Records deeds, liens, releases, and plats
Position guide
Register of Deeds
Records and preserves legal documents affecting real property and other instruments assigned by law.
- Government level
- County · Property records
- Typical term
- Four years
- Who it serves
- One county
The job in plain language01 02 03 04 How the position worksHow someone reaches the position Who the office works with Real-world choices01 02 03 Before you vote
What this position is responsible for
The register’s records are central to buying, selling, financing, and researching real estate.
Maintains searchable land records
Collects recording fees and taxes assigned by law
Protects the integrity of recorded documents
Power is shared—not exercised alone.
County voters elect the register of deeds for a four-year term. The office records instruments that meet legal requirements rather than deciding the underlying ownership dispute.
The register works with property owners, title companies, attorneys, lenders, surveyors, tax offices, and courts while preserving the public chain of recorded real-estate documents.
Decisions voters may notice
Recording workflow, indexing accuracy, digitization, and public search access
Document-preservation and disaster-recovery practices
Fraud alerts, identity-protection procedures, and collection of statutory fees or taxes
Questions worth asking
The answers may differ among candidates, but each question relates directly to the authority and responsibilities of this position.
- How will the candidate protect old and electronic records?
- How easy will it be for the public to search and obtain documents?
- What controls would catch indexing errors or suspicious filings?
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