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Register of Deeds
Mission
Requires personal commitment to serve the citizens of Morton County for the common good of all. It is an honor and privilege to serve the citizens of Morton County.
Responsibilities
The Register of Deeds office records, maintains and preserves the land records of the county. Deeds, mortgages, mortgage releases, easements, oil and gas leases, and plats are some of the documents typically filed in the Register of Deeds office. The records we keep are permanent and date back to 1886. All records in this office are open to the public with the exception of the Kansas Real Estate Sales Validation Questionnaire and Military Discharges, which are closed by state statute. The filing fees are set by state statute K.S.A. 28-115 and K.S.A. 28-115a and required indexes are set by state statute K.S.A. 19-1201 thru 19-1219.
E-Recording
The Register of Deeds office is now excepting Electronically recorded documents through Simplifile and CSC. If you would like to E-record a document, you need to contact Simplifile to set up an account. You can contact Simplifile at 800-460-5657 or by visiting their website, and CSC at 866-652-0111 or by visiting their website.
Remote Access to Documents
We are also offering remote access to documents by subscription for a fee.
Long Term Account - 12 months & 6 months - Call our office to set up an account.
Short Term Account - Daily & Monthly - Click on the link to the CIC Remote Access / Printing Service website to set up an account.
RECORDING REQUIREMENTS
Document Requirements
Documents presented for recording must be originals, signed and properly notarized, and of sufficient legibility so as to produce a clear and legible reproduction. If a document is judged not to be of sufficient legibility, such document shall be accompanied by an exact copy thereof which shall be of sufficient legibility to produce a clear and legible reproduction and which shall be recorded contemporaneously with the document and shall be counted as additional pages (K.S.A. 28-115). The Register of Deeds may reject any document which is not of sufficient legibility.
Margins
A minimum of a 1.5 inch top margin for paper documents and 3 inch top margin for e-recorded documents is required in order for us to place our recording information at the top of the first page. This area needs to be completely blank. If sufficient space is not provided for the necessary recording information and certification on a document, we require a cover page to be added which will be counted as a page and be charged the required fees. In addition to the top margin of the first page, a 1 inch margin at the top and bottom and ½ inch side margin of each additional page are also required.
Fees
The Kansas Register of Deeds are required to collect the correct fees before recording documents. The fees are set by statute K.S.A. 28-115 and K.S.A. 28-115a. Uniform Commercial Code (UCC) fees are set by the Secretary of State Agency 7; Article 17—Uniform Commercial Code. See the fee schedule and the fee per document guide.
If the name or names of any signer or notary public are not plainly typed or printed under the signatures, the Register of Deeds shall charge and collect a fee of $1.00 in addition to all other fees provided in this schedule (K.S.A. 28-115d).
Kansas Real Estate Sales Validation Questionnaire (SVQ)
All deeds and affidavits of equitable interest presented for recording must be accompanied by a Kansas Real Estate Sales Validation Questionnaire (SVQ) or have an exemption clearly stated on the deed. The complete instructions are on the back. (K.S.A. 79-1437c and K.S.A. 79-1437e) . Kansas Department of Revenue, Property Valuation Department directive requires the Register of Deeds to check the accuracy of the sales price per DIRECTIVE #19-041 entered on the SVQ is correct before recording the deed.
Mortgage Cap Affidavit
In order to receive the lower recording fee for single family mortgages on principal residences where the principal debt or obligation secured by the mortgage is $75,000 or less, a appears to be an empty link with target https://ksrods.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/2.officer-duties-1.pdf appears to be an empty link with target https://ksrods.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/2.officer-duties-1.pdf appears to be an empty link with target /DocumentCenter/View/323/Mtg-Single-Fam-affidavit appears to be an empty link with target /DocumentCenter/View/324/MTG-Cap-Affidavit Mortgage Cap Affidavit appears to be an empty link with target https://ksrods.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/2.officer-duties-1.pdmust be attached to the mortgage stating these facts. K.S.A.28-115(j)
Kansas Register of Deeds Association
More information may be found on the Kansas Register of Deeds Association website. The Register of Deeds office is a recording office and retains land records for public inspection. We cannot, however, provide any searches of records.
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Stephanie Sinclair
Register of Deeds
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Register of Deeds
Physical Address
1025 Morton Street
Elkhart, KS 67950
Mailing Address
P.O. Box 756
Elkhart, KS 67950
Phone: 620-697-2561Fax: 620-697-4105
Hours
Monday through Friday
9 am to 5 pmLast day of the Month
9 am to 4 pm