Recorder
Aitkin County Recorder's Office
The primary responsibilities of the Recorder's Office are to receive real property documents for filing and to maintain an index to the reproductions of all previously filed documents. These responsibilities apply to both Abstract and Registered (Torrens) property located in Aitkin County. Examples of common documents include Deeds, Contracts, Mortgages, and Satisfactions, but many other types of documents that reference real property are also filed.
Additional responsibilities of the Recorder's Office include the retention of Vital Statistics (birth and death records) on persons who were born or died in Aitkin County. The office can also issue Birth and Death Certificates filed in other Minnesota counties provided the subject was born after 1935 or died after 1997. Other types of information that may be found in the Recorder's Office are original Plat Maps, State and Federal tax liens, Veteran Service Discharge records, and Notary Public Commissions.
Contact the office for more information on anything listed above. The Recorder's Office is located on the main floor of the Government Center. If you wish to file a document, please refer to the Recording Checklist and Document Standards below; if you are still unsure, seek competent legal guidance. Office staff cannot answer legal questions or draft documents.
Please Note the following fees types must be paid with separate checks.
• Recording Fees. Mortgage Registration Tax, and State Deed Tax can now be on one check made Payable to the Aitkin County RECORDER
• Property Taxes are made payable to AITKIN COUNTY TREASURER and
should not be submitted to the Recorder’s Office.
*Documents submitted with combined fees CANNOT be recorded!
Subdivision On-Line Plat Search
Effective July 1, 2011:
The Aitkin County Recorder will no longer be a Satellite Office to file UCC's.
Recording Checklist:
All documents:
- Document dated
- Document signed
- Acknowledgment needs
- Date
- Legible Notary Seal
- Notary Signature
- Notary Commission Expire Date
- Marital status must be of the form: "A Single Person", "Husband & Wife", "Divorced and not remarried", "Widowed and not remarried", etc. Marital status of only "Married" is ambiguous and unacceptable.
- Full Legal Description (Tax Statements use BRIEF legal descriptions and are not sufficient.)
- Draftsman Statement - Include name & address
- Recording fees ($46 per document* - Payable to Aitkin County Recorder) *some exceptions may apply.
- White-out is unacceptable and may prevent accurate digital reproduction of document.
- When a document is delivered for recording please note the following (preferably on your cover letter):
- Telephone number in case there are questions
- Address of where to return document (original document is returned after recording process; Abstract documents usually take about two weeks, Torrens documents take longer depending on workload)
- Whether document is to be recorded in "Abstract" or "Torrens"
- Specific recording order if multiple documents are being filed.
- Contact office before mailing Torrens documents, there may be additional requirements.
- To ensure same day recording, deliver documents as early as possible or call ahead.
- Documents received after 1p.m. may be filed the next business day unless prior arrangements are made.
Transfer deeds:
- State Deed Tax included (purchase price times .0033 - Payable to Aitkin County Treasurer)
- Completed Certificate of Real Estate Value (CRV) or Electronic CRV number noted on document.
- If applicable, statement regarding "Total consideration for this transfer is $3000 or less." (State Deed Tax in this case will be the minimum of $1.65)
- Tax Statement: Include name & address of person to receive the Tax Statement
- All delinquent taxes must be paid before a property can be transferred.
- If split in tax parcel - all current taxes must be paid and split must be previously approved.
- Completed Well Certificate and $50.00 fee (payable to Aitkin County Recorder) OR one of the statements that apply:
- "The Seller certifies that the seller does not know of any wells on the described real property."
- OR "I am familiar with the property described in this instrument and I certify that the status and the number of wells on the described real property have not changed since the last previously filed well disclosure certificate."
Miscellaneous documents:
- Property Combinations
- Correction Documents (Need to have new signatures, new acknowledgements, and a correction statement.)
- Mortgage Registration Tax included (Mortgage amount times .0023 - Payable to Aitkin County Treasurer)
- Aitkin County does NOT have a conservation fee.
Document Standards:
Minnesota Statutes (as of July 31, 2014)
507.093 STANDARDS FOR DOCUMENTS TO BE RECORDED OR FILED
The following standards are imposed on documents to be recorded with the county recorder or the registrar of titles other than by electronic means as provided in section 507.24:
- The document shall consist of one or more individual sheets measuring no larger than 8.5 inches by 14 inches.
- The form of the document shall be printed, typewritten, or computer generated in black ink and the form of the document shall not be smaller than 8-point type.
- The document shall be on white paper of not less than 20-pound weight with no background color or images and, except for the first page, shall have a border of at least one-half inch on the top, bottom, and each side.
- The first page of the document shall contain a blank space at the top measuring three inches, as measured from the top of the page, and a border of one-half inch on each side and the bottom. The right half of the blank space shall be reserved for recording information and the left half shall be reserved for tax certification. Any person may attach an administrative page before the first page of the document to accommodate this standard. The administrative page may contain the document title, document date, and, if applicable, the grantor and grantee, and shall be deemed part of the document when recorded.
- The title of the document shall be prominently displayed at the top of the first page below the blank space referred to in clause (4), or on the administrative page.
- No additional sheet shall be attached or affixed to a page that covers up any information or printed part of the form.
- A document presented for recording must be sufficiently legible to reproduce a readable copy using the county recorder's or registrar of title's current method of reproduction.
508.82 REGISTRAR OF TITLES' FEES
Subd. 2.Variance from standards. A document should conform to the standards in section 507.093, paragraph (a), but should not be rejected unless the document is not legible or cannot be archived. This subdivision applies only to documents dated after July 31, 1997, and does not apply to Minnesota uniform conveyancing blanks on file in the office of the commissioner of commerce provided for under section 507.09, certified copies, or any other form provided for under Minnesota Statutes.