Massachusetts · Document Recording
Recording a Deed or Document in Franklin County, MA
Franklin County (population 71,029) records real-property documents through the Franklin County Registry of Deeds (Greenfield). Below is what it costs and how to submit. Filing a memorandum of contract? We record it with the county for $199, notary included — no trip to the courthouse.
Franklin County recorder — contact
- Recording office
- Franklin County Registry of Deeds (Greenfield)
- Mailing address
- P.O. Box 1495, Greenfield, MA 01302-1495
- Phone
- (413) 772-0239
- Website
- franklindeeds.com
- Checks payable to
- Commonwealth of Massachusetts
- Electronic recording
- Paper / mail
Franklin County recording fees
- First page / base fee
- $155 flat fee per deed regardless of page count (statewide MA fee schedule)
- Additional pages
- Not page-based — flat fee; Mortgage $205; Mortgage Discharge/Release $105; Declaration of Homestead $35; Declaration of Trust $255; Municipal Lien Certificate $80; UCC (up to 2 debtors) $75; Federal Tax Lien $5; Plans (per sheet) $105
- Other fees
- Excise tax on deeds (statewide formula) not a recording fee
Counties change fees without notice. Check with the Franklin County Registry of Deeds (Greenfield) before you mail a check.
What Franklin County requires
- Page formatting
- Statewide MA Indexing & Formatting Standards (white paper, one-sided, max 8.5"x14", 3"x3" recording block upper right of page 1)
- Submission & return
- In-person: scanned and returned same-visit; mail: returned via self-addressed stamped envelope
- Hours & turnaround
- Documents received by mail are entered by close of business the day received; in-person processed during business hours Mon-Fri 8:30am-4:15pm
Can you e-record in Franklin County?
Franklin County records documents submitted by mail or in person. Jurably notarizes your document, mails it by certified mail, and tracks it to a recorded instrument number.
How to record a document in Franklin County, Massachusetts
- Prepare the document so it meets Franklin County's formatting rules (above): legal description, grantee address, signature block, and the blank space the recorder reserves for its stamp.
- Notarize it if the instrument requires acknowledgment. Most deeds and affidavits do.
- Submit by mail to Franklin County Registry of Deeds (Greenfield).
- Pay the recording fee, payable to Commonwealth of Massachusetts.
- Receive the recorded instrument back with its book/page or instrument number as proof of record.
Looking up a Franklin County property
Owner names, parcel numbers and legal descriptions for Franklin County property are searchable at Massachusetts assesses real property at the municipal (town/city) level; no county-wide assessor exists. Best statewide situs-lookup tool: Massachusetts Interactive Property Map (MassGIS). A deed or memorandum needs the exact legal description, so pull it from there or from the last recorded deed.
Filing with Jurably in Massachusetts
Massachusetts requires the seller's notarized acknowledgment before a purchase agreement or notice of one can be recorded (MGL c.184 §17A). See the states we file in.