Knox County Recorder Information

The Knox County Recorder's Office records and maintains documents affecting real property in Knox County, Indiana. These include deeds, mortgages, liens, releases, and plats. The office maintains indexes to help locate recorded documents, makes public records available for research, and provides document copies upon request.

These government fees are separate from any Deeds.com service fees. Confirm current charges with the recorder's office.

Mortgages, including rerecorded and subordinate mortgages and supplemental indentures: $55 per document.

Deeds, UCC filings recorded with the county recorder, and other non-mortgage instruments, including rerecordings: $25 per document. For this fee, the statutory definition of a mortgage excludes a mortgage modification, assignment, release, or assumption. (IC 36-2-7-10.)

Large-format instruments, such as plats and surveys: $25 for the first page larger than 8.5 x 14 inches and $5 for each additional oversized page. Confirm the classification of an oversized instrument with the recorder. An oversized-page charge does not waive the recording requirements for a deed or mortgage.

There is no additional recording charge based solely on the number of ordinary letter- or legal-size pages in a document.

Mechanic's lien with one first-class mailing: $25. Each additional mailing: $2.

Multiple-transaction documents: When the recorder accepts and attests to a qualifying multiple-transaction release, partial release, or assignment under IC 36-2-7-10(c)(4), the charge is $25 plus $7 for each transaction after the first. This is not a charge for every cross-reference in an ordinary deed; confirm acceptance and the applicable charge with the recorder.

Copies measuring 11 x 17 inches or smaller: $1 per page. Larger copies: $5 per page.

Document certification: $5, plus the applicable copy charges.

SEPARATE TRANSFER AND DISCLOSURE CHARGES

Sales disclosure filing: $20, payable to the county auditor when the filing fee applies. Statutory fee exemptions apply to some transactions. Exemption from the filing fee does not necessarily eliminate the requirement to file the form. (IC 6-1.1-5.5-4.)

Auditor endorsement/transfer: IC 36-2-9-18(e) requires a county ordinance establishing a $10 fee per deed or per parcel legal description endorsed. Confirm Knox County's calculation with the Knox County Auditor at (812) 885-2502. This is separate from recorder and sales disclosure fees.

For mailed submissions, confirm accepted payment methods, required enclosures, and return-mail arrangements with the recorder before sending documents.

Special statutory exemptions and document-specific charges may apply. Confirm the fees for the documents being submitted with the Knox County Recorder.

Confirm current requirements with the recorder's office before submitting documents.

These are general preparation requirements for common real estate instruments recorded in Knox County. Document-specific rules and statutory exceptions may also apply.

PAPER SIZE AND LAYOUT

Use individual pages no larger than 8.5 x 14 inches. Both letter-size and legal-size pages meet this size limit. Pages must not be permanently bound or in continuous-form format.

Use white paper of at least 20-pound weight. Text must be typewritten or computer-generated in black ink and at least 10-point type.

Keep the first and last pages clear for at least 2 inches at the top and bottom and 1/2 inch on each side. Interior pages require at least 1/2 inch on all four sides. For a one-page instrument, use the first/last-page margins.

These paper-format provisions do not apply to court judgments, orders or writs, wills, death certificates, plats, or surveys. (IC 36-2-11-16.5.)

PARTIES, PROPERTY, AND SIGNATURES

A deed must identify the grantor and grantee and include the property's legal description. Record the instrument in the county where the affected land is located.

A conveyance or mortgage must have a legally sufficient acknowledgment or proof of execution, with the applicable certificate and required notarial information. (IC 32-21-2-3.) Knox County's published instructions call for the notary's county of residence and commission expiration. Include those details for an Indiana notary; use the applicable requirements for an out-of-state notarial act.

For conventional handwritten signatures, print, type, or stamp the names of the signers, witnesses, and notary immediately beneath their signatures. The executing party's name should be consistent in the instrument, acknowledgment or proof, signature, and printed identification. IC 36-2-11-16 contains exceptions, including instruments executed or acknowledged outside Indiana, and permits the recorder to accept certain name-identification defects with a qualifying affidavit from a person with personal knowledge.

A document presented as a copy must be marked "Copy." Originals and photocopies must permit a clear, unobstructed reproduction and satisfy the other applicable recording requirements. (IC 36-2-11-16.)

PREPARER AND SOCIAL SECURITY NUMBER REDACTION

For instruments subject to IC 36-2-11-15, identify the person and governmental agency, if any, that prepared the instrument at its conclusion. The statutory form is: "This instrument was prepared by (name)."

Do not submit a document containing a Social Security number unless the number is required by law. (IC 36-2-7.5-4.)

For an instrument subject to IC 36-2-11-15, place the following affirmation at the conclusion, immediately before or after the preparer statement, and identify the person making the affirmation:

"I affirm, under the penalties for perjury, that I have taken reasonable care to redact each Social Security number in this document, unless required by law (name)."

The preparer/affirmation statute has exceptions, including instruments executed or acknowledged outside Indiana, court judgments, orders or writs, wills, death certificates, and specified federal liens. An exception to that statute does not authorize submission of an otherwise prohibited Social Security number.

TAX-STATEMENT AND GRANTEE ADDRESSES

A conveyance must identify the address for future property-tax statements and the grantee's street or rural-route address. A post office box alone does not satisfy the grantee-address requirement. Place the required address information at the end of the conveyance, immediately before or after the statements required by IC 36-2-11-15. (IC 32-21-2-3(e).)

AUDITOR ENDORSEMENT

Before recording, obtain the appropriate county auditor endorsement for a deed of partition, conveyance of land, affidavit of transfer to real estate, or deed or instrument made under Indiana's transfer-on-death law. Transfer on death deeds require this endorsement; they are not exempt. (IC 36-2-11-14; IC 32-17-14-11(i).)

Contact the Knox County Auditor at (812) 885-2502 for local transfer procedures and the applicable endorsement fee.

SALES DISCLOSURE

Indiana requires a sales disclosure form for a "conveyance document" as defined in IC 6-1.1-5.5-2. This includes covered transfers for valuable consideration and specified compulsory or partition transactions. Not every recorded instrument requires the form; mortgages, for example, are excluded from that definition.

When required, submit the completed, signed form to the county assessor for review and approval before filing it with the county auditor. Generally, use one form per parcel. One form covers multiple contiguous parcels conveyed by a single instrument when all are within one taxing district. (IC 6-1.1-5.5-3.)

The sales disclosure filing fee is $20 when applicable. A transaction may require the form while being exempt from the filing fee. (IC 6-1.1-5.5-4.)

Obtain Indiana's Sales Disclosure Form (State Form 46021) and applicable addenda from the Indiana Department of Local Government Finance. Contact the Knox County Assessor at (812) 885-2513 about submission procedures and documentation for a transfer that does not require the full form.

CROSS-REFERENCES

Clearly identify requested cross-references on the front page of the instrument. Requirements for references mandated by a statute or county ordinance may differ. Not every cross-reference creates an additional recording fee. (IC 36-2-7-10(m).)

Confirm any additional document-specific or local submission requirements with the Knox County Recorder.