North Carolina · Document Recording
Recording a Deed or Document in Clay County, NC
Clay County (population 11,089) records real-property documents through the Clay County Register of Deeds. 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.
Clay County recorder — contact
- Recording office
- Clay County Register of Deeds
- Mailing address
- 261 Courthouse Dr., Ste. 2, Hayesville, NC 28904
- Phone
- 828-389-0087
- Website
- deeds.claync.us
- Checks payable to
- Clay County Register of Deeds
- Electronic recording
- Available via Simplifile
Clay County recording fees
- First page / base fee
- $26.00 for first 15 pages (deeds/general instruments); $64.00 for first 35 pages (deeds of trust/mortgages)
- Additional pages
- $4.00 per additional page beyond first-tier count
- Other fees
- Excise tax $1.00 per $500 (or fraction) of consideration; $10.00 per additional instrument referenced (multi-instrument); non-standard document fee $25.00 if formatting non-compliant
Counties change fees without notice. Check with the Clay County Register of Deeds before you mail a check.
What Clay County requires
- Cover sheet
- No statewide-mandated cover sheet, but NC GS 161-14(b) formatting rules apply: 8.5x11 or 8.5x14 white paper, 3-inch blank top margin on first page, 0.5-inch margins elsewhere, 9-point minimum font, document type stated at top of first page
- Submission & return
- Recorded original returned by mail to submitter (self-addressed stamped envelope recommended) or per e-recording vendor return
- Hours & turnaround
- Typically same-day to a few business days for e-recorded documents; mail-in varies (allow 1-2 weeks)
Can you e-record in Clay County?
Yes. Clay County accepts electronic recording through Simplifile, so a properly formatted document can be recorded the same or next business day without mailing paper.
How to record a document in Clay County, North Carolina
- Prepare the document so it meets Clay 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 electronically through Simplifile, or by mail to Clay County Register of Deeds.
- Pay the recording fee, payable to Clay County Register of Deeds.
- Receive the recorded instrument back with its book/page or instrument number as proof of record.
Looking up a Clay County property
Owner names, parcel numbers and legal descriptions for Clay County property are searchable at Clay County Tax Office / GIS-Mapping (qPublic property search). A deed or memorandum needs the exact legal description, so pull it from there or from the last recorded deed.
Filing with Jurably in North Carolina
North Carolina requires notarized signatures from both the record owner and the purchaser, plus an expiration date (N.C. Gen. Stat. §47-119.1). See the states we file in.