Penelope Cooper |
Register of Deeds
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The register of deeds is responsible for the custody and safekeeping of all books, records, maps, and papers kept or deposited in his or her office. The register of deeds must record all documents presented to him or her for recording.
Instruments are legal documents regarding land transactions that include Grantor, Grantee, Legal Description, and Acknowledgement with notarized signatures. There are three basic categories of instruments: Deeds, Mortgages, and Miscellaneous.
- Deed: An instrument that affects ownership of land. (A Form 521 Real Estate Transfer Statement must accompany all deeds)
- Mortgage: An instrument that records a party using land as collateral to borrow funds from another party, or an instrument that records a party paying off an existing loan, or an instrument that records the loan being assigned to another lender.
- Miscellaneous: Any instrument that does not fall into any of the above categories, but still affects land in some way.
Every instrument must be recorded in the order and at the time of delivery to the register of deeds. The originals are returned to the presenter when this office is finished with them. Most instruments filed in this office are public record, however, military discharge records are not, and are kept secure.
Documents presented to the register of deeds should comply with the statutory format guidelines. Each document must contain a blank space 3 inches by 8 ½ inches at the top of the first page, and a 1 inch margin on the sides and bottom. The name of the instrument and the submitter’s name and address should be printed directly below the 3 inch margin. The remaining pages must have a 1 inch margin all around. If the first page does not comply with the margin requirement, a cover page may be added to the front of the instrument.
The county charges a fee to record instruments as follows: $10.00 for the first page and $6.00 for each additional page (2-sided forms are considered 2 pages). These fees do not apply to UCC filings.
