Search Perry County Property Records

Perry County property records are kept by the County Recorder in Tell City, Indiana, and include deeds, mortgages, releases, easements, liens, and every other instrument recorded against real estate in the county. If you need to verify who owns a parcel, check for outstanding liens, or trace the ownership history of land in Perry County, the recorder's office is the primary source. This guide covers how to search online, what you need to know about recording requirements, where property tax data is kept, and what it costs to get copies.

Perry County Recorder Office

The Perry County Recorder operates under Indiana Code 36-2-11, the state law that gives the recorder a constitutional duty to accept, index, and preserve documents affecting real property. The office in Tell City is the official filing point for all land records in Perry County. Any deed, mortgage, easement, release, or other instrument that touches real estate in the county must pass through the recorder's office to become part of the public record.

When a document is filed, the recorder assigns an instrument number, stamps the date and time of receipt, and returns the original to the submitter. That instrument number is the reference you use to find the document later. Documents are indexed by the names of the parties to the transaction, so you can search by grantor or grantee name to locate related instruments in the Perry County records.

The recorder's office is located at the Perry County Courthouse in Tell City. Standard courthouse hours apply Monday through Friday. Call the office ahead of your visit if you plan to review older documents that may require retrieval from storage. The Indiana Recorders Association lists contact information for every county recorder in Indiana, including Perry County, and is a helpful resource when you need direct contact details.

Find Perry County Land Records Online

Doxpop is the go-to platform for searching Perry County recorded instruments online. It indexes documents from county recorders across Indiana, letting you search by name, document type, or filing date. A subscription or per-document fee applies to view full document images. Title examiners, attorneys, and lenders routinely use Doxpop for Perry County property research because it covers a wide range of document types and keeps the index current.

Parcel data for Perry County is also available through the Beacon GIS platform. Beacon lets you search by owner name, address, or parcel number and view parcel boundaries on an interactive map. Assessed values and ownership details are shown alongside the map, giving you a good starting point before pulling specific recorded documents from the recorder's files.

Recording Requirements in Perry County

Indiana sets uniform document standards that apply in Perry County just as they do across the rest of the state. Documents must be on white paper, no larger than 8.5 by 14 inches, with a paper weight of at least 20 pounds. Black ink is required. Font size must be at least 10 points throughout, including any legal description and signature blocks.

The first page of any document must have a 2-inch top margin for the recorder's stamp. The last page requires a 2-inch bottom margin. All other pages need at least a half-inch margin on every side. Documents that miss these margin requirements are accepted but charged an extra fee per non-conforming page on top of the standard recording cost.

Every instrument submitted to the Perry County Recorder must include a "Prepared by" statement with the name and address of the person who drafted it. Signatures must be accompanied by printed or typed names that match the signature exactly. Notarization is required for deeds and most real property instruments. The grantee's mailing address must appear on the deed. Social Security numbers must be redacted before submission under Indiana Code 32-21-2, which applies to all property documents filed in Indiana.

Deeds in Perry County follow a three-step process. First, the County Assessor stamps the deed. Second, the County Auditor transfers ownership on the tax records and endorses the document. Third, the Recorder places the deed in the public record. Fees are collected at both the Auditor's and Recorder's offices. A Sales Disclosure form is required whenever a deed is submitted and must be filed at the Auditor's office as part of the transfer.

Perry County Property Tax and Assessment Records

Perry County property tax records are managed separately from the recorder's office. The County Assessor assigns a value to each parcel, and the County Auditor applies the applicable tax rates to calculate the bill. Under Indiana Code 6-1.1, properties in Indiana are assessed at market value and updated on a regular schedule. Perry County follows this same statewide process.

The Indiana DLGF Assessed Value Search lets you look up the assessed value for any Perry County parcel by name or parcel number. The DLGF Tax Bill Search lets you pull up the full tax bill for a Perry County property, showing the breakdown of levies, credits, and deductions applied to that parcel.

Copy Fees for Perry County Property Records

Recording fees in Perry County follow the statewide schedule. Deeds cost $25 to record. Mortgages cost $55. Releases, affidavits, and most other standard instruments cost $25 each. Oversized pages larger than 9 by 15 inches carry an extra $5 fee per page. Documents that do not meet margin or paper standards are charged $1 per non-conforming page in addition to the standard fee.

Copies of recorded documents cost $1 per page for standard-size reproductions. Larger copies are $5 per page. If you need a certified copy, add $5 to the copy cost. Certified copies include the recorder's seal and signature and are often required for legal purposes or real estate transactions involving Perry County property.

Mail-in copy requests are accepted. Include a written description of the document, your payment, and a stamped self-addressed envelope. Electronic recording is available through e-recording vendors including CSC eRecording (866-652-0111), Simplifile (800-460-5657), and eRecording Partners Network (888-325-3365), which allow documents to be submitted to the Perry County Recorder digitally.

Nearby Indiana Counties

Perry County borders Crawford, Dubois, and Spencer counties in southern Indiana. Records for land near a county line may be filed in the adjacent county's recorder's office.