Land Records

One of the Town Clerk’s primary functions is the recording, processing, archiving and retrieval of land records. There are many different types of documents which are processed on the land records, e.g.:

Attachments
Declarations
Deeds
Foreclosures
Liens
Lis Pendens
Mortgages
Name Changes
Powers of Attorney

Recording may be donein person or by mail, along with payment by check made out to the ‘Town of Ledyard.'

Cautionary Note

Improperly crafted documents continue to be presented for recording. As Town Clerks are not permitted to provide legal advice regarding documents being presented for recording, we most strongly encourage all patrons to avail themselves of competent legal counsel (e.g. a qualified attorney) before presenting a document for recording, to avoid costly and serious mistakes.

Recording Process

The recording process is summarized as follows:

The document's identifying and payment information is entered into a computer system.
Then, the document is stamped with:
- Date
- Identifying number
- Page number
- Time
- Volume
The document is scanned, placed into a computerized indexing system, an image taken and stored, and information regarding the document is verified.
Then the image is printed out for placement onto archival paper in the land record volumes in our vault, and the image is made available on the land record search computer.
A list of the day's recorded documents is placed into the Register of Instruments. The images are backed-up by microfilm and archived off-site. The original documents are usually mailed to the return address within 48 hours.

Fees

Fees for Land Record Services are set by the Connecticut General Statutes. At the present time, there is a $60 00 charge for recording page one of a document, with an additional charge of $5.00 for each additional page. If the document is a taxable conveyance of property, we assess an additional $2.00 charge for the recording. The fee for filing a Foreclosed Property Registration is $60.00. A Connecticut Real Estate Conveyance Tax Return must accompany the deed when it is recorded. The return must be complete and accurate. We assess the charge for the tax and attach the check which is made out to ‘Commissioner of Revenue Services’. This check is forwarded to the Department of Revenue Services in a timely manner.

Searching Land Records

Searching Ledyard land records is most efficiently accomplished using 3 computer search terminals in the Clerk’s Office available to the public. Most of Ledyard’s land record documents are indexed on the computer; images of the documents themselves are available back to 1962.

Requests for Land Record Search Assistance

Our 2-person staff can only provide limited search assistance. However, there are numerous professional title searchers and attorneys in the area who can provide authoritative assistance to our residents.

*Please note, effective July 15, 2013, that additional recording fees apply to documents with a nominee.

Electronic Document Recording Services

The Town of Ledyard is electronically recording (eRecording) land records. Documents that originate on paper, are scanned and placed into their proper recording order. When fully integrated, the electronic document recording process takes only seconds.

Advantages of eRecording with the Town of Ledyard:

Reduced labor, materials, postage and courier costs
Fewer document errors and rejections
Elimination of payment errors on fees
Shortened time gap to recordation
Increased security when sending and receiving documents
Improved tracking and filing of documents
Reduced consumption of fuel, electricity, and paper

How to get started
The Town of Ledyard accepts documents from Corporation Service Company (CSC) eRecording Solutions at www.erecording.com; eRecording Partners Network (EPN) at www.erecordingpartners.net; Indecomm Global Services at www.indecomm.net and Simplifile at www.simplifile.com Please contact our vendor to get started. A PC, scanner, and internet connection are all you need to begin eRecording today.