Functions of the Recorder's Office

The operations of the County Recorder are all specified and required by state law. The Recorder is elected to a four-year term. He/she records documents and maps and also maintains cross-reference indexes to these records. The office provides for the subsequent retrieval of records for public viewing and produces copies and certifications of the records. A set of maps or "plats" are kept up to date which show the current ownership of every tract of land in the county. The ownership of real property is responsible for taxes assessed. The Assessor bases his work upon the information turned over to that office by the recorder, and in turn the Treasurer collects taxes which are assessed. Therefore it is the responsibility of the recorder to assure that the records accurately reflect the status of each parcel in the county. 

County Recorder Duties

• Records, stores and retrieves land documents in the public record. 
• Assists the public in locating real property parcels on ownership plats. 
• Assists the public in locating records. 
• Records Military Discharges and provides certified copies of these documents at no charge. 
• Sells copies of documents and plats to the public. 
• Provides certified copies of documents for a fee. These may be recorded in the office of any other County Recorder in the State. (Utah Code 17-21-4, 57-3-4)
• Emery County Data Users Agreement (requires Acrobat)

Duties Do Not Include

• Preparing legal Documents. 
• Notarizing documents. 
• Interpreting legal documents. 
• Providing engineering services for the public. 
• Giving legal advice. 
• Performing title searches for the public. 
• Furnishing legal descriptions over the telephone. 
• Doing research over the telephone