How do I find my HOA's CC&Rs, bylaws, and rules?
Reviewed by the OurHOA team · Updated June 2026
How to find your HOA's CC&Rs, bylaws, and rules: your closing and resale packet, the county recorder's office, the board or management company, and what to request in writing.
The short answer
Your governing documents are public-ish records, and you have several reliable ways to get them. The CC&Rs - the recorded declaration that binds every lot - are filed in your county's real property records and can be pulled from the county recorder, so even a community with a disorganized board can't keep them from you. The bylaws and the day-to-day rules are usually held by the board or the management company and are something you have a statutory right to inspect in most states. If you bought recently, you likely already received the full set in your closing or resale package. The trick is knowing that 'the documents' aren't one file - they're a stack with a hierarchy - and knowing where each piece actually lives.
Start with your closing or resale package
The fastest source is paperwork you may already have. In most states a seller (or the association) must give a buyer a resale or disclosure package before or at closing, and that package is required to include the CC&Rs, bylaws, current rules, the budget, and recent meeting minutes - we cover exactly what's in it in our guide on the HOA resale disclosure package. Dig through your closing binder, your title company's portal, or the email from your escrow officer before you do anything else; the complete set is often sitting there. If you're a prospective buyer rather than an owner, requesting this package is the single best way to read the rules before you're bound by them.
The county recorder's office
The CC&Rs (and any recorded amendments and plat) are recorded land records, which means they're filed with the county recorder, clerk, or register of deeds where the property sits - the same office that holds your deed. Many counties now have an online search where you can pull the declaration by the subdivision name, the developer's name, or your parcel/recording number; others require an in-person or mailed request and a small per-page copy fee. Because recording is what makes these covenants 'run with the land' and bind future owners, the recorder's copy is the authoritative version of the CC&Rs. Note that bylaws and operating rules are usually not recorded - the recorder typically has the declaration and amendments, not the internal rulebook - so the county is the place for the CC&Rs specifically.
The board, management company, or community portal
For the pieces the county won't have - the current bylaws, the adopted rules and regulations, fine schedules, architectural guidelines, the budget, and minutes - go to whoever runs the association. That's the board secretary in a self-managed community or the management company where one is hired (their role is covered in our guide on what an HOA management company does). Many associations now post the full document set on a homeowner web portal, which is the easiest access of all. If you don't know who manages your HOA or can't find a contact, some states maintain a public filing that lists exactly that - a topic we cover in our guide on the HOA management certificate.
Your right to request and inspect them
If informal channels stall, most states give owners an enforceable right to inspect and copy the association's records, including the governing documents, on written request within a set timeframe - we walk through that process, the response clocks, and the narrow exemptions in our guide on how to request HOA records. Put the request in writing, list the specific documents you want (declaration and all amendments, bylaws, current rules, fine schedule, current budget), and keep a copy. A board that ignores a proper records request is usually violating state law, and the written paper trail is what you'd need to enforce the right.
Read them in the right order - and the board's side
Once you have the stack, read it as a hierarchy, because conflicts between documents are resolved by rank: the recorded CC&Rs generally outrank the bylaws, and both outrank board-adopted rules - the framework we lay out in our guide on CC&Rs vs. bylaws vs. rules. Confirm you're looking at the current version including every amendment, since an outdated declaration can be badly misleading. For boards, the easiest way to prevent records disputes (and the suspicion that something's being hidden) is simply to keep the full, current document set in one place owners can reach. OurHOA helps small self-managed communities keep their CC&Rs, bylaws, rules, and budgets organized and accessible in one place, so an owner or buyer who asks 'where are the rules?' gets a straight answer instead of a runaround.
OurHOA is the friendly, affordable way self-managed communities keep dues, records, and reminders in one place. See how it works.
These guides are general education for HOA boards and residents, not legal, tax, or financial advice. Rules vary by state and by your community's governing documents - check with a professional for your situation.