History and Duties of the Recorder's Office

The Office of the County Recorder was created by the First Legislative Assembly of the Territory of Iowa in 1839. Since the creation of the County Recorder's office, numerous additional responsibilities have been added over the years. 
 
The County Recorder is responsible for land and records management, maintaining and recording a wide variety of official documents that affect real estate and numerous other valuable miscellaneous documents.

A significant portion of the information acquired by other county offices results from the work performed by the County Recorder because every real estate transaction that takes place in the county starts in the Recorder’s Office.
 
The office collects real estate transfer tax for the Iowa Department of Revenue and collects and reports the County Auditor's fee on transfer of property. 
 
The Recorder's office serves as a licensing agent for the Iowa Department of Natural Resources by issuing fishing and hunting licenses, and registering and titling boats, snowmobiles and ATV's.
 
As of July 1997 the Recorder's office is the County Registrar of Vital Records and has the responsibility of issuing Marriage Licenses, registering Birth, Death and Marriage Certificates and issuing certified copies of Vital Records.
 
The Jackson County Recorder's office is a Passport Acceptance Agent assisting U.S. citizens with obtaining a U.S. Passport. The Recorder's duties are defined by state statutes and established by state agencies through administrative actions.
 
The County Recorder works with the IA Department of Natural Resources, Iowa Department of Revenue, Iowa Department of Public Health and the U.S. Department of State Federal Passport Agency. Detailed reports are filed monthly and annually to the county and to the state agencies.