Washington County Recorder

The Registry of Deeds is responsible for recording and maintaining real property records in Washington County.

First page - $19.00 plus $3.00 surcharge (state government and municipalities are exempt from surcharge)
Each additional page - $2.00 per page.

Names in excess of four to be indexed - $1.00 per name (please count all grantors, grantees, aka's, trustees, dba's, partners, nominees)

Marginal references to prior documents - $13.00 each after the first one.

Transfer tax - based on the value of the property as set forth in the declaration of value, $2.20 for each $500 or fraction thereof and imposed in equal parts on the grantor and grantee, unless transfer is exempt.

Instruments will not be accepted for recording unless corresponding names are typed or printed beneath signatures of the grantor, grantee, and the person taking the acknowledgment. Names used for indexing must be indexed as typed or printed underneath signatures.

Use white paper that measures 8.5 x 11 inches or 8.5 x 14 inches. 1.5" top margin on the first page, 1.5" bottom margin last page, 1" top margin all other pages, .75" side margins for all pages.

Upon accepting an instrument, the register shall certify on the deed the day, hour, and minute when it was received and the book and page number where it is located. If there is not sufficient room on the page for the location of the recording information, the register will charge $2 for adding a page.

A certificate of acknowledgment or proof of execution should be endorsed on or attached to the deed. Recording cannot take place without such certificate.

All deeds and other instruments for the conveyance of real property should contain, in addition to the grantee's name, his address, including street number, municipality, and state.

An exception, reservation, or recital in a conveyance, mortgage, devise, or other transfer of real property or any interest therein, will not constitute actual notice of any other conveyance, mortgage, devise, or other transfer of real property or interest therein unless it contains the following: a reference to the volume and page of the registry or probate court record containing the exception, reservation, or recital; or an adequate description by metes and bounds or by reference to the volume and page of the record of a survey plan of the property affected.

The marital status of grantors to the conveyance should be stated in a deed presented for recording.

Unless the transaction is exempt, the seller of residential real property shall provide to the purchaser a property disclosure statement containing the following information: water supply system, insulation, heating system or heating source, waste disposal system, hazardous materials, and known defects. For more specific guidelines on the property disclosure statement, interested parties are directed to the Maine Revised Statutes, Title 33, Chapter 7.

A Maine Transfer Tax Declaration form should be filed with most deeds when they are submitted for recording. The form is available for no cost at the Registry of Deeds or online through the Maine Revenue Services. A tax map and lot number is required for the declaration. To obtain this information, call the municipality where the land is located. The form should be submitted in duplicate and signed by the parties to the transaction.