withheld Connecticut county records equivalents held by any town or state agency.
The Town Clerk is Connecticut's most records-diverse local government officer. Connecticut county records equivalents held by the Town Clerk include land records dating from the town's founding (deeds, mortgages, liens, and surveys), birth and death certificates for events in the town, marriage licenses and certificates, voter registration rolls, absentee ballot records, town meeting minutes, and certain municipal ordinances. In many towns the land records span several centuries, providing one of the longest continuous property records in the country. The Town Clerk does not maintain court case records, which are held by the Connecticut Judicial Branch.
Marriage licenses in Connecticut are issued by the Town Clerk in the town where the couple applies, which may or may not be the town where the ceremony takes place. The Town Clerk maintains marriage records locally, and certified copies can be obtained directly from the town office. The Connecticut Department of Public Health holds statewide marriage records from 1897 onward. Historical marriage records before 1897 are found in town registers and church records, with many collections held by the Connecticut State Library and indexed on FamilySearch. Early Connecticut marriage records can extend back to the 1630s in the oldest towns.
Connecticut criminal history records are maintained by the Connecticut State Police, Bureau of Identification. The public can request a criminal background check through the State Police online portal for a fee. Individual case-level court information within Connecticut county records equivalents is accessible through the Connecticut Judicial Branch public portal, which shows Superior Court case details statewide. For certified criminal history information, a formal State Police request with identifying information and applicable fees is required. Some Connecticut records may be erased under Connecticut's erasure statutes, which seal certain criminal records after a period of time.
Many Connecticut town land records are available free online through municipal websites or the Connecticut Secretary of State's land records portal. Coverage and depth vary significantly by municipality: some towns have digitized Connecticut county records equivalents going back decades, while others provide only recent documents online. Searching in person at the Town Clerk's office is generally free. The Connecticut State Library provides free in-person access to its microfilmed town record collections. FamilySearch provides free online access to digitized Connecticut county records equivalents for land and vital records from many municipalities.
Connecticut's Probate Court system is organized into regional districts, each covering multiple towns, that do not align with the eight historic county boundaries. Estate files, will admissions, guardianship orders, and conservatorship matters are filed with the Probate Court for the district covering the town where the decedent or ward resided. Because Connecticut has reorganized its probate districts multiple times, the district that holds historical Connecticut county records for probate matters may differ from the current district serving the same towns. The Connecticut Probate Court website provides a current district finder and historical district information for researchers tracing older estate records.
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Important Deadlines in Connecticut
Connecticut runs its property tax calendar off a uniform October 1 assessment date (the "Grand List"), with your actual tax bill due the following July 1 - most towns split this into two installments (July 1 and January 1), though a handful of municipalities collect the full amount in one July payment.
Important Deadlines in Connecticut
Connecticut runs its property tax calendar off a uniform October 1 assessment date (the "Grand List"), with your actual tax bill due the following July 1 - most towns split this into two installments (July 1 and January 1), though a handful of municipalities collect the full amount in one July payment. If you disagree with your assessment, file with your town's Board of Assessment Appeals by February 20 (some towns extend this to March 20 in revaluation years) - a genuinely firm deadline, since applications must be received, not merely postmarked, by that date. Personal property declarations (for businesses) are due to the Assessor by November 1, with a real 25% penalty for missing it. If you're 65+ and income-qualified, the Elderly & Disabled Homeowners tax credit program has its own filing window, February 1 through May 15 - a genuinely valuable, often underused benefit worth checking even if you assume you don't qualify. Veterans have their own deadlines too: honorable discharge documentation is due to the Town Clerk by September 30, and disabled veterans must submit proof of their VA disability rating by March 31. Because your vehicle is taxed as personal property in Connecticut, unpaid car tax can actually block DMV registration renewal until a tax clearance is obtained.
Sources: Connecticut Office of Policy and Management, town Assessor and Tax Collector offices, Connecticut General Statutes §12-111
Assessment Appeals in Connecticut
If you believe your property is overvalued, the deadline to file with your town's Board of Assessment Appeals (BAA) is February 20 for most municipalities - though towns finalizing a revaluation later sometimes extend this to March 20, so confirm your specific town's actual deadline with the Assessor's office rather than assuming the standard date applies.
Assessment Appeals in Connecticut
If you believe your property is overvalued, the deadline to file with your town's Board of Assessment Appeals (BAA) is February 20 for most municipalities - though towns finalizing a revaluation later sometimes extend this to March 20, so confirm your specific town's actual deadline with the Assessor's office rather than assuming the standard date applies. Applications must be received by the town by the deadline, not merely postmarked, so don't wait until the last day to mail yours in. Connecticut assesses all property at 70% of fair market value, and your appeal is fundamentally about whether that assessed figure accurately reflects your property's true value - bring comparable sales, an independent appraisal, or documentation of a factual error (incorrect acreage, square footage, or property characteristics) to support your case. The BAA notifies you of your hearing date by March 1 (or April 1 in extended-deadline towns) and holds hearings during March. For commercial, industrial, utility, or apartment property assessed above $1 million, the BAA can decline a hearing entirely, sending the matter directly to Connecticut Superior Court instead. If you're not satisfied with the BAA's decision, court appeal remains available, though you generally can't go straight to court without first exhausting the BAA process. Motor vehicle assessments get their own separate BAA hearing window in September.
Read the full property tax appeal guide →
Sources: Connecticut Office of Policy and Management, town Board of Assessment Appeals and Assessor offices, Connecticut General Statutes §12-111
Public Records Access in Connecticut
The Connecticut Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) presumes that records held by state and local government agencies are open to public inspection, and like most states' open-records laws, you generally don't need to explain your reason for a request or demonstrate a personal interest in the records.
Public Records Access in Connecticut
The Connecticut Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) presumes that records held by state and local government agencies are open to public inspection, and like most states' open-records laws, you generally don't need to explain your reason for a request or demonstrate a personal interest in the records. Agencies must respond within a reasonable time and cite a specific statutory exemption if a request is denied - common exemptions include certain law enforcement records, personnel and medical information, and other categories the legislature has specifically carved out. Because Connecticut abolished county government decades ago, virtually all local records here are held at the town level rather than a county office: deeds, mortgages, liens, and other land records are recorded and searchable through your specific Town Clerk, the same office handling vital records (birth, death, marriage certificates) for events in that town. Probate records are held by your regional Probate District, since Connecticut probate runs by district rather than by town or the old county lines. Court records for civil and criminal matters come from Connecticut's Judicial Branch, organized statewide rather than by county. Business entity records are filed with the Connecticut Secretary of the State, searchable statewide. If a FOIA request is denied, you can appeal to the Connecticut Freedom of Information Commission, a dedicated state body that reviews access disputes.
Read the full open records guide →
Sources: Connecticut Freedom of Information Commission, Connecticut General Statutes §1-200 et seq., town Clerk offices
Storm & Winter Help in Connecticut
Connecticut's winter and coastal storm season genuinely runs November through April, bringing real risk from nor'easters, heavy snow, ice storms, and coastal flooding along Long Island Sound.
Storm & Winter Help in Connecticut
Connecticut's winter and coastal storm season genuinely runs November through April, bringing real risk from nor'easters, heavy snow, ice storms, and coastal flooding along Long Island Sound. Know your town's snow emergency rules before winter arrives - many Connecticut towns declare parking bans during significant snowfall, and towing a vehicle left on a banned street is a real, immediate consequence, not just a theoretical one. Coastal towns face genuine flood risk during nor'easters and hurricane remnants, so if you're in a shoreline community, understand your specific flood zone and any local coastal permitting requirements before storm season, not during an active event. Heating assistance is a real, practical concern for many Connecticut households in winter - the state's Connecticut Energy Assistance Program (CEAP) helps income-eligible households with heating costs, administered through local Community Action Agencies. After a storm causes damage, your town Assessor can adjust your property's valuation, and if a federal disaster is declared, FEMA assistance becomes available for individuals and municipalities. Insurance claims should be filed promptly with documentation (photos, a written inventory). Building permits for storm repairs go through your specific town's building department, since Connecticut has no county-level permitting to fall back on.
Sources: Connecticut Dept. of Emergency Services and Public Protection, Connecticut Energy Assistance Program, FEMA, town Emergency Management and Assessor offices
New to Connecticut?
As a new Connecticut resident, check with the Connecticut DMV for the current specific window to transfer your out-of-state driver's license and register your vehicle - Connecticut expects new residents to complete both within a set period after establishing residency, and remember your vehicle will be taxed as personal property by your town, separate from the registration itself.
New to Connecticut?
As a new Connecticut resident, check with the Connecticut DMV for the current specific window to transfer your out-of-state driver's license and register your vehicle - Connecticut expects new residents to complete both within a set period after establishing residency, and remember your vehicle will be taxed as personal property by your town, separate from the registration itself. If you've purchased a home, understand that Connecticut assesses all property at 70% of fair market value as of a uniform October 1 date each year (the "Grand List"), with your actual tax bill arriving the following July - mill rates (the tax rate per $1,000 of assessed value) vary significantly town to town, so don't assume your new town's rate matches wherever you moved from. Register to vote through your Town Clerk or the Secretary of the State's online system. Since Connecticut has no county government, your town hall is genuinely your first stop for nearly everything local - deeds, vital records, tax questions, permits. If you're 65 or older, ask about the Elderly & Disabled Homeowners tax credit program, filed February 1 through May 15 each year through your town Assessor. Probate matters, if they arise, go through your regional Probate District rather than a town or county office.
Sources: Connecticut DMV, Connecticut Office of Policy and Management, town Clerk and Assessor offices, Connecticut Secretary of the State
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Sources and References
- Connecticut Freedom of Information Act, Connecticut General Statutes Section 1-200 et seq.
- Connecticut State Library: ctstatelibrary.org
- Connecticut Department of Public Health, Vital Records: portal.ct.gov/DPH/Vital-Records
- Connecticut Judicial Branch: jud.ct.gov
- Connecticut Secretary of State, Business Services: portal.ct.gov/SOTS
- Connecticut Freedom of Information Commission: portal.ct.gov/FOI
- Connecticut Probate Court: ctprobate.gov
9PLANNING REGIONS COVEREDAcross Connecticut
3.6M+RESIDENTS REPRESENTEDConnecticut population covered
1,000+TOPICS & GUIDESAnswers for real life
VerifiedSOURCED TO OFFICIAL RESOURCESEvery guide links to primary government sources