Miscellaneous Information

Each document recorded in our office is given a recording stamp. This stamp includes the information required by law. (Utah Code 17-21)

In the past, each stamp included a Document Entry Number, Book and Page. This is for indexing purposes. In Utah County documents are given an entry number starting from 1 every new year. For example entry number 3600 in 1998 (3600-1998) would be the 3600th document recorded that year.

The book number is continuous and our records begin with book A, which is handwritten copies of recorded documents. When reproducing machines were invented the documents were then copied as negative images. Later, actual books were replaced with microfilm. Electronically scanned and stored images are used today with microfilm backup.

Each book contains approximately 900 pages. With these numbers we can easily find and access any document ever recorded. The official records contain documents from 1870 to the present, stored on Official Record Books, Microfilm, and Scanned Images.

Beginning in 2000, the recording stamp no longer includes a book and page. Indexing is done only by the Document Entry Number and the year. (i.e. 12345-2000)

The recording stamp also contains the name of the current County Recorder; the time and date the document was recorded; the fee which was paid for recording; the initials of the deputy recorder who accepted the document; and the party who requested the document be recorded.

All recorded documents are indexed by the names of the principal parties, by the location of the land (abstract), and by the kind of instrument.

1. - Official Records 1870 to Present - Official Record Books, Microfilm and Optically Scanned Images.
2. - Alphabetical Index - 1870 to January 1978 - Handwritten Records, January 1978 to Present - Computerized.
3. - Abstract Record - 1870 to September 1985 - Handwritten and Typed, May 1980 to Present - Computerized and on the Internet
4. - Ownership Plats - Current Ownership on Maps
5. - Official Subdivision Plat - On the Internet

All records are indexed by the names of the principal parties and when a legal description is included on a document, by property location. The records are open for public inspection and copies of documents may be purchased at our office, or beginning with 1994's recordings, available on the Internet at no charge.

Subdivision Requirements

The Recorders Office checks subdivision plats before they are recorded. The checklists we use do not contain all the requirements required by code but they do contain those which are needed for recording. You are welcome to take a look at those things which we check for. Many cities find these very useful in their approval process.

Sometimes owners wish to combine their adjoining properties into one tax parcel. To do this, you will have to fill out a form so that we may track why a change has taken place. Combining parcels for taxing does not change your tax descriptions, it just includes them all on one serial number. You may wish to get a survey of the perimeter of your property and record a new deed, this would then combine all smaller parcels into one new large piece. Further instruction can be found on the Combine at Owner's request information page.

(UCA) - Utah State Code

1. Personal Information Redaction Application

1. Request for Unredacted Copy

Below are terms with a brief definition that are often used in recorded documents.

1. Acknowledgement: Execution of a document before an authorized office or a notary public. Acknowledgment is required of most documents that affect the title to real property.
2. Affiant: Person who swears to the statement in an affidavit.
3. Affidavit: A sworn statement in writing.
4. Assignee: One to whom a transfer of interest is made. For example, beneficial interest is assigned to the assignee on an Assignment of Trust Deed.
5. Assignor: One who makes an assignment of interest. For example, the assignor on an Assignment of a Trust Deed assigns beneficial interest.
6. Attorney in Fact: One who holds a power of attorney from another allowing him to execute documents on behalf of the person granting the power of attorney.
7. Beneficiary: Person who receives some benefit. For Example, the beneficiary of a trust deed is the one who lends the money and receives benefits in the form of payments.
8. Certified Copy: A copy of a document that has been recorded or filed with a government agency (such as the Utah County Recorder's Office). The copy must be stamped and sealed by a deputy certifying that it is an exact copy.
9. Chain of Title: Past series of transactions and documents affecting title to a parcel of land.
10. Clear Title: Title that contains no obstruction or limitations from receiving marketable value.
11. Conveyance: An instrument by which title to property is transferred (Such as a deed.)
12. Covenant: An agreement written into deeds and other instruments promising performance or nonperformance of certain acts or stipulating certain uses or non-uses of the property.
13. Deed: A written document by which the ownership of land is transferred from one party to another.
14. Deed of Trust: An instrument used as a mortgage. Property is transferred to a trustee by the borrower in favor of the lender and reconveyed upon payment in full.
15. Deed Restrictions: Clauses in a deed limiting the future uses of the property.
16. Easement: A limited right in a piece of land owned by another. Entitles the easement holder to a specific limited use, such as sewer lines, power lines, or crossing the property.
17. Encumbrance: Any lien – such as a mortgage, tax, fee, or judgment lien; an easement; a restriction on the use of the land
18. Grantee: A person receiving a deed or buying property.
19. Grantor: A person issuing the deed or selling property.
20. Entry Number: The unique number assigned to each recorded document by the Salt Lake County Recorder's Office.
21. Joint Tenancy: Ownership of real estate between two or more parties named in one conveyance as joint tenants. Upon the death of a joint tenant, his or her interest passes to the surviving joint tenant or tenants by the right of survivorship. Proper documentation must be recorded.
22. Judgment: A court’s final and authentic determination of the rights of the parties in an action
23. Legal Description: A description of a specific parcel of real estate complete enough for an independent surveyor to locate and identify it. The description is by subdivision name, lot and block in a platted subdivision, or parcel map.
24. Lien: A claim or interest in land property as security for a debt. A lien does not confer title. Some examples are mortgage liens, judgment liens, and mechanics liens.
25. Lis Pendens: A notice recorded in the official records of a county to indicate that an action affecting a particular property has been filed in either a state or a federal court.
26. Mining Claim: Minerals are imbedded in bedrock (tunnel or shaft) and are not loose on the ground.
27. Mechanic's Lien: A lien allowed by statute to contractors, laborers and material men on buildings, or other structures upon which work has been performed or materials supplied.
28. Mortgage: A lien against property created in a repayment agreement that uses the property as collateral for a loan.
29. Notary/Notary Public: An individual commissioned by the state with the authority to acknowledge the signatures of individuals; notaries take no responsibility for the statements made by the signer or the contents of the documents signed.
30. Parcel Number: A unique 9-digit number used as the identifier of each parcel. It is sometimes referred to as the parcel identification number (PIN) or Assessor’s Parcel Number (APN).
31. Plat: A map representing a piece of land subdivided into lots indicating the location and boundaries of individual properties.
32. Quiet Title: The removal of a cloud on title by proper action in a court in which a plaintiff staked a claim in his/her own property in which a defect was defaulted on the estate in which is voided to show as a cloud on the estate’s title deemed to be reviewed upon a court action.
33. Quit Claim Deed: A conveyance by which the grantor transfers whatever interest he or she has in the real estate, without warranties or obligations.
34. Range: A row of townships running north and south. Used in legal description, as in section, township, and range.
35. Reconveyance: Issued by a mortgage holder to indicate that the borrower has been released from the mortgage debt. The deed transfers the property title from the lender, also called the beneficiary, to the borrower.
36. Recording: The act of entering or recording documents as public records in the office of the county recorder. Documents are recorded to protect the interests of persons involved and to provide constructive notice of rights and interests in land. Documents accepted for recording are time stamped, receive a unique instrument number, are indexed, the image is captured, and the original document is sent back to the returnee.
37. Right of Way: The right that one must pass across the lands of another. An easement.
38. Section: A portion of a township that is approximately one mile by one mile and 640 acres. Used in legal description, as in section, township, and range.
39. Tenants in Common: A form of co-ownership by which each owner holds an undivided interest in real property as if he or she were sole owner. Each individual owner has the right to ask for partition. Unlike joint tenants, tenants in common have right of inheritance
40. Title: The right to or ownership of land or the evidence of ownership of land.
41. Title Insurance: A policy insuring the owner against loss by reason of defects in the title to a parcel of real estate, other than encumbrances, defects, and matters specifically excluded by the policy
42. Title Search: An examination of public records, laws, and court decisions to determine the current ownership of and encumbrances on a parcel of land.
43. Trust Deed: A written instrument by which title to land is transferred to a trustee as security for payment of a debt or other obligation. Also called a Deed of Trust. Other states may use a mortgage, which is similar but does not actually transfer the property to a trustee.