About the Recorder

The County Recorder was the first constitutional office in county government in Indiana.

Responsibilities

The United States Constitution provides every individual the freedom and right to own property in their own name. That freedom is protected by the County Recorder as it is our responsibility to maintain permanent public records of legal instruments involving real estate, deeds, mortgages, liens, leases, plats, military discharges, personal bonds, and several others.

All of these instruments are recorded for safekeeping and future reference and for giving legal notice of their existence. Storage methods to record these documents include paper, microfilm, and digital storage.

The recorder of deeds provides a single location in which records of real property rights are recorded and may be researched by interested parties.

Document Uses

The recorder maintains and preserves all legal documents affecting title to real property. These records are the legal basis for determining ownership. The degree with which the recorder fulfills his or her responsibilities ultimately forms the legal foundation for the institution of private property.

County Commission

The recorder is a member of the county commission on public records, which has authority over the preservation or disposition of all public records maintained by the county.