Montgomery County Property Records
Montgomery County property records are maintained by the County Recorder in Crawfordsville, Indiana, and cover deeds, mortgages, easements, releases, and other real estate instruments filed against land in the county. Whether you need to verify ownership, review a lien, or trace a property's title history, the recorder's office in Crawfordsville is the official source for land records in Montgomery County. This page explains how to search those records, what the filing process involves, and what statewide tools are available for residents.
Montgomery County Property Records
Montgomery County Recorder Office
The Montgomery County Recorder holds a constitutional office defined under Indiana Code 36-2-11, which requires the recorder to accept, index, and preserve all instruments that affect real property within the county. The recorder's office is located at the Montgomery County Courthouse in Crawfordsville and is open Monday through Friday during standard courthouse hours. Every deed, mortgage, lien, easement, and release affecting land in Montgomery County must pass through this office to become part of the official public record.
Crawfordsville has a notable place in Indiana land records history. The federal land office serving much of central and north-central Indiana was located in Crawfordsville starting in 1828, when it was transferred from Terre Haute. Original land patents for many Montgomery County parcels were issued through that office before the state took over land administration. Those early federal records now reside at the national level, but the county recorder holds all instruments filed since the county was formed.
Once the recorder accepts a document, staff assign it an instrument number, stamp it with the date and time, scan it into the index system, and return the original to whoever submitted it. You use the instrument number to locate the document again in the future. Staff can search for records by name or instrument number but do not perform full title searches or provide legal opinions. The Indiana Recorders Association has contact details for the Montgomery County Recorder if you need to reach the office by phone or mail.
Search Montgomery County Land Records Online
Doxpop is the most commonly used online tool for searching Montgomery County recorded documents. The platform indexes instruments from recorders across Indiana and lets you search by name, document type, or date. You can view images of recorded documents for a fee after searching the index for free. Title researchers and real estate attorneys regularly use Doxpop for Montgomery County land records work.
The Beacon GIS platform provides parcel-level data for Montgomery County, including ownership, boundaries, and assessed values. Searching by owner name, parcel number, or address returns a map view showing the property's location and dimensions. Beacon is useful when you want to identify a parcel visually before pulling the corresponding deed from the recorder's files.
For older records, the Indiana State Archives holds land patents, survey plats, and other early instruments that predate the county recording system. Montgomery County land titles trace back through those original grants, and the archives holds the source documents free to search online.
The archives database can be searched at no charge, and most documents are available to download as PDFs. Early Montgomery County records from the federal land office period are often findable here when the county recorder's index does not go back far enough.
Recording Requirements for Montgomery County Documents
Indiana's uniform recording requirements apply in Montgomery County the same as everywhere else in the state. Documents must be on white paper no larger than 8.5 by 14 inches, at least 20-pound weight, with black ink and a minimum 10-point font. The first page must have a 2-inch top margin for the recorder's stamp. The last page needs a 2-inch bottom margin. All interior pages require at least a half-inch margin on every side. Documents that miss these margin standards are still accepted but carry an extra $1 per non-conforming page on top of the base fee.
All documents submitted to the Montgomery County Recorder must include a "Prepared by" statement giving the drafter's name and address. Signatures must have the signer's name printed or typed directly underneath, exactly as signed. Notarization is required for deeds and most other real property instruments. Every deed must include the grantee's mailing address. Under Indiana Code 32-21-2, Social Security numbers must be removed from documents before submission.
Deeds in Montgomery County follow a three-step process before recording. The County Assessor reviews and stamps the deed first. The County Auditor then transfers ownership on the tax rolls and endorses the document. Finally, the Recorder accepts and records it. Fees are collected at both the Auditor's and Recorder's offices. A Sales Disclosure form is required and filed with the Auditor as part of the transfer. E-recording is available through vendors such as Simplifile (800-460-5657) and eRecording Partners Network (888-325-3365) for eligible submitters.
Note: Non-conforming page fees are charged per page, not per document, so a single deed with multiple non-conforming pages will accumulate fees quickly.Montgomery County Property Tax and Assessment Records
Property tax records in Montgomery County are managed by the Assessor and Auditor rather than the Recorder. The Assessor determines the assessed value for each parcel under Indiana Code 6-1.1. The Auditor then calculates the tax bill from that value and applicable levy rates. Both sets of records work alongside the deed records held by the Recorder to give a full picture of any parcel in the county.
The Indiana DLGF Assessed Value Search lets you look up the assessed value for any Montgomery County parcel by owner name or parcel number. The DLGF Tax Bill Search returns the full annual tax statement for any parcel, showing levy breakdowns, deductions, and credits.
The Indiana Gateway Taxpayer Portal provides an additional way to access tax data for Montgomery County parcels. All three tools are free to use and do not require an account to search.
Fees for Montgomery County Property Records
Recording fees in Montgomery County match Indiana's statewide schedule. Recording a deed costs $25. A mortgage costs $55. Affidavits, releases, and most other standard instruments cost $25 each. Pages larger than 9 by 15 inches add $5 per page to the total. Non-conforming pages cost an extra $1 each.
Copies of recorded documents are $1 per page for standard sizes up to 11 by 17 inches. Larger copies run $5 per page. Certified copies add $5 to the copy fee and include the recorder's official seal and signature. Certified copies are typically required for court filings, real estate closings, and similar formal uses.
To request copies by mail, send a written request to the Montgomery County Recorder in Crawfordsville with a self-addressed stamped envelope and payment for the estimated cost. If you are unsure of the exact total, call ahead to confirm before sending a check or money order.
Nearby Indiana Counties
Montgomery County sits in west-central Indiana and borders several counties. For land that crosses a county line, check the recorder in the neighboring county as well.