Recordable Documents

Email: recording@waukeshacounty.gov
Phone: 262-548-7585
Hours: 8:00am-4:00pm, Monday-Friday (excluding holidays)

The Register of Deeds office cannot provide legal advice. If you need assistance drafting or interpreting legal documents, you can contact a real estate attorney, title company, or the State Bar of Wisconsin’s Lawyer Referral Service (https://www.wisbar.org/forPublic/INeedaLawyer/Pages/i-need-a-lawyer.aspx or call 1-800-362-9082).

For blank forms and documents to download, you can visit the WRDA website: https://www.wrdaonline.org/forms

- Designation of TOD to Beneficiary Form

Required Format for Recorded Documents:
Documents must conform to Standard Document Format, Wisconsin Act 110, effective September 1, 1996. Most office supply stores have forms that meet the requirements of Wisconsin Statute 59.43(2m). If necessary, you may add a cover sheet to your document to make it conform to the Wisconsin standard document format.

• The upper right hand corner of the document is completely blank - at least 3” by 3” for official recording stamp. 
• The name and return address must be either (1) directly under the recording area, or (2) on the left side of the page and within the top 3 inches. 
• The parcel identifier number is placed directly under the return address.
• The title of the document must be within the top 3 inches of the page but not in the 3 by 3 inch corner left blank for our recording stamp. 
• The entire document is legible & reproducible. 
• The paper is white, standard weight, and letter or legal-sized.
• 59.43(2m)(b)5 The ink is black, blue, or red, except that signatures and coded notations on maps may be other colors. 
• The top margin is a minimum of 1/2 inch for every page. Other margins are minimum of 1/4 inch. 
• The pages are not hinged. 

Remember, you still need: 
• Complete legal descriptions if the document refers to specific parcels of land. 
• Original signatures notarized or authenticated. 
• Proper fees accompanying the document. 
• Name of the document drafter. 
• Wisconsin Real Estate Transfer Return-eRETR (completed and with proper fee or exemption #) for deeds, land contracts, and other instruments of conveyance. https://www.revenue.wi.gov/Pages/RETr/Home.aspx

***As of January 1, 2024, a Parcel Identification Number (commonly referred to as a Tax ID Number) will be required on all conveyance documents recorded in the Waukesha County Register of Deeds Office.***

The Parcel Identification Number can be found on your tax bill. You can find your tax bill by visiting the Tax Listing Department at:

https://tax.waukeshacounty.gov/Default.aspx or calling (262) 896-8557.

Enter your name or address, select your property by choosing Property Details or Tax Bill Details, and the Parcel Identification Number will be in the top middle of the screen.

Attention: 
Documents containing more than 200 pages must be e-recorded. Please contact a title company or one of our e-recording vendors for more information.

Submitting Plats of Survey
Plats of Survey can be submitted to our office through the mail by using the address listed above, by the dropbox located outside of our office door, or electronically through email as multi-page PDF or TIFF files (TIFF files are preferred if possible) to recording@waukeshacounty.gov. If you have more than five (5) plats of survey to submit electronically, you will be directed to use the mail or dropbox option.

Note Regarding Documents Containing Images:
Documents scanned as a part of our recording process are automatically converted to 1-bit color depth. This means that only white and black colors are captured. Detailed pictures like in Example 1 will scan in as shown in Example 2. Although these are examples, other documents with more minute details may be completely unreadable after being scanned into the system. Because of this, documents containing full color images will be rejected.

To ensure that your document isn't rejected because of this, make sure that no full-color images are included in your document. A more acceptable version of the example above would be to remove the satellite imagery and retain only pertinent information as shown in Example 3.