Houghton County Register of Deeds

Information

The Register of Deeds office maintains an index and copy of all recorded documents pertaining to property located within the county.

Tract Index Fee: $16.00/hour

Records On File For Houghton County

• Deeds

• Mortgages

• Miscellaneous

• Land Corners

• Plats

• Surveys

Recording Fees

Effective OCTOBER 1, 2016 in the State of Michigan

Regardless of the number of pages, all documents will cost $30.00 to record, this cost is inclusive of Michigan Remonumentation and Register of Deeds Automation fees.

For a document that assigns or discharges more than 1 instrument, $3.00 for each instrument assigned or discharged (in addition to the $30.00 flat fee).

For documents which contain a covenant of warranty, Warranty Deeds, Covenant Deeds, Land Contracts or Assignment of Land Contracts, $5.00 to certify (in addition to the $30.00 flat fee).

Remember -- transfer tax is still separate from all of these fees.

Checks should be made payable to the Houghton County Register of Deeds.

The $4.00 M.S.S.R. is not assessed on Fixture Fillings, State and Federal Liens, State Deeds, Plats, or Treasurer's tax reversion documents.

E-Recording

Houghton County Register of Deeds is accepting documents submitted electronically (E-Recording).

E-Recording delivers documents electronically to the Register of Deeds Office rather than by delivery service or in person. In a similar manner, any rejection of the document or the recorded document is returned to the submitter.

While electronic documents may be submitted at any time and are noted as such, the electronic document will be processed during regular business hours from 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.

Not all documents can be electronically recorded. Please check with the vendors listed below.

The e-document is treated in the same manner as a paper documents, reviewed for recording requirements and, provided the requirements are met, receipted, indexed and verified.

Houghton County is currently accepting e-documents from third party vendors according to the State of Michigan Electronic Recording Commission. These vendors include:

• CSC

• ePN

• Simplifile

• Indecomm

There are many benefits from E-Recording:

• Same day recording

• Lower costs to submitter

• Lower chance of lost documents

• Secure network

• Fast problem resolution on rejected or documents with possible errors

• Fast payment for E-Recording

• Regulatory and lender compliance

• Eco-friendly

Search & Copy Fees

State Tax Lien Certificate Search
$3.00/name search

Federal Tax Lien Certificate Search
$3.00/name search

Real estate record copy
$1.00/page

Plat copy
$2.00/page

Passports

• $100 (+$35 execution fee) under 16 years of age-valid for 5 years. 15 and under need both parents' signatures and birth record along with old passport if renewing. Ages 16 and 17 must have one parent sign. $130 (+$35 execution fee) 16 years and older -- valid for 10 years.

• Checks/money orders only for passport applications. We DO NOT accept passports after 3:30 p.m.

• U.S. Department of State website for passports.

• Call 906-482-1311 to schedule an appointment.

Additional Resources

• Property Fraud Alert
  
  According to the FBI, property and mortgage fraud is the fastest growing white-collar crime in the United States. Jennifer Kelly, Houghton County Clerk/Register of Deeds has taken a proactive step in providing a FREE online automated service in which property owners can sign up to have their name monitored to track possible fraudulent activity.
  
  Signing up with Property Fraud Alert (PFA) takes a few moments and participants will be notified via email or phone, or BOTH, only when the exact name they have provided is listed on a recorded document. You can sign up with multiple names.

• Land Records
  
  Tapestry is an on-demand service designed for occasional users. All documents are available from September 1993 to present. Users pay $8.75 per search and $1.00 per page for each document PRINTED. Documents can be viewed at no charge. No user agreement is required and there is no recurring expense other than search and document charges.

• Public Record Search
  
  Laredo is a subscription based service for professionals that allows users to search the Houghton County Official Public Record with the same software that is available in the county office. For a monthly fee, users will be able to search records from the comfort of their home or office 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.