Welcome to the Kansas Register of Deeds Association home page. The Register of Deeds offices records, maintains and preserves the land records of the county. The initial transfer of land from the federal government is recorded in the Kansas Tract Books. These books list the land by the legal description--section, township and range. Sales of land after the initial transfer from the U. S. government are recorded in the Register of Deeds Office for each county. For more information on land records, visit the Kansas Historical Society, "Land Records at the State Archives" page.
Deeds, mortgages, easements, oil and gas leases, and plats are documents typically recorded in the Register of Deeds office. The recording fees are set by state statute K.S.A. 28-115 and K.S.A. 28-115a and required indexes are set by state statute K.S.A. 19-1201 thru 19-1219.
The Tract Books are not indexed by the landowner's name but by legal description. Recording methods vary throughout the state. Some counties make only "paper" copies as the permanent record, other counties microfilm, and some "image". Often, a combination of these methods is utilized. Some counties have computer-generated databases and others keep hand or typewritten indexes. All rely on extensive cross- indexing methods so documents are easy to find. Most of the records kept in the Kansas Register of Deeds office are permanent. The records retention schedule is set by the Kansas Historical Society.
This site gives you access to contact information for all the Registers of Deeds in Kansas, a listing of the association officers, the Kansas fee schedule, useful forms you may need, a Kansas map and links to other useful websites.
