Wayne County Recorder

The Register of Deeds is responsible for recording and maintaining records for real property located in Wayne County.

The fee to record a real estate document is $15.00 for the first page and $3.00 for each additional page or side. The fee for the first page includes a $4.00 State Remonumentation Fee.

Transfer tax must be paid at the time of recording for all documents which transfer an interest in property unless a proper exemption is noted.

The transfer tax rate is computed at $1.10 per $1,000 for Wayne County, and $7.50 per $1,000 for the State of Michigan.

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).

Tax certification: Warranty deeds, land contracts or an assignment thereof, or deeds that contain a covenant of warranty must have a tax certification from the County Treasurer's Office. The charge for this service is $5.00.

Transfer tax must be paid at the time of recording for all documents which transfer an interest in property unless a proper exemption is noted.
The transfer tax rate is computed at $1.10 per $1,000 for Wayne County, and $7.50 per $1,000 for the State of Michigan. Transfer Tax Rate: County $1.10 + State $7.50 = $8.60 per thousand

Improper Check Amounts
If the amount of the submitted check exceeds the total amount due for the documents by more than $25.00, or the amount of the check is less than the total amount due, the documents and check will be returned without being processed. If the amount of the check exceeds the total amount due but the surplus does not exceed $25.00, the documents will be processed however no refund will be made.

Documents must have all original signatures and the names must be printed, stamped or typed beneath the signatures.

Documents executed in Michigan which convey or encumber real estate require a notary's acknowledgment.

Documents must be on 8.5" x 11" or 8.5" x 14" paper and must have a 2.5" top margin for the first page, and a minimum 1/2" margin on the other three sides of all pages.

The document must be on white paper with black ink and have 10 point minimum type size.

The title or type of a document must be identified on the first line of print.

The property tax identification number and the commonly known address of the property should be on the document.

Warranty deeds, deeds which contain a Convenant of Warranty, Land contracts and assignments of Land Contract must be certified for payment of property taxes by the Wayne County Treasurer before recording with The Register of Deeds office.

Court orders cannot be recorded unless they are certified and sealed.

The name and address of the person who drafted the document must appear on documents executed in Michigan.

Death Certificates must be a certified copy with the raised seal. A copy will not be recorded.

Each document sent by mail for recording must include a complete "return" name and address.

Deed must cite consideration amount or cite county and/or state exemption statutes and sub-paragraphs.

Documents can be recorded in person or by being sent to The Register of Deeds office. Each document submitted for recording should be accompanied by a separate check totaling the amount of fees and transfer tax due, if any. No more than 25 documents shall be submitted for recording with a single check. The Register of Deeds office accepts money orders, cashier's checks, certified checks, corporation checks and law firm checks. Cash and personal checks are accepted only in person. All checks should be made payable to: Wayne County Register of Deeds

Unrecordable Documents
Documents which we have determined to be unrecordable will be returned with instructions for correction and resubmission. If a group of documents is presented for recording with only a single check and any one of the documents in the group does not meet the recording requirements, the enitre group will be returned. Checks submitted with unrecordable documents will be returned with the unrecorded documents.

Return of Recorded Documents
Documents submitted to, and recorded by this office will be returned in the same manner in which they were received. If they were hand-delivered, they must be picked up by the same firm or agent who delivered them for recording. If the documents submitted for recording were mailed, they will be mailed back to the return address on document. They will not return recorded documents in pre-addressed return envelopes. All documents submitted for recording will be returned approximately 2 to 7 days from the date that they were received and recorded by the office.