Staff:
Sue C. Stoffel, Register
Roberta S. Roubal, Chief Deputy Register
Dorothy M. Miller, Deputy Register
Sylvia Gerathy, Deputy Register

The REGISTER is also the Chairman of the Leelanau County Plat Board.

The REGISTER OF DEEDS office is the official office for all legal instruments pertaining to the transfer and encumbrances of properties in the county.  Examples of real property are such documents as warranty deeds, quit claim deeds, land contracts, and sheriff deeds; also mortgages and any assignments or discharges thereof.  Probate orders, death certificates, agreements, leases, liens and numerous other instruments which affect real estate including certified surveys, plats and government corners are also documents kept by the office.  Leelanau County records date back to 1863.  Certified copies can be made from the records upon request.  

The REGISTER OF DEEDS office assists the public, lending institutions, title companies, realtors and attorneys who are among the many people who check the records and filings of instruments in the office.  Documents are recorded daily after being checked that all recording requirements are met according to statute.  They are then time stamped, assigned liber and page numbers, indexed in the computer and images scanned.  Our computer index dates back to January 1991 and we are currently working on indexing records to January 1981.  Eventually we would like to have all records, indexed and imaged, back to 1971.  For security purposes, duplicate microfilmed copies of all documents recorded are sent to an underground storage facility in Grand Rapids.  Our records are available online and images can be viewed or copied for a fee.  There are two public work stations in the office for searching the documents on the computer and the vault is available for record searching before January, 1991.  

The REGISTER OF DEEDS office is open Monday through Friday, from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.