Recorder of deeds or deeds registry is a government office tasked with maintaining public records and documents, especially records relating to real estate ownership that provide persons other than the owner of a property with real rights over that property.

Background

The offices with similar duties (varying by

jurisdiction Jurisdiction (from Latin 'law' and 'speech' or 'declaration') is the legal term for the legal authority granted to a legal entity to enact justice. In federations like the United States, the concept of jurisdiction applies at multiple level ...

) include registrar general, register of deeds, registrar of deeds, registrar of titles. The office of such an official may be referred to as the deeds registry or deeds office. In the United States, the recorder of deeds is often an elected county office and is called the county recorder. In some U.S. states, the functions of a recorder of deeds are a responsibility of the county clerk (or the county's clerk of court), and the official may be called a clerk-recorder or recorder-clerk. The recorder of deeds provides a single location in which records of real property rights are recorded and may be researched by interested parties. The record of deeds often maintains documents regularly recorded by the recorder of deeds, including deeds, mortgages, mechanic's liens, releases and

plat In the United States, a plat ( or ) (plan) is a cadastral map, drawn to scale, showing the divisions of a piece of land. United States General Land Office surveyors drafted township plats of Public Lands Survey System, Public Lands Surveys to ...

s, among others. To allow full access to deeds recorded throughout the office history, several indexes may be maintained, which include grantor–grantee indexes, tract indexes, and plat maps. Storage methods to record registry entries include paper, microform, and computer. The principles of statutory, case, and

common law Common law (also known as judicial precedent, judge-made law, or case law) is the body of law primarily developed through judicial decisions rather than statutes. Although common law may incorporate certain statutes, it is largely based on prece ...

are given effect by the recorder of deeds, insofar as it relates to vested ownership in land and other real rights. Because estate in land can be held in so many complex ways, a single deeds registry provides some clarity, even though it cannot "guarantee" those real property rights. The legal certainty provided by a title deed issued under the registration of the recorder of deeds is of great significance to all parties who hold, or wish to acquire rights in real property. Certainty of title is the basis for the investment of massive amounts of money in real estate development for residential, commercial, industrial and agricultural use each year. This is why the meticulous recording of registration information by the recorder of deeds is so important. Each document recorded against title to real estate can be examined and the portion of the bundle of rights that it includes can be determined. These records can assist interested parties in researching the history of land and the chain of title for any property and purpose.

Philippines: Registry of Deeds

The Registry of Deeds exists in almost all cities and municipalities in the Philippines and it has a primary duty of registering and keeping all documents pertaining to transfer of real property and issuance of certificates of land title, whether original, transfer or condominium as well as chattel mortgage papers. The said agency is under the supervision of the Land Registration Authority, Department of Justice.

South Africa: Deeds Registry

The South African system of deeds registry is unique in that it is associated with tenure security. When conveyancers transfer title, they are expected to follow rigid procedures which involve ensuring the title and the property comply with all the relevant legislation and regulations, leading to a high degree of certainty and accuracy. Recent concerns about the standard of legal education in South Africa, however, has raised concerns about whether this is still the case. The South African Registrar of Deeds is responsible for the national system of deeds offices which, through a juristic foundation and long-standing practices and procedures, has the effect of “guaranteeing” title. The Deeds Registries Act and Sectional Titles Act are applied to regulate the deeds registry system, and form the foundation of land registration in South Africa.

United States: Recorders of Deeds

In the U.S., most recorders of deeds are elected officials who serve the area of a county or equivalent jurisdiction. In some states, the recorder of deeds may also act as a public posting place for documents that are not directly related to estates in land, such as corporate

charter A charter is the grant of authority or rights, stating that the granter formally recognizes the prerogative of the recipient to exercise the rights specified. It is implicit that the granter retains superiority (or sovereignty), and that the ...

s, military discharges, Uniform Commercial Code records, applications for marriage licenses, and judgments. Deeds in a few states of the U.S. are maintained under the Torrens title system or some limited implementation of it. (For example:

Minnesota Minnesota ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Upper Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Manitoba and Ontario to the north and east and by the U.S. states of Wisconsin to the east, Iowa to the so ...

, some property in

Massachusetts Massachusetts ( ; ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Maine to its east, Connecticut and Rhode ...

Colorado Colorado is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States. It is one of the Mountain states, sharing the Four Corners region with Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah. It is also bordered by Wyoming to the north, Nebraska to the northeast, Kansas ...

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; ) is an island U.S. state, state of the United States, in the Pacific Ocean about southwest of the U.S. mainland. One of the two Non-contiguous United States, non-contiguous U.S. states (along with Alaska), it is the only sta ...

, New York,

North Carolina North Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, South Carolina to the south, Georgia (U.S. stat ...

Ohio Ohio ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Erie to the north, Pennsylvania to the east, West Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Indiana to the ...

, and Washington.) Other U.S. states maintain their deeds under the

system of record title. Typically, they are filed in chronological order with a grantor/grantee index.

Recorders/registers of deeds who became prominent in politics

District of Columbia

* Simon Wolf: Recorder of Deeds for the

District of Columbia Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and Federal district of the United States, federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from ...

, 1869–1878 * George A. Sheridan: Recorder of Deeds for the District of Columbia, May 1878 - May 1881 * Frederick Douglass: Recorder of Deeds for the District of Columbia, May 1881 – August 1886White Folks, like Colored Folks, Have Their Troubles : Officers in the Twentieth Are Jealous of Funston. Plaindealer (Topeka, Kansas). Friday, October 27, 1899. Volume: I. Issue: 43 Page: 1. Piece: One of Four * James Campbell Matthews: Recorder of Deeds for the District of Columbia, August 1886 – March 1887 * James M. Trotter: Recorder of Deeds for the District of Columbia, March 1887 – February 1890 * Blanche Kelso Bruce: Recorder of Deeds for the District of Columbia, February 1890–1893 * C. H. J. Taylor: Recorder of Deeds for the District of Columbia, 1894–1896 * Henry Plummer Cheatham: Recorder of Deeds for the District of Columbia, 1897–1901 * John C. Dancy: Recorder of Deeds for the District of Columbia, 1901–1910 * Henry Lincoln Johnson: Recorder of Deeds for the District of Columbia, 1910 - 1913 *John F. Costello: Recorder of Deeds for the District of Columbia, June 1916 - 1921 * Arthur G. Froe: Recorder of Deeds for the District of Columbia, 1922 - September 1930 *Jefferson S. Coage: Recorder of Deeds for the District of Columbia, October 1930 - February 1934 * William J. Thompkins: Recorder of Deeds for the District of Columbia, March 1934 – 1944 * Marshall L. Shepard: Recorder of Deeds for the District of Columbia, 1944 – 1951 *Vacant as Senate took no action on President Truman's nomination of Earl Wayne Beck, 1951 - June 1952 *President Truman signs S. 2871 which became Public Law 379, 82d Congress (66 Stat. 129), June 1952. Commissioners of DC to fill the job as a civil service position. Recorder of Deeds for DC must be a DC resident for at least 5 years immediately before their appointment.

Elsewhere in the US

* Joseph Montgomery: Recorder of Deeds and Register of Wills, Dauphin County, Pennsylvania, 1785–94 * Samuel P. Morrill: Register of Deeds for Franklin County, Maine, 1857–67 * Hugh McLaughlin (politician), Register of Deeds for Kings County, New York, for three consecutive terms from 1861 * Charles E. Townsend: Register of Deeds for Jackson County, Michigan, 1886–97 * William S. Vare: Recorder of Deeds for

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

, 1902–12 * Edward Boland: Register of Deeds for Hampden County, Massachusetts, 1941–52 * Carol Moseley Braun: Recorder of Deeds for

Cook County, Illinois Cook County is the List of counties in Illinois, most populous county in the U.S. state of Illinois and the List of the most populous counties in the United States, second-most-populous county in the United States, after Los Angeles County, C ...

, 1988–92 * Jesse White: Recorder of Deeds for

, 1993–99 * Ryan Costello: Recorder of Deeds for Chester County, Pennsylvania, 2008–11 * Zach Payne: Recorder of Deeds for Clark County, Indiana, 2015–18

Spain

* Mariano Rajoy: Recorder of Deeds first for Padrón, then for Villafranca del Bierzo, and lately for Santa Pola,

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

; from 1979 until the present

References

External links

Recording process:
Illinois Mechanics LiensLandaccess Records Search for Illinois, Michigan, Missouri, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania and South Carolina
Directory:

Recorders of Deeds by State & County
Organizations:
Property Records Industry Association (PRIA)Kansas Register of Deeds AssociationNorth Carolina Association of Registers of DeedsWisconsin Register of Deeds AssociationOhio Recorders' Association, OH
Specific offices:
Cook County, ILColumbus County, NCGuilford County, NCHall County, NEAnderson County, TN
(first with online document viewing, 3/24/97)
Shelby County, TNWilson County, TNJohnston County, NC
(first electronic recording of a land record via eNotary under the newly approved North Carolina ERC rules)
Delaware County, OH
Commercial Online Providers:
TapestryUSLandRecords Real Property Official Records SearchTitleSearcher.com
Software and Service Providers:
Fidlar TechnologiesArcaSearch - Digitization of Historic Documents and Records
South Africa:
DeedsWeb
is the Department of Land Affairs' official website for the supply of deeds registration information. *This report gives an overview of the foundations, performance, and goals o

Ukraine:
All land and houses Records are at Ministry of Justice of Ukraine
{{DEFAULTSORT:Recorder Of Deeds County officers in the United States Government occupations Legal professions Local government in the United States Land registration