Recorder of deeds

Office or position that maintains property ownership records Portrait of Frederick Douglass in the D.C. Recorder of Deeds Building. Frederick Douglass was the first recorder of deeds for the District of Columbia. Recorder of deeds or deeds registry is a government office tasked with maintaining public records and documents, especially records relating to real estate ownership that provide persons other than the owner of a property with real rights over that property. Background The offices with similar duties (varying by jurisdiction) include registrar general, register of deeds, registrar of deeds, registrar of titles. The office of such an official may be referred to as the deeds registry or deeds office. In the United States, the recorder of deeds is often an elected county office and is called the county recorder. In some U.S. states, the functions of a recorder of deeds are a responsibility of the county clerk (or the county's clerk of court), and the official may be called a clerk-recorder or recorder-clerk. The recorder of deeds provides a single location in which records of real property rights are recorded and may be researched by interested parties. The record of deeds of