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The Office of County Records, (formerly the County Clerk’s Office) records all documents that effect the conveyance, encumbrance, or division of Real Property, including but not limited to: Affidavits, Agreements, Death Certificates, Deeds, Deeds of Trust (Mortgages), Easements, Foreclosures, Judgments, Land Sale Contracts, Leases, Liens, Partition Plats, Subdivision (Town) Plats and variations of said documents (amendments, assignments, modifications, releases, re-plats & satisfactions).

Other recorded and filed documents include: Military Discharges, Mining Records, Oaths of Office, Powers of Attorney, and Taxing District Budgets.

County Records also: issues & records Marriage Licenses; registers Domestic Partnerships; processes Passport Applications, offers Notary Public Services, assists the Property Value Appeals Board and maintains and indexes the County Commissioners’ Journal - a monthly record of the Orders, Ordinances, Public Works Permits, Contracts, Agreements, and other business Proceedings of the County’s Executive Branch. The Records Office also provides order forms and contact information for obtaining copies of Birth Certificates and other Vital Records not recorded at the county level, but on file with the State of Oregon: www.healthoregon.org/chs or (971) 673-1190. Limited contact information is available for other states as well.

For Divorce, Probate & Criminal Records please contact the Umatilla County Circuit Court at 541-278-0341.

This Office cannot:

• Give legal advice
• Supply blank forms/documents.  Stevens-Ness carries forms that meet Oregon's Revised Statutes for recording:  https://stevensness.com/collections/all-forms
• Tell you what type of form/document to record
• Help you fill out forms/documents
• If you need help, we recommend that you contact an attorney or title company for assistance.

Frequently asked Questions About Deeds

Q. What is the difference between a title & a deed?

A. Title is a legal term (concept) that refers to ownership of something.   A deed is the physical & legal document that transfers ownership (title) of real property from one person to another.  A title can also refer to the physical document that proves ownership of a mobile home (personal property) when a person does not own the land the mobile home is situated on.

Q. What does a deed contain?

A.  A deed must contain the printed name(s) of the grantor & grantee. It must contain vesting language, a consideration in terms of dollars and a legal description. It must be signed by the grantor in the presence of a notary public and must contain a tax statement address (where the property tax bill is to be sent) and a return name & address for after recording.

Q. Where does a deed come from?

A. Someone must draft a deed, usually an attorney, as it is a legal document.  Some office supply stores and websites carry various “fill in the blank” type deed forms.  Many of these forms do not comply with Oregon statute.  This office does not carry blank legal forms.  We highly recommend you seek the assistance of an attorney or title company and do not try to prepare your own deed.

Q. When do I get my deed?

A. A deed is given to you by the seller at the time of purchase or shortly after closing by the title company if you go through escrow. Contrary to popular belief or misinformation by banks:  the county recorder does not issue you a deed when you home is paid off.  The bank records a mortgage satisfaction or reconveyance document.  The original is then returned to the bank.  You may purchase a copy of it.

Q. How do I add, change or remove a name from title?

A. The only way to alter ownership in title is to record one of four types of documents:  a deed, a certified copy of a death certificate, a certified copy of a court judgment, or a certificate of merger.

1. A deed to add someone must be signed by all current owners granting to the additional owner, or the person coming out of title must sign over to the remaining owners. If you have remarried and changed your name you must then deed from yourself in your old name to yourself in your new name.

1. To remove someone who is deceased you must record an original certified copy of a death certificate.  If the death occurred in Oregon after January 1^st, 2014 we can only accept a “short form” death certificate (one that does not show the cause of death).  A long form is acceptable if the death occurred before 2014 or out of state.

1. A certified copy of a judgment (divorce decree or lawsuit) awarding the property to a designated person may be recorded so long as it contains a legal description of the property.  Please note:  the act of “filing” a divorce decree and being awarded the property once finalized does not change ownership record.  The certified copy must then be recorded in the county recorder’s office by the person who was awarded the property.

1. A secretary of state issued certified copy of a certificate of merger can be recorded to change the name in ownership for an LLC.

Q. I recorded a death certificate to remove my deceased spouse from my title.  Will I get a new deed in just my name?

A. No. Recording the death certificate just removes the deceased from the tax statement & makes evident the fact why that person does not sign the new deed if the property is sold or transferred. As the surviving spouse, only you as the owner can sign a newly drafted deed & record it to list the property solely in your name.

Q. I was awarded the property in a divorce, how do I get my ex-spouse off of my title?

A.  There are two ways to remove the name of an ex-spouse from title:  by recording a deed that they have willingly signed over to you, or by recording a certified copy of your divorce decree (judgment), so long as it contains a complete legal description. 

Q.  I just paid my house off and the bank told me to contact you to obtain the deed.  Is this correct?

A. No, the deed is given to you at the time you purchased the home by the previous owner, or shortly after closing if you went through a title company.  When you took out your mortgage, you signed a deed of trust which was then recorded, acting as a lien against your property.  Upon completion of the loan, the bank or trustee will prepare & record a satisfaction of mortgage to release the lien.  This document is sometimes called a deed of reconveyance, full reconveyance or substitution of trustee & reconveyance.  This document is typically returned to the bank after recording.  Other than your letter from the bank stating your loan is paid, you will not receive anything further unless your request to purchase a copy of the reconveyance from the recorder’s office.  It is not necessary to be in possession of the physical reconveyance document in order to transfer or sell the property like you would with a car title.  In short, the deed is the title to the property and the reconveyance show the property free of the mortgage, and both documents become a permanent record in the recorder’s office.

Q. I recorded a deed in your office and then received a letter from the assessment office explaining that there was an error in my deed.  How come I have to pay again to fix the error and re-record it?

A.  When we accept a document for recording we only check for recordability (does it contain the required components and is it formatted correctly?).  We do not check documents for accuracy, spelling, vesting, etc.  That is up to the person who drafted or submitted the deed for recording.

Q.  Where can I find the legal description of my property?

A.  Whereas your real property tax statement shows a “property description” showing code, map & tax lot number, acres & situs (physical address), none of these constitute a “legal description” of your property.  The legal description can only be found on your current deed and will be described as lot, block & subdivision, a parcel number and a partition plat number, or a metes and bounds description as written by a land surveyor.

Q. How do I find the boundaries of my property?

A.  The first place to start is to look at the legal description as shown on your deed. 

1. If your property is located within a subdivision or was created by a formal partition plat, there will be a recorded plat map that will show the subdivision name or partition number, property lot & block or parcel number with dimensions and usually the location of survey pins.

1.  if your property is located in a rural area and covers many acres, you may have a rectangular or government survey system description described in directional quarters or sub quarters within a numbered section, township and range.

1.  you may also have a metes & bounds description that incorporates the use of measured feet, angles, degrees, directions and physical objects and has a point of beginning that will circle back to such point at the end of the description.

 county tax lot cards and tax lot maps also contain some boundary information, but often abbreviated and are prepared for assessment & taxation purposes only and are not prepared nor suitable for legal, engineering or surveying purposes.  Boundaries can change overtime if portions are excepted out and sold or a formal boundary line adjustment is recorded.  You may ultimately need to hire a professional registered land surveyor to locate your pins and/or boundaries.

Q. What is the Easement referenced on my deed?

A.  Often referenced on a deed as inclusion or exception.   An easement is a nonpossessory interest in the land of another that entitles the easement holder to limited use of another’s land without interference.  An easement holder is a person with a legal right to use the easement and may include the owner of the land on which the easement is located.  You may have an easement through your neighbor’s property to access your own.  This is a “benefit”, whereas your neighbor’s easement through your land is a “burden.”  Easements may be for ingress or egress, utilities, pipeline, canal, irrigation ditch access & maintenance.  There are also septic drain field easements, etc. Easements may be temporary for construction, or permanent in nature, exclusive or non-exclusive and in some cases can be modified or terminated.  An easement may be in place on a parcel of land before it is platted as a subdivision.  Easements can also be created at the time a subdivision is platted.  They can also be recorded as a separate document.  Easements of record are usually referenced on a person’s deed

• Give legal advice
• Supply blank forms/documents.  Stevens-Ness carries forms that meet Oregon's Revised Statutes for recording:  https://stevensness.com/collections/all-forms
• Tell you what type of form/document to record
• Help you fill out forms/documents
• If you need help, we recommend that you contact an attorney or title company for assistance.