Register Of Deeds

Ever looked at a piece of property and wondered what its history is? Not the history of all the people who have ever lived there, but the actual history of the property itself? Well, here in the U.S., we can just head on down to our local register of deeds and ask them to spill the tea.

A “register of deeds” is the keeper of all public information related to a piece of property, which can include ownership info, sales records, title transfer info, mortgage reports, etc. Pretty swell, huh?

Swell...yes, it is. But what’s maybe not as swell is that the whole “register of deeds” concept isn’t handled uniformly across the nation, which means it might take a Google or two to find out exactly where we need to go to find the information we seek.

Depending on where we are in the country, each town might have its own register of deeds. Or it could be handled by county, or even at the state level. And that own register of deeds could be an office, or the term might refer to a specific individual known as the Register of Deeds. Sometimes, the position is even an elected one. Furthermore, it might not even be called a “register of deeds” where we are. Maybe it’s called the “recorder of deeds,” or “county recorder,” or even “county clerk” or “city clerk.” And while property records are their main deal, they might also handle marriage records, birth records, public military service records, etc.

Nowadays, for the most part, we can usually access the info we need online. But if it’s something we need to handle in person, or if it’s something we need to request official government permission to view, our search should begin with our local register of deeds.