What do I do if I cannot find my HOA's governing documents?

CC&Rs are recorded as public documents, so they can typically be obtained from the county recorder or clerk's office where the property is located, often searchable online. Bylaws are not recorded and are usually only available from the association itself — check with the previous board, a management company if one was ever used, or the association's own records.

HOA Governing Documents Explained

Q: What is the difference between CC&Rs and Bylaws?

CC&Rs (Covenants, Conditions & Restrictions) govern what homeowners can do with their property and are recorded against the land itself, binding every owner and future buyer. Bylaws govern how the association's board and membership operate internally — meetings, elections, officer roles — and are not recorded against the property.

Q: Can Rules and Regulations override the CC&Rs?

No. Rules and Regulations sit below the CC&Rs in authority and cannot contradict them. A board can adopt or amend rules on its own, without a membership vote, but only within whatever authority the CC&Rs already grant it — the rules can add detail or specificity, not override the higher document.

If you just joined a board and were handed a stack of PDFs with no explanation, start here. What each document actually does, how they relate to each other, and where to find yours if nobody can locate a copy.

Every HOA operates under a small stack of documents that, together, define what the association can require of homeowners and how the board itself is supposed to run. They are not interchangeable — each one has a different legal weight and a different process for changing it. Understanding the hierarchy matters, because it tells you what the board can decide on its own versus what requires a vote of the membership.

The hierarchy, from strongest to weakest

Declaration of Covenants, Conditions & Restrictions (CC&Rs) — the top of the stack.
Bylaws — governs the association's internal operations.
Rules & Regulations — board-adopted, must stay within what the CC&Rs and bylaws already allow.
Board resolutions / policies — the most specific and easiest to change, still bound by everything above.

A document lower on this list can never override one higher on the list. If your Rules & Regulations say something that contradicts the CC&Rs, the CC&Rs win.

CC&Rs — the actual rulebook

The Declaration of Covenants, Conditions & Restrictions is the primary legal document for the community. It is recorded with the county against the land itself, which means it binds every current owner and every future buyer automatically — you don't sign it when you buy the house, it simply applies because the property is subject to it.

CC&Rs typically cover: architectural standards, permitted and prohibited uses of the property, maintenance obligations, the association's authority to levy assessments and enforce violations, and — critically — the process required to amend the document itself (usually a supermajority vote of the membership, not just the board).

Because CC&Rs are recorded, they are public record. If your association doesn't have a copy on hand, your county recorder or clerk's office almost always has one on file, often searchable online by the property address or the original declarant's name.

Bylaws — how the board operates

Bylaws are a separate document governing the association's internal structure: how many board members there are, what officer positions exist and what each one does, how and when elections happen, quorum requirements for meetings, and how the bylaws themselves can be amended.

Unlike CC&Rs, bylaws are generally not recorded against the property — they're an internal corporate governance document (most HOAs are incorporated as nonprofit corporations), similar to what any nonprofit board would have. If your CC&Rs are hard to find via the county, your bylaws will likely be even harder — they typically only exist in the association's own records.

Rules & Regulations — the board's own additions

Rules & Regulations are usually the easiest document to work with, and the easiest to get wrong. Boards can typically adopt or amend rules on their own, without putting it to a membership vote — but only within whatever authority the CC&Rs already grant. A board cannot use a "rule" to create an entirely new restriction the CC&Rs never contemplated; it can only add detail and specificity to what's already there.

Common examples: specific parking restrictions, pool or amenity hours, trash collection logistics, or a detailed fine schedule. These are the kinds of things a board reasonably needs to adjust more often than a CC&R amendment vote would allow.

If your community has been amended over the years

Many older associations have one or more recorded amendments to their original CC&Rs — sometimes titled things like "First Amendment to Declaration." When this happens, the amendment and the original document need to be read together; the amendment only changes the specific sections it addresses. Keep a record of exactly which version of each document is currently in effect, and note the effective date — this matters if a violation or dispute ever hinges on which version of a rule applied at a given time.

Keeping your documents organized

Formtabulous lets your board catalog governing documents and the specific rule sections you actually enforce, with support for tracking amendments and which version supersedes which — so every violation notice cites the exact rule that was in effect at the time.

See how it works →

This article is general information about how HOA governing documents typically work and is not legal advice. The exact structure and terminology varies by state and by your association's specific documents.

Frequently asked questions

What is the difference between CC&Rs and Bylaws?

CC&Rs govern what homeowners can do with their property and are recorded against the land, binding every owner and future buyer. Bylaws govern how the association's board and membership operate internally and are not recorded against the property.

Can Rules and Regulations override the CC&Rs?

No. Rules sit below the CC&Rs in authority and cannot contradict them. A board can adopt rules on its own, but only within whatever authority the CC&Rs already grant it.

What if I can't find my HOA's governing documents?

CC&Rs are recorded public documents, typically available from the county recorder or clerk's office. Bylaws are not recorded and are usually only available from the association itself — check with a previous board or management company.