Recording Definitions

Page Requirements

A page is 8-1/2 inches by 14 inches or less. Flaps attached to a page must be attached (no staples) on at the top and bottom. Anything under the flap will not be recorded. if any part of the document is less than 8-1/2 by 11 inches, we would appreciate it being placed on an 8-1/2 by 11 or 14 inch piece of white paper. A blank space the size of a business card must be provided in the upper right hand corner of the first page for the recording information label and seal, if space is not available, a "Coversheet" will need to be prepared by the recording party and a $5 fee will be added for the coversheet page.

Transaction/Title(s)

Instruments required or permitted by law to be recorded, must be clearly labeled in sufficient detail for entry in the appropriate record. The recording process begins with a properly titled instrument.

  • Each document shall have at least one document transaction/title.
  • Each additional transaction/title will be charged a multiple transaction fee, $5 per transaction.
  • If multiple transactions are within the document and not all are included as part of the document title, only the transactions listed in the title will be assessed the fee and indexed in the record.
  • Each transaction/title will be indexed in the same manner as if a separate document had been recorded for each transaction, but, only one document microfilm number will be issued.

Assessment and Taxation Fee

The $10 Assessment & Taxation fees are utilized by the Department of Revenue and the County for use in appraisal programs. This fee is applied once per document subject to the fee.

Assessment and Taxation related Housing Fee

This fee increased to $60 on June 4, 2018.  The Housing Fee is collected by the County for transfer to the State of Oregon. The 2009 Oregon Legislature first added a fee for housing programs by tying a $15 housing related fee to the Assessment & Taxation fee via House Bill 2436, which went into effect on September 28, 2009.  In 2013, the Oregon Legislature increased the housing related fee an additional $5 via HB 2417, effective January 1, 2014, bringing the fee to $20. The most recent increase added $40 to the fee, bringing the fee to $60 via the adoption of HB 4007 by the 2018 Oregon Legislature.

The A&T Housing funds are collected by the County Clerk on behalf of the State of Oregon.  These funds are earmarked to support state housing programs and are administered by the Oregon Housing and Community Services Department. 

The Board of County Commissioners adopted a $2 fee for collection services. This fee is applied for the collection of the housing fee on behalf of the state. The housing and collection fees are applied once per document subject to the fee.

Oregon Land Information System Fee

A $1 fee that is collected and deposited in the "Oregon Land Information System Fund". (ORS 205.320 HB2139 & 3581 '99 Leg.)

The fee is applied to all documents recorded except:

  • Evidence of authority to solemnize marriages
  • Instruments exempt from a recording fee
  • Internal instruments not usually charged a recording fee

This fee is charged once per document subject to the fee.

Land Corner Preservation Fee

This fee is assessed at the time of recording on the documents indicated on the list below. This fee is charged once per document regardless of title count. It is collected for the County Surveyor to be used to re-monument government corners.

  • Abstracts (real property and probate)
  • Affidavits (heirship, inheritance and ownership)No statutory authority to record located. Court determination may be REQUIRED.
  • Agreements (modification, assignment, release, water, trust, road maintenance, assumption and subordination)
  • Applications to Exempt Mobile Home From Registration of Title
  • Bills of Sale (real property)
  • Contracts (modification, assignment and release)
  • Decrees (divorce, distribution and estate proceeding)
  • Deeds (all deeds in whatever form, except Partition Plats)
  • Disclaimers
  • Easements (release)
  • Indentures (supplemental)
  • Inheritance Tax
  • Judgments (release of property)
  • Leases (modification, assignment and release)
  • Licenses
  • Mortgages (modification, assignment, partial release, release, satisfaction and subordination)
  • Municipal Home Repair Liens (satisfaction)
  • Notes
  • Notice of Lis Pendens (release)
  • Options (release)
  • Permits (revocation)
  • Trust Deeds/Deeds of Trust (modification, assignment, partial reconveyance, reconveyance)
  • Waivers

Geographic Information System (GIS) Fee

This fee was created via Ordinance 97-132, continued by Order D97-043 and amended in D2009-082 from $15 to $20 by the Benton County Commissioners on the same documents assessed the Land Corner Preservation Fee, shown in the list above.

This fee is collected for the Benton County Geographic Information System administered by the GIS steering committee and housed with the Information Resources Division. This fee is charged once per document subject to the fee.

ORS (Oregon Revised Statutes)

Reference to related State Statutes.

BCC (Benton County Code)

Reference to related portions of the County Code adopted by the Benton County Board of Commissioners.