Real Estate Department

As mandated by more than 900 Sections of the Ohio Revised Code, the Recorder preserves and records our many citizens' legal rights as well as the heritage of Wood County. The Wood County Recorder's primary responsibility is to maintain the accurate chain of title to real estate by preserving, protecting, and archiving permanent records of transactions of all real property (includes recording of deeds, mortgages, and other pertinent records related to real estate). Documents presented for recording in the Wood County Recorder's Office MUST meet the following Ohio Revised Code Sections.

  • R.C. 317.11 requires the signature of any person, including a witness, who signs an instrument by which title to real estate of personal property of any interest therein or lien thereon, is conveyed, created, encumbered, assigned, discharged, canceled or otherwise disposed of to be legible or, if illegibly written, to be identified by an affidavit or by having the name legibly printed, typewritten or stamped upon the instrument.
  • R.C. 317.111 requires that "This instrument was prepared by (name)" appear at the conclusion of all documents recorded in the office." The only documents that are exempt from this law are as follows: Instruments executed prior to October 5, 1955; any decree, order, judgment, or writ of any court; any will or death certificate; any instrument executed or acknowledged outside the State of Ohio.
  • R.C. 317.112(A) reads "The contents of the instrument shall be sufficiently LEGIBLE to permit their reproduction by photographic or micro-photographic process". The ENTIRE document must be legible for reproduction.
  • R.C. 317.114 sets out the following document standardization requirements: Computer font size of at least 10; Minimum paper size of 8.5in x 11in; Maximum paper size of 8.5in x 14in; Blue or black ink only; No use of highlighting; A one-inch margin on the side and bottom of every page; A 3-inch margin at the top of the first page, reserved for the recorder, auditor, and engineer; A 1-inch margin at the top of every page after the first page. The recorder shall accept a non-conforming document but can collect an additional fee of $20.00 ($10.00 for recorder services and $10.00 for the Housing Trust Fund). This law does not apply to the following: Any document ffrom any court or taxing authority; Plats; DD214s (Military Discharges); Any state or federal document; Any document executed before July 1, 2009.

Wood County is a geographic county and so all documents must include a full legal description of the property being addressed in the document. Also, our office does not keep original documents so we require a self-addressed stamped envelope be included with all documents so originals can be mailed back after going through our recording procedure.

If you have any questions please feel free to contact a friendly, knowledgeable staff member or me directly at jmatuszak@woodcountyohio.gov.

Uniform Commercial Code Department

The purpose of filing a financing statement is to "perfect" an interest in collateral involved in a secured transaction (it is a means by which a lender may protect its right to collateral that a debtor has used to secure a loan). A financing statement places a lien on personal property. The Uniform Commercial Code (UCC) was adopted by the Ohio General Assembly in 1961 and became effective in 1962. Amended Senate Bill 74 passed June 5, 2001 and became effective July 1, 2001, amended the code to read that ONLY REAL ESTATE FILINGS will be processed by the county recorder, all other filings will be processed by the Secretary of State.

Military Discharges

The Recorder's office has copies of Military Discharges dating back to the Civil War. On April 6th, 2009, SB248 made these discharges no longer a public record for a period of 75 years after the date of recording. Only an authorized party will be able to request a non-redacted copy of a discharge. The following is a list of authorized parties:

  • The person who is the subject of the discharge;
  • A county veterans service officer;
  • An attorney in fact, agent or other representative of the person who is the subject of the discharge;
  • A person authorized by a court;
  • An executor or administrator, or heir, if the subject of the record is deceased;
  • A funeral director;

A person who is not an authorized party may only request to view or copy a redacted discharge. Please contact our office with any questions about this law or what documentation is needed to prove authorization for a non-redacted copy.

Living Wills and Durable Powers of Attorney for Health Care

Effective November 6, 1996, Living Wills and Durable Powers of Attorney for Health Care can be recorded with the County Recorder. The act also authorizes a County Recorder, upon request, to distribute, free of charge, a copy of the printed form of the living will and a copy of the printed form of the durable power of attorney for health care.

These forms are also available at this link in .pdf format: