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The County Recorder is responsible for recording and maintaining real property records in Adair County.
Recording Fees
Documents that do not conform to the requirements, except for those that are exempt, may be charged an additional $10 per noncompliant document.
To record a mortgage, release, assignment, or easement, the fee is $7 for the first page. Each additional page is $5.
For conveyance documents (all documents that need transferred for taxation) the regular recording fee applies, plus $5 for each section or block to be transferred.
For multiple transaction documents, it is $7 per transaction, plus $5 for each additional page.
County recording fees are subject to change without notice. For the most current fees and further information, contact the local recording office directly.
Document Formatting Requirements
• Documents should not be on paper larger than 8.5x14 inches or smaller than 8.5x11. The document shall not have any attachment stapled or otherwise affixed to the page. However, multiple-page documents may be stapled together.
• The first page of each document needs to have a top margin of 3 inches. This is reserved for the recorder’s use. All other margins should be at least ¾ of an inch. Non-essential information, such as page numbers or customer notations, may be placed in margins, but not within the top margin.
• All pre-printed text in the document should be at least 8 point font and no more than twenty characters per inch. All other computer-generated or typed text including, but not limited to all names of parties to an agreement, shall be a minimum of 10 point and no more than sixteen characters per inch.
• Documents need to be sufficiently legible in order to produce a clear reproduction. To serve this purpose, documents should be on white paper, no less than 20 pound weight without watermarks or visible inclusions.
• All signatures in the document should be in blue or black ink. Names should be printed, typed, or stamped beneath the signatures.
• Embossed or inked stamps may not interfere with any part of the document.
• On the first page, below the 3-inch margin, include the following: The name, address, and phone number of the individual who prepared the document; the name of the taxpayer and the complete mailing address for any document of conveyance; return address; the title of the document; all grantors’ names; all grantees’ names; any address required by statute; the legal description of the property and parcel identification number, if required. If there is not enough space on the first page for all of this information, the page reference where the information appears in the document shall be noted on the first page.
• Documents dated after July 1, 2007 may not have personal identification numbers, such as social security numbers, bank account numbers, credit card information, etc.
• The following documents are exempt from the requirements: A document that was signed before July 1, 2005; a military separation document; a document executed outside of the United States; a certified copy of a document issued by a governmental agency, including a vital record; a document where one of the original parties is deceased or otherwise incapacitated; a document formatted to meet court requirements; a federal tax lien; a filing under the uniform commercial code, chapter 554; or a plat, survey, or drawing related to a plat or survey.
• The acknowledgment of any deed, conveyance, or other instrument in writing by which real estate in this state is conveyed or encumbered, whether made within this state, outside this state, outside the United States, or under federal authority, shall comply with the provisions of Iowa Code chapter 9E.
• A document shall not be deemed lawfully recorded unless it has been previously acknowledged. All signatures in a document must be notarized.
When a deed, contract, or other instrument is presented to the recorder, a Declaration of Value form reflecting the full consideration paid in certain nonexempt real estate conveyances must also be submitted. Submitters should only complete Part I of the form, which is the prescribed declaration of value statement. Parts II and III of the form are to be completed by the assessor and the recorder.
If a document is exempt, the exemption must be stated on the document presented for recording. The following transactions are common exemptions: Any instrument of mortgage, mortgage assignment, mortgage release, or mortgage satisfaction; a will, plat, or lease; deeds that, without additional consideration, correct, modify, or supplement a previously recorded deed; and deeds between husband and wife or parent and child without actual consideration, or where the only consideration is a cancellation of indebtedness existing between these family members. However, for this last exemption to apply, the debt being cancelled cannot be greater than the fair market value of the property being conveyed. For a complete list of exemptions, visit the iowa.gov website.
Social security numbers are required on the form, but these are redacted prior to release to the public.
The legal description of the property being conveyed should be attached on a separate sheet of 8.5x11 inch paper.
A Groundwater Hazard form may also need to be filled out, disclosing whether there are any known burial sites on the property, any wells, disposal sites for solid waste, underground storage tanks, no known hazardous waste exists on the property, no known private sewage system,