29 N Howell Street 517-437-7758

Hillsdale County Register of Deeds

Bambi Somerlott

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Deputy Register - Vicki Burger

Administrative Assistant - Shannon Gainer

Telephone: (517) 437-2231

County Surveyor - Mike Lodzinski

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Deeds Office Information

Hillsdale County Office Building
33 McCollum St.
Room 212
Hillsdale, MI 49242

Monday-Friday
8:30 a.m.-5:00 p.m.

Please note: Electronic documents may be submitted at any time but are accepted and processed during posted hours excluding all holidays.  Holidays/Closures

Recording Requirements

The following information concerning changes to recording statutes as of June 22, 2018 are displayed here for informational purposes only for Title companies, Attorneys and Lending Institutions .

Please contact our office if you have any questions about recording requirements.

  IMPORTANT CHANGES TO RECORDING STATUTES - PLEASE READ

June 22, 2018

To: All Title Companies, Attorneys and Lending Institutions:

From: Bambi Somerlott, Hillsdale County Register of Deeds

Governor Snyder signed SB 731-740 (PA 191-200 of 2018) on 20 June 2018. The bills that will impact most submitters are 735-737 which amend MCL 565.48, MCL 565.203 and MCL 565.201 respectively. All bills will take effect 90 days after the date they are enacted into law, 19 September 2018 if I counted correctly. After this date:

  • Any document that conveys an interest in land by a survivor will require “a certified copy….or other proof of death… is shown to have been recorded in the register’s office by Liber and Page reference or is filed concurrently with the deed or other instrument and recorded as a separate document.” As I understand this section we will no longer be able to attach a copy of a death certificate to an instrument and satisfy the proof of death requirement. MCL 565.48
  • All documents, regardless of where they were executed or acknowledged, must meet Michigan recording requirements (with the exception of page formatting which is specifically exempt under 565.201 (2)). This is more an omission of previous language that made recording requirements inapplicable to documents executed or acknowledged outside the State of Michigan. MCL 565.203
  • Any instrument where any part is in a language other than English must be accompanied by an English translation attachment to the instrument. MCL 565.201 (h).

(1)

Signatures must be original; names must be typed or printed beneath all signatures. MCLA 565.201 Sec. 1 (a)(c)
(2) No discrepancy shall exist between names printed in notary acknowledgement and as printed beneath signatures. MCLA 565.201 Sec. 1(b)
(3) All written instruments conveying or mortgaging real estate or any interest in real estate executed and offered for record before April 6, 2017 must state whether any male grantors, mortgagors, or other parties executing the intrument are married or single, and the register of deeds of the county in which the intrument is offered for record shall refuse to receive the intrument for record unless it conforms to this act. MCLA 565.221
(4) The address of grantees in each deed of conveyance or assignment of real estate shall contain the street number address or post office address. MCLA 565.201 Sec. 1(d)
(5) The name and address of the person who drafted the document must appear on documents executed in Michigan. MCLA 565.201a
(6) Documents purporting to convey or encumber real estate executed in Michigan require an acknowledgement by a judge, clerk of a court of record or a notary public within this state. MCLA 565.8 form: MCLA 565.265;565.267
(7) A certified copy of a death certificate or proof of death must be recorded or have been recorded and referenced by Liber and Page on said document when "survivor" is indicated on the document. MCLA 565.48
(8) Court orders must be certified and sealed by the clerk of the court. MCLA 565.401, 565.411
(9) The document must be: Legible, black ink, type size 10 point, white 20lb paper, with a blank margin of 2 ½" at the top of the first page and ½" on all other margins. First page must also have a single statement identifying the recordable event that the instrument evidences. Paper size must be minimally 8 ½ " x 11" and not larger than 8 ½" x 14. MCLA 565.201 Sec. 3, Sec. 1(f)
(10) Total vale of real property must be stated on the face of the document or real estate valuation affidavit must be attached. MCLA 207.504, 207.525
(11) Transfer tax shall be collected on the total value of the land being transferred unless exempt from either or both acts; the exemption(s) must be stated on the instrument. MCLA 207.502, 207.511, MCLA 207.526, 207.533
(12) Dates are missing in acknowledgement. MCLA 565.151, 565.154, 565.267
(13) Fees due upon recording. MCLA 600.2567, 600.2567(a), 211.135
(14) Unless state or federal law, rule, regulation, or court order or rule requires that all or more than 4 sequential digits of the social security number appear in the instrument, the first 5 digits of any social security number appearing in or on the instrument are obscured or removed: MCLA 565.201 Sec. 1 (g)
(15) Certificate of trust recording requirements.MCLA 565.432, 565.433