Bayfield County Recorder Information

About Bayfield County Recorder

The Register of Deed's office is the official repository for all real estate records in Bayfield County.

Recording Fees

The cost to record a real estate document is $30, regardless of the number of pages.

The Wisconsin Transfer fee is $3 per $1,000.

A Wisconsin Real Estate Transfer Return (completed with proper fee paid or a transfer tax exemption number) is required for deeds, land contracts, and other instruments of conveyance. File the form electronically online with the Wisconsin Department of Revenue.

The recording fee must accompany the deed and the transfer return receipt when recording.

Document Formatting Requirements

- Submit your real property documents on 8.5x11 inch standard white copy paper.

- Pages must be legible and should be typed, written, or computer generated in black ink with a minimum font size of 10 point.

- On the first page, a blank 3x3 inch square should be in the upper right hand corner. Subsequent top margins should be a minimum of inch. Other margins should be a minimum of of an inch.

- A document title should be at the top of the first page. The upper left corner should be left blank, as the Recorder may list a document number in that spot. The document title should be within the top 3 inches of the page, but not in the blank 3x3 square.

- The grantor and grantee must be plainly identified. The names of all persons signing in any capacity (including the notary) must be legibly typed or printed beneath their signatures.

- The legal description, which should appear after the grantor and grantee are named, must be complete and accurate. The description should be by subdivision name, lot and block in a platted subdivision, by certified survey map (volume and page of map), lot number and map number, or in unplatted lands. Include the CSM number, volume, and page. An address is not sufficient as a legal description.

- Signatures must be notarized. The notary public must date, sign, seal, and show the names of the parties who came before him/her.

- A complete return address is required.

- The name of the drafter of the document must be included. This must be the name of an individual. It should be in the bottom left corner on the first page of the document.

- A document should identify the interest conveyed, and any material term, condition, reservation, exception or contingency upon which the interest is to arise, continue or be extinguished, limited or encumbered.

REAL ESTATE TRANSFER FORM

Whenever a conveyance is presented to the Register of Deeds for recording, it must be accompanied by a receipt that evidences completion of a Wisconsin Real Estate Transfer form, which must be completed online via the Wisconsin Department of Revenue website. To request the requirements to file the form electronically be waived, contact the Wisconsin Department of Revenue. Both the grantor and grantee (or either's agent) must sign the form.

If the transfer form has not been completed, an exemption number must be present on the document.