Access McDonough County Deed Records

McDonough County deed records are maintained by the McDonough County Clerk and Recorder in Macomb, Illinois. The office is the official repository for all deeds, mortgages, liens, easements, and other land instruments filed in the county. Anyone searching deed records in McDonough County for a purchase, title search, or legal proceeding can access the public index at 1 Courthouse Square in Macomb during regular business hours, and there is no fee to search the index.

McDonough County Clerk and Recorder

The McDonough County Clerk and Recorder office is at 1 Courthouse Square, Macomb, IL 61455, and can be reached at (309) 833-2474. This office records, indexes, and permanently archives all land instruments for McDonough County. Macomb is the county seat and home to Western Illinois University, which generates a consistent flow of residential and commercial property transactions that appear in the county's deed archive. The courthouse on the Macomb square is the central location for all deed recording activity in McDonough County.

When a deed arrives at the Macomb courthouse, staff check that it satisfies Illinois recording requirements, stamp it with a recording date and document number, and enter the grantor and grantee names into the public index. The document becomes part of the official record on the day it is accepted at the counter. No waiting period applies between submission and indexing. The grantor and grantee index covers all instruments from the county's earliest recorded deeds to those filed on the current day.

The McDonough County Recorder in Macomb handles a wide range of instruments beyond standard property transfers. Mortgages and releases, home equity loan documents, mechanic's liens, judgment liens, easements, plat maps, subdivision surveys, drainage district agreements, UCC filings affecting real property, and DD-214 military discharge records for veterans are all filed and indexed at the Courthouse Square office. Each instrument receives its own document number and is indexed under both party names so anyone can find it through the name index.

The Illinois Electronic Recording Act, found at 765 ILCS 33, allows the McDonough County Recorder to accept documents submitted electronically through approved vendor platforms, as shown below from law.justia.com.

When eRecording is active at the Macomb office, title companies and lenders can submit deeds digitally through approved vendors without sending a courier to the Courthouse Square location.

Recording a Deed in McDonough County

Every deed submitted for recording in McDonough County must comply with 765 ILCS 5, the Illinois Conveyances Act. The document must name the grantor and grantee by full legal name, contain a complete legal description of the property being transferred, and carry a notarized acknowledgment of the grantor's signature. A blank area of at least three inches by five inches must be left in the upper right corner of the first page for the recording stamp. Any deed missing these elements will be returned to the submitter uncorrected.

The parcel identification number is required on every deed filed at the McDonough County Recorder's Office. The PIN links the instrument to the county assessor's records and is mandated by Illinois law before the Recorder can accept the deed. The McDonough County assessor's office can supply the PIN for any parcel in the county if you do not already have it. Having the PIN ready before you go to 1 Courthouse Square prevents a rejection at the counter and saves a trip back to Macomb.

Most taxable transfers in McDonough County must be accompanied by a completed PTAX-203 Real Estate Transfer Declaration. The easiest way to complete the form is through the Illinois MyDec system online before arriving at the Macomb courthouse. Exempt transfers, such as deeds between family members or conveyances into a revocable living trust, still require recording; the PTAX-203 for those transfers must include the applicable exemption code. The Illinois Department of Revenue publishes instructions listing all exemption codes and the types of conveyances they cover.

Transfer Tax and Recording Fees in McDonough County

Illinois charges a real estate transfer tax under 35 ILCS 200 at $0.50 per $500 of consideration. McDonough County adds $0.25 per $500 on top of the state rate. On a $75,000 property sale in Macomb, the state tax is $75 and the county portion is $37.50, for a total of $112.50 in transfer tax. Transfer tax stamps are applied by the Recorder's Office at the time of recording. The seller normally pays this tax unless the purchase contract provides otherwise.

Recording fees in McDonough County are controlled by 55 ILCS 5/3-5018, the state law that sets per-page and per-document charges for Illinois county recorders. Call (309) 833-2474 to confirm the current fee schedule before visiting the Macomb courthouse. The schedule can change when the Illinois General Assembly amends the statute, so it is worth checking in advance.

Every document recorded in Illinois carries a mandatory $18 Rental Housing Support Program surcharge per instrument. The RHSP fee is separate from the per-page recording charge and is collected at the McDonough County Recorder's Office at the time of recording. It applies to deeds, mortgages, liens, and most other instruments filed at 1 Courthouse Square with very limited exceptions. Factor in this surcharge when planning a recording in McDonough County.

Searching McDonough County Deed Records

The public index at the McDonough County Clerk and Recorder office in Macomb is open for walk-in searches during regular business hours, Monday through Friday. There is no charge to search the index. Bring the property owner's full name, the property address, or the parcel identification number to help focus your search. Staff can direct you to the index terminal or reference books but do not conduct searches for the public. Most people find what they need by looking up the current owner's name in the grantee index and pulling the associated document number.

The Illinois MyDec portal, shown below from mytax.illinois.gov, is where the PTAX-203 transfer declaration is completed online before recording a taxable deed transfer in McDonough County.

After submitting the PTAX-203 through MyDec, a barcode confirmation is generated that Recorder staff scan when you present the deed at the Macomb counter, making the recording process faster and reducing errors.

Title research for a McDonough County property means tracing the grantee index from the current owner backward through each prior deed to build the chain of title. The university presence in Macomb means that residential properties near the Western Illinois University campus often show frequent transfers, while agricultural parcels outside the city may have fewer recorded deeds. All instruments are indexed the same way at 1 Courthouse Square regardless of property type.

Mail requests are accepted at 1 Courthouse Square, Macomb, IL 61455. Include the party names, approximate recording dates, a description of the record needed, and a check or money order for the applicable copy fee. The Macomb office mails results when the search is complete. For most deed record requests in McDonough County, visiting in person is faster than using the mail.

eRecording in McDonough County

The Illinois Electronic Recording Act at 765 ILCS 33 gives the McDonough County Recorder in Macomb the authority to accept deed submissions electronically through approved vendor platforms. When eRecording is active, title companies and attorneys can submit signed and notarized documents to the Recorder without traveling to 1 Courthouse Square. The office reviews and processes the submission and returns a stamped copy through the vendor system, typically the same business day.

Illinois-approved eRecording vendors include Simplifile, CSC, EPN, Hopdox, and Indecomm. Call the Macomb office at (309) 833-2474 to confirm which vendors are currently accepted and whether eRecording is available for your document type. Buyers and sellers who are not enrolled with an eRecording service should submit the deed in person at the Macomb courthouse with the signed notarized original and the MyDec barcode confirmation in hand.

Nearby Counties

Property near a McDonough County border may have deed records held by a neighboring county's recorder. Each office keeps a separate land record archive.