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The recorder is responsible for maintaining records for real property located in St. Joseph County.
Recording Fees
Mortgages (including Subordinate Mortgages) and
re-recorded mortgages $55.00
Deeds and all other instruments, including UCC's &
re-recorded instruments (fee includes 1 oversize page) $25.00
Additional pages exceeding 8 " x 14" within any
document shall be charged: $5.00 each
Mechanic's Lien including one mail out $25.00
Each additional mail out $2.00
Multiple transaction documents (AKA blanket documents)........$25.00
Plus for each additional cross reference after the first.................$7.00
Copies 11" x 17" or smaller, per page $1.00
Copies larger than 11" x 17", per page $5.00
Certification of Document $5.00 Plus $1.00 per page for copies
A self-addressed stamped envelope should be included so that documents can be returned to the appropriate party.
Note that recording fees are subject to change and should be verified with the local recorder prior to submitting documents.
Document Formatting Requirements
* An instrument should consist of individual pages measuring no larger than 8.5 x 11 inches. Individual pages should not be permanently bound or in a continuous form; however, pages of a document may be stapled when presenting for recordation.
* Use white paper of a sufficient weight. Margins should be clear of markings. Use a font size of at least 10 point and black ink.
* On the first and last pages, provide a top and bottom margin of at least 2 inches. Side margins can be at least 1/2 an inch. Subsequent pages can have margins that are a minimum of 1/2 an inch.
* A certificate for the acknowledgment of a conveyance that is required to be recorded, signed, and sealed by the officer taking the acknowledgment shall be written on or attached to the deed. The name of each notary public whose signature is on the instrument should be legibly printed, typewritten, or stamped immediately beneath the signature of the notary public.
* Provide the name and address of the person or governmental agency, if any, who prepared the deed. This information should be legibly printed, typewritten, or stamped at the end of the instrument.
* If submitting an instrument that is a copy, it should be marked as "copy."
* A recorder may accept for recording a deed of partition, a conveyance of land, or an affidavit to transfer real estate only if it has been endorsed by the auditor of the proper county as "duly entered for taxation subject to final acceptance for transfer," "not taxable," or "duly entered for taxation."
* The name of each person executing the instrument should be legibly printed, typewritten, or stamped beneath the person's signature. The name of each person executing the instrument should appear identically in the body of the instrument, in the acknowledgment, in the person's signature, and as printed beneath the signature.
* If there are not corresponding names printed, typed, or stamped underneath signatures, the recorder may still record the instrument if a printed or typewritten affidavit of a person with personal knowledge of the facts is recorded with the document. The affidavit should state the correct name of a person, if any, whose signature cannot be identified or whose name is not printed, typed, or stamped upon the instrument.
* Include the address to which future tax statements are to be mailed. If this address is not a rural route or street number address of the grantee, an address for the grantee must also be provided after the mailing address for statements.
* Documents submitted for recording should not contain social security numbers, unless the number is required by law to be on the document. An affirmation statement is required on documents and should be given underneath the preparer's information at the conclusion of the document. The affirmation statement should read as follows: "I affirm, under the penalties for perjury, that I have taken reasonable care to redact each Social Security number in this document, unless required by law." The name of the preparer of the document should be given after this statement. Labels and stamps can be used for the affirmation statement. The affirmation statement can be given on a separate page attached to the document, which will result in an extra-page fee.
* A conveyance of land may incorporate a recorded reference to a covenant, restriction, easement, or other encumbrance on the use of the land with a clause that is substantially similar to either of the following: (1) "Subject to the (insert type of encumbrance) recorded on (insert the date of recording) in (insert the book and page number on which the encumbrance is recorded or the instrument number upon which it is recorded);" or "Subject to (insert the type of encumbrance) of record."
Sales Disclosure Form:
A Sales Disclosure Form must be completed whenever a conveyance document is filed with the County Recorder. Indiana law requires that a sales disclosure form be reviewed for completeness by the county assessor before it is forwarded to the county auditor. The county auditor may not accept a conveyance if the sales disclosure form is not included with the conveyance document or the sales disclosure form is incomplete and/or not stamped by the county assessor.
A separate sales disclosure form is required for each parcel conveyed, regardless of whether more than one parcel is conveyed under a single conveyance document. However, only one sales disclosure form is required if there is a single conveyance document that conveys two or more contiguous parcels located entirely within a single taxing district. A person filing a sales disclosure form marked only with sales conditions subject to a disclosure filing fee shall pay a fee of $10 to the county auditor.
For more information, see supplemental forms or go directly to http://gatewaysdf.ifionline.org/.
Effect of Recording:
A conveyance of any real estate in fee simple or for life, a conveyance of any future estate, or a lease for more than three years after the making of the lease is not valid and effectual against any person other than (1) the grantor; (2) the grantor's heirs and devisees; and (3) persons having notice of the conveyance or lease, unless the conveyance or lease is made by a deed recorded within the time and the manner provided in the Indiana Statutes.
A conveyance, mortgage, or lease takes priority according to the time of its filing. The document is fraudulent and void as against any subsequent purchaser, lessee, or mortgagee in good faith and for a valuable consideration if the purchaser's, lessee's, or mortgagee's deed, mortgage, or lease is first duly recorded.