Milwaukee County Recorder Information

Land records in Milwaukee County are recorded by the Register of Deeds.

Laredo is a subscription-based service for access to Milwaukee County real estate records; the fee is $800 per month. All recordings from 1962 to present and deeds from April 1, 1948 to present are digitized; deeds from 1835 - March 31, 1948 are searchable by Document Number or Book & Page only.

Checked September 2026 against official publications. Sources: Wisconsin Legislature: 59.43 · Real Estate Records | Milwaukee County Register of Deeds

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

Other charges

StatewideCopies of recorded documents are $2 for the first page plus $1 for each additional page of each document. Recording a cemetery plat, subdivision plat, or condominium plat is $50. Of each $30 recording fee, $15 is submitted to the Department of Administration for land record modernization, less up to $8 a qualifying county may retain (Wis. Stat. § 59.72(5)).

A search fee of $10 is charged for copy requests only if the recorded document number is not provided.

Paying the office

StatewideFees are payable in advance by the party procuring the services of the register of deeds; fees for services to a state department, board, or commission or a contracting person may be invoiced.

Transfer tax

Real estate transfer fee. 30 cents for each $100 of value or fraction thereof. The tax is collected when the document is recorded. (statewide, Wis. Stat. § 77.22(1))

StatewideThe register collects the fee when the conveyance is submitted for recording and enters the fee paid on the face of the instrument. Except as provided in s. 77.255, a completed real estate transfer return and payment of the fee are prerequisites to acceptance for recording. Exemptions are listed in s. 77.25, and an exempt conveyance must state the reason for exemption on its face by reference to the subsection of s. 77.25. Twenty percent of fees collected is retained by the county (s. 77.24). No city, village, town, or county may impose a fee on a conveyance exempt under s. 77.25 (s. 77.256).

Checked September 2026 against official publications. Sources: Wisconsin Legislature: 59.43 · Wisconsin Legislature: 77.22 · Real Estate Records | Milwaukee County Register of Deeds

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

StatewideTop margin of each page is 0.5 inch; company logos may appear within it. The first page must have a blank space of at least 3 inches by 3 inches in the upper right corner, within the margins, for recording information. A document without this space may not be recorded.

StatewideThe register of deeds may refuse to record a document that does not substantially comply with the standard format. The document name must be clear and located not less than 0.5 inch nor more than 6 inches from the top of the first page. Multiple pages may not be hinged or otherwise joined completely at the top or sides. The document must be legible when copied or scanned. A register of deeds may not record a document that contains an individual's social security number, subject to statutory exceptions. A county that requires parcel identification numbers may require one for each parcel affected.

The name and return address must be either directly under the recording area, or on the left side of the page and within the top three inches; the PIN must be placed directly under the return address. The title must be within the top three inches but not in the 3"x3" corner. The notary's name must be printed in black ink if not shown on the notary stamp, and a valid notary expiration/commission date is required.

Forms filed along with a transfer

• Wisconsin Electronic Real Estate Transfer Return (eRETR) Statewide Wisconsin Department of Revenue
  Executed at the time a conveyance is submitted for recording, except as provided in s. 77.255; filed electronically

Submitting documents

StatewideDocuments are recorded in the order received and endorsed with the date, hour, and minute of recording. Except as provided in any agreement with the submitter, documents left for recording are delivered to the recipient the submitter authorizes, once the submitter provides adequate postage. A register of deeds may return unrecorded an entire group of related documents identified as a single transaction if one of them may be refused.

Documents are not recorded immediately. No paper copy of an electronic document is mailed out.

Checked September 2026 against the sources below. Some of them are not official publications, so confirm with the recorder's office. Sources: Wisconsin Legislature: 59.43 · Wisconsin Legislature: 77.22 · Wisconsin Legislature: 59.43(2m) · Real Estate Records | Milwaukee County Register of Deeds · Document Recording Requirements - Milwaukee County · WRDA profile: Milwaukee County