What is the difference between a Michigan Register of Deeds and County Clerk?

In Michigan, the Register of Deeds is a separate elected official from the County Clerk. The Register of Deeds (MCL 565.201) handles real property recording — deeds, mortgages, liens, plats — while the County Clerk handles court records, vital records, and elections. All 83 Michigan counties have a dedicated Register of Deeds office.

How does Michigan's dual transfer tax work on deed recording?

Michigan imposes two real estate transfer taxes on every deed conveying property for consideration. The State Real Estate Transfer Tax (SRETT) under MCL 207.521 is $3.75 per $500 of value (0.75%). The County Real Estate Transfer Tax (CRETT) under MCL 207.502 is $0.55 per $500 of value (0.11%). Total combined rate is approximately $4.30 per $500. Both must be paid at recording; tax receipts are attached to or recorded with the deed.

How does e-recording work in Michigan under MCL 565.841?

Michigan's Electronic Recording Act (MCL 565.841 et seq.) authorizes county registers to accept documents submitted electronically. Most of Michigan's 83 registers now accept e-recording through approved submitter networks (Simplifile, CSC eRecording, eRecording Partners Network). Documents are submitted as PDFs, fees paid electronically, and the recorded image returned digitally. Adoption varies — urban registers (Wayne, Oakland, Kent) have high e-submission volumes; rural registers may still process predominantly paper.

What are Michigan's recording requirements under MCL 565.201?

Under MCL 565.201, instruments affecting title to real property must be recorded with the Register of Deeds in the county where the property is located. Requirements include: grantor and grantee names and addresses, legal description of property, acknowledgment before a notary public, and payment of required fees and transfer taxes. Michigan does not require witnesses — notary acknowledgment alone is sufficient. The first page must include a return address for the recorded document.

What digitization grants are available for Michigan county registers of deeds?

Michigan registers can access several funding sources: State Archives of Michigan grants through the Michigan Historical Center; IMLS/LSTA grants administered by the Library of Michigan; NHPRC grants for historically significant county records ($10K–$150K competitive); and county general fund or technology millage allocations. Several registers (Kent, Oakland, Wayne) have funded major digitization projects through dedicated county millages.

Public Records Indexing in Michigan: A Guide for County Registers of Deeds

Quick Reference

Item	Detail
Recording office	Register of Deeds (83 counties)
Primary recording statute	MCL 565.201
Public records law	Michigan FOIA — MCL 15.231 (5 business days)
State transfer tax (SRETT)	$3.75 per $500 of value (MCL 207.521)
County transfer tax (CRETT)	$0.55 per $500 of value (MCL 207.502)
e-Recording authority	MCL 565.841 et seq.
Witness requirement	None — notary acknowledgment only
State archives	State Archives of Michigan, Lansing

Who Manages Land Records in Michigan

Michigan has 83 counties, each with an independently elected Register of Deeds. The Register of Deeds is a constitutional office (Mich. Const. Art. VII § 4) separate from the County Clerk. The Register is responsible for recording, indexing, and providing access to all instruments affecting real property title — deeds, mortgages, liens, easements, plats, and miscellaneous encumbrances.

This structure means each county operates its own indexing platform, digitization schedule, and online access portal, creating significant variation across the state. Wayne County (Detroit) has processed millions of instruments; Keweenaw County in the Upper Peninsula handles far fewer, with correspondingly different infrastructure needs.

Governing Statutes

Statute	What It Covers	Indexing Implication
MCL 565.201	Conveyance recording requirements — names, legal description, acknowledgment	Defines mandatory index fields: grantor, grantee, property description, date
MCL 565.203	Warranty deed form and implied covenants	Governs warranty vs. quitclaim classification for instrument type indexing
MCL 207.521	State Real Estate Transfer Tax (SRETT) — $3.75/$500	Tax receipt attached to deed must be imaged as part of the instrument
MCL 207.502	County Real Estate Transfer Tax (CRETT) — $0.55/$500	Second tax document also requires capture in backfile imaging workflow
MCL 565.841	Electronic Recording Act — e-submission and e-acceptance	Incoming electronic documents must integrate with existing indexing workflow
MCL 560.101	Subdivision Control and Platting Act	Plats require dedicated subdivision index separate from grantor/grantee index
MCL 15.231	Michigan FOIA — 5-business-day response deadline	Index and images must be accessible within compliance window

Common Instrument Types in Michigan

Instrument	Typical Index Fields	Indexing Complexity
Warranty Deed	Grantor, grantee, legal description, consideration, acknowledgment date	Low
Quit Claim Deed	Grantor, grantee, legal description (may lack consideration)	Low
Land Contract	Vendor, vendee, property description, purchase price, payment terms	Medium — multi-page; installment terms require careful field extraction
Mortgage	Mortgagor, mortgagee, legal description, loan amount, maturity date	Medium
Assignment of Mortgage	Assignor, assignee, original mortgage liber/page reference	Medium — liber/page cross-reference indexing required
Discharge of Mortgage	Mortgagee, mortgagor, original instrument reference	Low
Plat	Subdivision name, lot numbers, block numbers, surveyor certification	High — multi-page; requires subdivision index linkage

Michigan-Specific Requirements Affecting Indexing

Requirement	Description	Indexing Impact
Dual transfer tax documentation	Both SRETT and CRETT receipts must accompany deeds at recording	Tax documents attached to deed instruments must be captured; tax amounts may warrant separate index fields
Liber and page referencing	Michigan historically recorded into bound volumes ("libers") — liber + page is the legacy reference system for pre-digital records	Backfile conversion must link digital images to liber/page references for chain-of-title continuity
Land contract prevalence	Land contracts (installment sale agreements) are more common in Michigan than most states	Dual-name indexing required — vendor as grantor, vendee as grantee; vendor retains title until payoff
No witness requirement	Michigan requires only notary acknowledgment — no witness signatures on deeds	Eliminates witness name fields from indexing schema; simplifies extraction compared to 2-witness states
Plat Act compliance	Plats require approval by county drain commissioner, county surveyor, and register before recording (MCL 560.101)	Multi-approval stamp page typically precedes plat map — must be captured as part of instrument

Digitization Resources for Michigan Registers of Deeds

Program	Administering Body	Notes
State Archives of Michigan Grants	Michigan Historical Center / MDOS	Preservation and access grants for county records; application cycles vary annually
LSTA Grants	IMLS / Library of Michigan	Library Services and Technology Act funding; county registers have qualified as eligible institutions
NHPRC Grants	National Archives and Records Administration	For historically significant county records — competitive grants typically $10K–$150K
County General Fund / Millage	County Board of Commissioners	Kent, Oakland, and Wayne counties have funded digitization through dedicated technology millages

Practical Considerations for Backfile Projects in Michigan

Factor	Michigan-Specific Detail
Volume variation	Wayne County (Detroit) has millions of instruments; Keweenaw County may have fewer than 20,000 total — scope each project independently
Liber-to-instrument-number migration	Most counties transitioned from liber/page to sequential instrument numbers in the 1990s–2000s; backfile must bridge both reference systems for chain-of-title lookups
Tax stamp imaging	Older revenue and transfer tax stamps may be faint or partially obscured; OCR confidence scores for stamp values will be lower — flag for manual review
Land contract classification	Michigan's higher rate of land contract use means classification logic must clearly distinguish land contracts from warranty deeds — both involve grantor/grantee but very different legal structure
Portal fragmentation	No single statewide portal — registers use BST, Fidlar Laredo, Kofile, GRM, and others — backfile outputs must match the target platform's ingest format

Disclaimer: This guide is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. Statutes, fees, and procedures are subject to change. County registers should consult current MCL text, the Michigan Department of State, and the Michigan Association of Registers of Deeds (MARD) for the most current requirements.

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