Land Records and Recording

The responsibility of the County Recorder's Office is to accept real estate documents for filing and to maintain a permanent archive of recorded documents for real property in Washington County.

• Public Research is room available 8:00 a.m. - 4:15 p.m., Monday - Friday.
• Remote access requires a subscription agreement  to RecordEASE.
• Individual document request.
• The Recorders Office does not perform any searches.
• Prepayment for copies is required.
• Form of payment accepted: cash or check. 
  • Email copy             $1.50 per document
  • Paper copy            $1.00 per page
  • Certified copy     $10.00 per document

RecordEASE is Washington County's commercial product for accessing land records maintained by the County Recorder. For a low subscription fee, users will have access to recorded documents and images in RecordEASE without having to visit our physical location.

Fees

• Subscription fee          $30.00 per user
• Search fee                       $0.50 per search
• Documents                     $1.50 per document
• Certificates of title    $2.50 per certificate
• View tract page           $2.50 per tract
• View tract card            $2.50 per tract
• View recorded plat   $5.00 per plat

To Subscribe

Complete the RecordEASE web subscription agreement and email it to the Washington County Recorder's office.

Please allow 1-2 business days for processing new subscriptions.Access will only be granted after receiving the completed documents. The County Recorder's office provide you with user IDs and passwords once your subscription is accepted. 

Washington County strictly prohibits multiple parcel data downloads, screen scraping programs or other computer extraction techniques. Washington County reserves the right to deny site access to any individual or entity determined to be misusing the system.

The information on the website is a reproduction of the Washington County RecordEASE system.

Washington County Recorder's office does not provide blank documents, give advice on which form may be appropriate for your situation, or advise on how to complete them. We strongly suggest consulting a legal advisor or title company. 

You can find acceptable/common real estate documents at Minnesota Uniform Conveyancing Forms.

To record documents digitally or electronically (eRecording)

Electronic recording enables title companies, lenders, law firms and others to electronically record documents without leaving their office.   All document types can be eRecorded.

To get started with eRecording, contact one of these state-recognized vendors:

• ePN
• Simplifile
• CSC eRecording Solutions
• Indecomm Global Services

To record paper documents

By Mail
Send all documents and appropriate fees to:

Washington County Property Records
14949 62nd Street North 
P.O. Box 6
Stillwater, MN 55082

In Person
Bring the completed document(s), and cash or check to the Washington County Government Center Recorder’s Office at the Government Center, 14949 62nd Street North, Stillwater.

Washington County Recorder's office does not provide blank documents, give advice on which form may be appropriate for your situation, or advise on how to complete them. We strongly suggest consulting a legal advisor or title company.

The Minnesota Department of Commerce website provides many commonly used real estate forms at Minnesota Uniform Conveyancing Blanks.

The County Recorder's office does not provide notary services in office.

All documents must:  

• Be completed prior to being presented for recording.
• Be dated.
• Be signed.
• Have a complete and correct legal description. 
  (Do not use the description on the tax statement.)
• Have all exhibits attached and labeled.
• Have a “Drafted by” statement that includes the name and address of the drafter of the document.
• Include the correct recording fees.
• Not be altered. Whiteout and correction tape are unacceptable on any legal document.
• Be acknowledged, which includes:
  • Date.
  • State and county.
  • Legible notary seal.
  • Notary signature.
  • Notary commission expiration date.
  • Names and marital status of signatures being acknowledged. 
    • Marital status should indicate one of the following:
    • Single.
    • Husband and wife.
    • Person A married to Person B and Person B married to Person A.
    • Person A and Person B.
    • Married to each other.
• If it's a corporate acknowledgement, you must include:
  • The business name.
  • Signer’s official title.
  • Indicate in the notary block that the signature is on behalf of the company.
• Some Deeds require an eCRV or a Well Certificate. To know if you require either of these, go to:
  • Minnesota Department of Health for a well certificate.
  • Minnesota Department of Revenue for an eCRV.

Abstract Documents

Basic Recording Fee                              $ 46.00
Satisfactions or Releases                   $ 46.00 
up to 4 reference document numbers                     
each additional reference                  $ 10.00
Mortgages                                                   $ 46.00
Mortgage Registration Tax                $   2.30      of consideration
Conservation fee                                     $   5.00
mortgage tax calculator
Deeds                                                              $ 46.00
State Deed Tax                                           $   3.30      of consideration
Consideration less than $3,000      $   1.65
Conservation fee                                     $   5.00
deed tax calculator
Well Certificate                                        $ 50.00
Plats                                                                $ 56.00

Torrens Documents

Basic Recording Fee                               $ 46.00
Memorials and amended 
declarations                                                $ 46.00      plus $20 for each additional certificate
Transfers                                                      $ 46.00
Residuary Certificate                           $ 40.00
Exchange Certificate
for each cancelled certificate           $ 20.00
Each new certificate issued               $ 20.00
Torrens Plat                                                $ 56.00
Registered Land Survey                      $ 56.00
Torrens Condominium                         $ 56.00     plus $20 for each additional certificate 

Miscellaneous Fees

Attested copy                                           $   2.00
Certified copy                                          $ 10.00
Certified Plat or
Registered land survey                      $ 15.00

Minnesota has two land record systems: Abstract and Torrens. When an Abstract property is sold, a thorough title search should be completed to look for any documents referring to the property.

Torrens properties have a Certificate of Title that gives conclusive proof of ownership with some exceptions. It consolidates records into a single document.

Most property in Washington County is Abstract property, but owners may convert property from Abstract to Torrens through land registration.

The Examiner of Titles is an attorney appointed by the District Court Judges to administer all Torrens proceedings for the county.

Approvals

Documents requiring an approval: Probate transfers, Trust transfers, Divorce Decree or Summary Real Estate Disposition Judgment(SREDJ). 

The Examiner of Titles does not pre-approve documents for closings.
The Examiner of Title only reviews and approves documents for recording.

Original documents along with the fees should be sent to:
Washington County Property Records - Torrens
14949 62nd Street North
Stillwater, MN 55082

Directives

Used to request the removal of liens or interests that are no longer valid. 

To request an Examiner’s Directive from the Washington County Examiner of Titles, include:

• A letter addressed to the Examiner of Titles explaining the purpose of the requested Directive.
• Include a copy of the current Certificate of Title.
• Include a copy of the document(s) you want removed from the Certificate of Title.  (A title commitment will not suffice.)
• Include two checks for the fees:
  • One check for the Directive fee. 
  • One separate check for the recording fee. 
• Send all of the above to the Torrens Division of Property Records and Taxpayer Services. We will record the Directive upon receipt from  the Examiner of Titles.

Fees

Examiner of Titles Services

Recording Fees

Contact Information

F. Joseph Taylor 
Washington County Examiner of Titles
8063 Hadley Avenue South
Cottage Grove, MN 55046
Phone: 651-459-6644
Email Examiner of Titles

Combine Tax Parcels

To request a combination or merge of an existing tax parcel, please complete the Combination/Merge Request form.

Before submitting the forms, review the following:

• All property taxes must be paid in full.
• New parcel identification numbers derived from plats, divisions and combinations submitted during the current calendar year will be finalized prior to Estimated Tax Statements being sent out in March of the following year.
• There is no fee for requesting and processing administrative divisions or combinations.

Division of Tax Parcels

• All property taxes must be paid in full. 
• Deeds must be stamped with the municipality approval.
• Current survey must accompany the request.

There is no administrative fee for requesting and processing parcel divisions or combination/merges.  

For questions, send an email to the County Recorder's office.

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