Recording a deed in Kenosha County, Wisconsin

Recording a deed in Kenosha County

Deeds affecting property in Kenosha County, Wisconsin are recorded with the Register of Deeds. Recording is what puts the world on notice of your ownership and fixes the priority date. An unrecorded deed can still transfer title between the parties, but it leaves you exposed to anyone who records first.

The recording rules the office applies come from Wis. Stat. § 706.05. Deeds themselves are governed by Wis. Stat. § 706.02.

What to bring

• The original signed and notarized deed. Recorders do not record photocopies handed over the counter.
• A completed notarial acknowledgment, with the date, the place where you signed, and the commission expiry all filled in.
• Wisconsin Real Estate Transfer Return (RETR), which Wisconsin requires alongside the deed.
• Payment for the recording fee, $30 per document. Many offices do not take personal checks.

Formatting

• Wisconsin requires a blank space of at least 3 inches by 3 inches in the upper right corner of the first page, within the margins (a document without it may not be recorded), a top margin of 0.5 inch on every page, side and bottom margins of at least 0.25 inch, return information on the first page, the name of whoever drafted the document, white paper of at least 20-pound weight, and 8.5 × 11 or 8.5 × 14 paper (Wis. Stat. § 59.43(2m)). The statute sets no minimum type size; Deedly prints nothing smaller than 10 points.
• On a Wisconsin page one Deedly leaves the upper right corner blank and prints the drafter's name, the return address and, under it, the parcel identification number on the left within the top 3 inches, as Dane and Winnebago counties ask. The title and the rest of the document start below the corner.
• Deedly's layout, which suits this office: 8.5 × 11 inch paper, a 3.5-inch clear space at the top of page one for the recording stamp, 0.5-inch margins on the other edges, and type no smaller than 10 point. Deedly formats every document this way automatically.
• A legal description. A street address alone is not enough.
• A 'when recorded, return to' block so the stamped original comes back to you.

How to file

1. 1In personTake the original to the Register of Deeds in Kenosha. This is the fastest route. You usually walk out with the recording information the same day.
2. 2By mailSend the original with a check or money order for the fee and a self-addressed stamped envelope. Allow one to three weeks for the stamped original to come back.
3. 3E-recordingTitle companies, attorneys, and other approved submitters file electronically through services such as Simplifile, CSC, or ePN. Some offices accept filings from the public through those services; check the office's website. If you prepared the deed yourself, in person or by mail is usually simpler.