Find Deed Records in Mason County

Mason County deed records are filed with the County Clerk and Recorder in Havana and document all real property transfers, mortgages, liens, and easements in the county. This page covers what you need to record a deed, what fees apply, and how to search or copy records from the clerk's office.

Where Mason County Deeds Are Filed

The Mason County Clerk and Recorder at 125 N. Plum St. in Havana is the official recording office for all real property instruments in the county. When you bring a deed to the counter, the clerk checks it against state recording standards, assigns a document number, and stamps the exact date and time of filing. That timestamp is what sets legal priority. If two competing claims exist on the same parcel, the one recorded first wins.

Illinois recording law under 765 ILCS 5 spells out what every deed must contain before the clerk will accept it. The grantor's signature must be original and notarized. The property index number (PIN) from the Mason County Assessor must appear on the document. The grantee's full mailing address and the preparer's name and address are both required. A blank 3-by-5-inch block in the upper right corner of the first page must be left clear for the recording stamp. Any document that's missing these items comes back unfiled.

The grantor-grantee index is how all filed instruments get organized. Every deed is indexed under both the seller's name and the buyer's name. You can run a search forward from a grantee to confirm current ownership or trace back through grantors to build a chain of title. PIN-based searches are also available and are often quicker for finding all instruments tied to a specific parcel.

Transfer Tax and the PTAX-203

Most deed recordings require a completed PTAX-203 Real Estate Transfer Declaration. Illinois collects a state transfer tax of $0.50 per $500 of consideration. Mason County adds $0.25 per $500. Revenue stamps are affixed to the deed at the time of recording as proof that tax was paid. For exempt transfers, no stamps are issued, but the PTAX-203 still must be submitted with the deed.

The MyDec portal at mytax.illinois.gov lets parties complete and submit the PTAX-203 online before the recording appointment.

Filing through MyDec before closing speeds things up at the clerk's window. The clerk can look up the submission in the system and process the deed without waiting for a paper form to be reviewed on the spot. MyDec is now the state's preferred method for submitting the transfer declaration.

The Illinois Department of Revenue PTAX-203 instructions page explains every field on the form, including how to calculate consideration and which exemption codes apply to specific types of transfers.

Estate transfers, gifts, conveyances into trust, and corporate reorganizations each have their own exemption codes. Getting the right code on the form matters. An incorrect or blank exemption field can hold up the recording and trigger a correction request from the Department of Revenue.

Recording Fees in Mason County

Mason County's recording fees follow the state schedule in 55 ILCS 5/3-5018. The base fee is $50 for the first four pages of a document and $1 for each additional page. The Rental Housing Support Program (RHSP) surcharge is $18 per document. These fees apply to deeds, mortgages, releases, liens, and most other instruments filed with the recorder.

On a property sale at $80,000, the state transfer tax is $80 and the county portion is $40. Add the $50 base recording fee and $18 RHSP surcharge and the total at the counter is at least $188 before any per-page overage. Bring a check or call ahead to confirm accepted payment methods. Exact totals depend on the document's page count and the sale price.

Veterans recording a DD-214 military discharge certificate pay nothing. That exemption is statewide and applies in Mason County. No recording fee is charged for this document type anywhere in Illinois.

What the Recorder's Office Files

The Mason County Clerk and Recorder indexes a broad range of real property instruments. All of the following are filed here: warranty deeds, quitclaim deeds, trustees' deeds, sheriff's deeds, mortgages, deeds of trust, mortgage releases and satisfactions, easements, rights-of-way, subdivision plats, mechanic's liens, lis pendens notices, UCC financing statements, and DD-214 military discharge records.

Plat recording requires a separate approval step before the recorder will accept the document. Plats must be approved by the Mason County Zoning Office and meet the requirements of the Illinois Plat Act. A plat that hasn't cleared county approval will not be recorded regardless of how well it's formatted.

UCC filings related to personal property may be handled differently from real estate instruments. Some UCC types go to the Illinois Secretary of State rather than the county recorder. Ask the clerk which UCC categories are filed in Havana and which go to Springfield.

Electronic Recording

Illinois authorized eRecording under 765 ILCS 33, the Uniform Real Property Electronic Recording Act. This law lets counties accept digitally signed documents submitted through approved vendors. Platforms approved for use in Illinois include Simplifile, CSC, EPN, Hopdox, and Indecomm.

Call the Mason County Clerk at (309) 543-6661 to confirm whether eRecording is currently active. If it is, title companies and lenders can submit documents, pay fees online, and receive recorded copies back electronically. The legal effect is identical to a paper filing. Electronic submission timestamp sets the same priority as a counter filing. The fact that no one has to drive to Havana is a practical benefit for closing agents working from elsewhere.

Searching Records and Getting Copies

In-person searching at the Havana courthouse is the main way to access Mason County deed records. The grantor-grantee index is open to the public at no charge during regular business hours. Search by grantor name, grantee name, or PIN. Staff can help if you're unsure how the index is structured or if you're looking for records that span many years.

Older deeds from the 1800s may be in handwritten ledger books or on microfilm. The Illinois Regional Archives Depository (IRAD) at the University of Illinois Springfield holds historical records from central Illinois counties and may have older Mason County deed books that aren't easily pulled at the courthouse. It's a good resource for genealogical research or title work on parcels with a long ownership history.

Call (309) 543-6661 before visiting to confirm current hours and ask whether online index access is available. Some small Illinois county clerks have added web-based search tools. A quick phone call can save a trip.

Certified copies of recorded deeds are available from the clerk. A certified copy carries the clerk's seal and is accepted in legal proceedings and real estate transactions. Plain copies cost less and work fine for research. Request copies in person or by mail to Mason County Clerk and Recorder, 125 N. Plum St., Havana, IL 62644. Include the document number or property details, a check for the fee, and a return envelope. Call for current copy rates before sending payment.

Document Format Requirements

All documents recorded in Mason County must meet the physical standards in 765 ILCS 5. White paper only. Sized between 8.5 by 11 and 8.5 by 14 inches. Text must be 10-point or larger. Margins of at least half an inch on all sides. The upper right corner of the first page needs a clean 3-by-5-inch block with no printing.

Signatures must be original. Photocopied signatures are not accepted. The notary acknowledgment must include the notary's name, seal, and commission expiration date, and all must be legible. Any exhibits attached to a deed must follow the same paper and margin rules as the main document. If a document is printed on both sides of a page, each side counts as a separate page for fee purposes. Preparing everything correctly before going to the office prevents a rejection and saves time for everyone.