How deeds are recorded in each state

A deed moves land from one owner to the next. Recording it puts it in the public record, where the next buyer, lender or neighbor can find it. Which office does the recording depends on the state.

Why recording matters

Recording laws protect people who rely on the public record. In Minnesota, a deed that is not recorded is void against a later good-faith buyer whose own deed is recorded first. Florida's law works the same way: an unrecorded transfer does not hold up against later buyers who paid for the land without notice of it.

So the record, not the paper in a drawer, is what the world goes by. That is also why the recorder's office is the place to confirm who owns a piece of land.

Four ways states do it

A county office. Most states record deeds in the county where the land lies. The title changes from state to state: recorder, register of deeds, county clerk, clerk of court, chancery clerk, even judge of probate in Alabama. In Louisiana the county is a parish.

The town clerk. Connecticut, Rhode Island and Vermont record deeds with the clerk of the town where the land lies. There is no county office to go to.

A county registry of deeds. In Massachusetts, Maine and New Hampshire, towns handle property tax, but deeds go to a registry of deeds for the county. Some Massachusetts counties are split into more than one registry district.

A state or territory office. Hawaii's Bureau of Conveyances records every deed in the state and says Hawaii is one of two states with a single statewide recording system. The other is Alaska, where the state Recorder's Office covers 34 recording districts. Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, American Samoa and the Northern Mariana Islands record deeds with a territory government office rather than a local one.

Registered land

A few places also have a second system in which the government issues a certificate of title for the land. Minnesota calls it registered land and keeps it with a registrar of titles. Hawaii calls it Land Court, and the Bureau of Conveyances issues its certificates of title. If a deed search comes up empty, ask the office whether the land is registered.

Who records deeds, state by state

Open a state for its maps, records and offices. Where deeds are kept by county, the second link lists every county's office.

Sources

• Minnesota Statutes 507.34: recording of conveyances
• Florida Statutes 695.01: conveyances to be recorded
• Connecticut General Statutes 47-10: recorded on the records of the town
• Rhode Island General Laws 34-13-1: recording by the town clerk
• Vermont Statutes, Title 27, section 341: recorded in the town clerk's office
• Massachusetts General Laws chapter 183, section 4: registry of deeds for the county or district
• Maine Revised Statutes, Title 33, section 201: registry of deeds within the county
• New Hampshire RSA 477:3-a: registry of deeds for the county
• Hawaii Bureau of Conveyances
• Alaska Department of Natural Resources, Recorder's Office
• Minnesota Statutes 508.34: registrar of titles and certificates of title

Checked against the sources above on Sep 24, 2026. GovDir is a guide, not legal advice. The office named for your property has the final say.

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