VOTE411 Voter Guide

e Recorder is an elected position authorized by Article 6, Section 2 of the Indiana Constitution and serves a four (4) year term.  IC 36-2-11 details the specific duties of the recorder position which focuses mainly on the recording, filing, and preservation of documentation in the realm of property records.  Recorded documents or instruments must meet the requirements of IC 36-2-11-16 and IC 36-2-11-16.5.  Instruments recorded in the Recorder s office include Deeds, Mortgages, Assignments, Releases, Powers of Attorney, Real Estate Contracts, Annexations, Trustee Elections, Affidavits, Surveys, Federal TaxLiens, Mechanics Liens, Military Discharges, Articles of Incorporation, Cemetery Deeds, Bonds, Plats, Condominiums, Firms Doing Business Under Assumed Names, Delinquent Sewer Liens, and Miscellaneous Instruments.The costs associated with obtaining copies of any instrument are located in our fees section.A Constitutional Office, the county recorder’s primary function is to maintain permanent public records submitted for recording. These records are the legal basis for determining ownership of real property. These documents, sometimes called instruments, include: mortgages, deeds, liens, military discharges, subdivisions plats, leases, public and private bonds, personal property and powers of attorney.Instruments are recorded either for giving legal public notice of their existence or for safekeeping and future reference. It is the duty of the recorder to see that each instrument meets the essential requirements for recording. Each instrument must be scanned and indexed into a computer system and then microfilmed for archival purposes.The county recorder prepares and furnishes official copies of any record or instruments when required by law or ordered by the court or requested by any parties. And if requested the recorder certifies that it is a true and correct copy of the document in the records of the office.The recorder may under IC 32‐21‐2‐3 acknowledge any conveyance, mortgage or instrument of writing to be recorded.The county recorder files Uniform Commercial Code financing statements that pertain to fixtures to the real property. They also conduct searches on names presented to them by a financial institution or company.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.