The Register of Deeds Office is required by the laws of the State of Kansas to record all documents submitted by the public which are qualified to be recorded; maintain an up-to-date and accurate set of indexes which show the correct ownership of land in the entire county. Most people know that the Register of Deeds Office is responsible for the filing of deeds, but did you know that this office also records several hundred different kinds of documents? Some of them are: Mortgages and Liens, Oil and Gas Leases, Plats of Additions to the City, Military Discharge Records, Power of Attorneys, Corporation Records, Cemetery Records and we have County School Records on hand, which were once the property of the County Superintendent.
A number of steps are taken when a document is presented or mailed in for recording. The document is examined for any apparent errors, then given a time, book and page number and entered by name and legal description in various indexes. The indexes are used to provide easy access to the land records. Attorneys, Financial Institutions, Buyers, Sellers, Real Estate Developers, Surveyors, Landlords, Tenants and Abstract and Title Insurance Companies, to name just a few, all rely upon the correct recording of instruments relating to real estate. And, the County Appraiser and County Clerk depend on the records in the Register of Deeds office to accurately reflect the tax roll process.
All records in the Register of Deeds Office are required by law to be open to the public, except for the Kansas Real Estate Sales Validation Questionnaire. The questionnaire is open to those protesting their taxes and to Kansas Certified General Real Property Appraisers only.
All of the services offered by the Register of Deeds Office are fee based, these fees being set by State Statue.
