Winnebago County Recorder

The Register of Deeds records, maintains, and provides access to all the real estate records in Winnebago County.

To record a deed, mortgage, or land contract, and miscellaneous documents, the fee is $30, regardless of the number of pages.

The current rate of the transfer tax is $3 per $1000 of value. Valuation must be shown when documents are exempt.

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.

* Documents must be submitted on white paper, standard weight, either letter (8.5x11) or legal (8.5x14) size. Printing should be in black ink.

* The entire document must be legible and reproducible, with no thick black lines or other areas of interference.

* In the upper right hand corner of the first page of the document, there should be a blank space of 3x3 inches. This area is reserved for the recorder's stamp.

* A horizontal area within 3 inches of the top of the instrument in the upper left corner of the instrument, not less than 0.5 inch by 2 inches, is left blank for the unique document number.

* The first page must have a minimum of inch margins on the sides and bottom. All other pages must have a minimum inch top margin.

* Only originals may be submitted for recordation.

* The date of conveyance must be on the deed.

* If a person is from a state other than Wisconsin but is recording a deed there, they may add a cover sheet to the document to make it conform to the Wisconsin standard document format.

* Papers cannot be hinged or permanently bound.

* The return address information must be located immediately below the
recorder's stamp area or on the left side within the top 3 inches of the page.

* Signatures must be notarized, with the notary commission date stated.

* The grantor(s) and grantee(s) must be identified on the deed. The grantor's signature must be notarized.

* The name of the person who drafted the document must be included in the document. This requirement can be fulfilled by using the following format: 'This instrument was drafted by NAME.'

* Deeds, land contracts, and other conveyance documents require the electronic Wisconsin Real Estate Transfer Receipt to accompany the document when it is submitted for recording.

* For documents that reference specific parcels of land, a parcel identification number, found on the property tax bill, is required. This number should be placed on a line under the return address. Legal descriptions are required for documents that reference specific parcels of land.

* The title of the document must be within the top 3 inches of the first page, but not in the blank 3x3 area for the recorder's stamp. The title should be located not less than .5 inches nor more than 3 inches from the top of the document.

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.

Effect of not recording:
Every conveyance that is not recorded shall be void as against any subsequent purchaser, in good faith, and for a valuable consideration, of the same real estate or any portion of the same real estate whose conveyance is recorded first.