Recording Fees & Information

By Florida law, the Clerk's Office is the only office in the county authorized to accept and maintain an Official Record of all legal documents such as deeds, mortgages, and judgments that would affect title ownership to land located in DeSoto County. These legal documents are accepted and recorded in the Clerk's Official Record and are then available for viewing by the public.

Recording Process

The original documents, listed individually below, are brought in or mailed to the Recording Department. The Recording Department copies, scans, records the date and time the document was filed, adds the document to the book of Official Records and returns the original document by mail to the sender the next day. The Microfilm Department captures these various records on microfilm for public viewing and for permanent, off-site storage.

Recordable Documents

In accordance with Florida Statutes 28.222 and 28.223, the Clerk of the Circuit Court is mandated to be the recorder of all documents required or authorized by law. The following list contains the only documents that can be recorded:

• Deeds
• Leases
• Bills of sale
• Agreements
• Mortgages
• Notices of claims of lien, releases of lien
• Notices of levy
• Tax warrants
• Tax executions
• Other instruments relating to the ownership, transfer or encumbrance of or claims against real property or any interest in it
• Extensions
• Assignments
• Releases
• Cancellations
• Satisfactions of mortgages
• Liens
• Powers of attorney
• Notices of lies pendens
• Judgments
• DD214--military discharges
• Certified copies of bankruptcy and orders concerning bankruptcy
• Subdivision plats
• Condominium plats
• Death certificates
• Wills and codicils
• Letters of administration
• Orders concerning real property
• Final judgments
• Declaration of domicile (affidavit of residency)
• Marriage license
• Any instrument relating to or affecting real property

Recording Fees

The fee for recording a document is $10.00 for the first page and $8.50 for each additional page of the same document. Your document will be recorded on the day it is received by the Recording Department and placed in the mail the next day to be returned to you.

Click here for our complete list of recording fees.

Recording Contact Information:

Phone Number 863-993-4876

NOTICE OF THE RIGHT OF ANY AFFECTED PARTY TO REQUEST REMOVAL OF CERTAIN CHAPTER 119 INFORMATION OF RECORDS

Any person has a right to request that a county recorder remove, from a publicly available Internet website, information made exempt from inspection or copying under Florida Statute 119.071 or an image or copy of a public record, including an official record, if that image or copy is of a military discharge; death certificate, or a court file, record or paper relating to matters or cases governed by the Florida Rules of Family Law, the Florida Rules of Juvenile Procedure, or the Florida Probate Rules.  However, grantor, grantee or party names may not be removed from the Official Records index.  Requests must be notarized, state the statutory basis for removal, and confirm the individual’s eligibility for exemption.  To make a request contact the clerk’s office by mail or in person at:

DeSoto County Clerk of Court
Attn: Recording
115 East Oak Street
Arcadia, FL  34266

Or by email: rhona.brantley@desotoclerk.com or customerservice@desotoclerk.com

NOTICE OF THE RIGHT OF ANY AFFECTED PARTY TO REQUEST THE ADDITION OF INFORMATION TO A PUBLICLY AVAILABLE INTERNET WEBSITE

Any affected person has a right to request that a county recorder of clerk of the court add information to a publicly available Internet website if that information involves the identity of a respondent against whom a final judgment for an injunction for the protection of a minor under Florida Statute; 741.30, s. 784.046, or s. 784.0485 is entered, unless the respondent is a minor. The request must be in writing and contain the case number.  To make a request contact the clerk’s office by mail or in person at:

DeSoto County Clerk of Court
Attn: Recording
115 East Oak Street
Arcadia, FL  34266

Or by email: rhona.brantley@desotoclerk.com or customerservice@desotoclerk.com