North Carolina · Document Recording
Recording a Deed or Document in Durham County, NC
Durham County (population 324,833) records real-property documents through the Durham 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.
Durham County recorder — contact
- Recording office
- Durham County Register of Deeds
- Mailing address
- Durham County Register of Deeds, PO Box 1107, Durham, NC 27702 (physical: 201 E. Main Street, 2nd Floor, Durham, NC 27701)
- Phone
- 919.560.0480
- Website
- dconc.gov/Register-of-Deeds
- Checks payable to
- Durham County Register of Deeds
- Electronic recording
- Available via Simplifile, CSC, ePN, Indecomm
Durham County recording fees
- First page / base fee
- $26 first 15 pages (general instruments); $64 first 35 pages (deeds of trust/mortgages)
- Additional pages
- $4 per additional page
- Other fees
- Plats $21/sheet; non-standard document $25; certified copies $5 first page/$2 each add'l page; oath of notary $10; non-certified copies by mail $1/page
Counties change fees without notice. Check with the Durham County Register of Deeds before you mail a check.
What Durham County requires
- Page formatting
- 8.5x11 or 8.5x14 white paper, one side only, 3in top margin p.1 / 0.5in other margins, min 9pt font; plats must be 18x24in
- Submission & return
- Mailed back to submitter after recording, or electronic return via e-recording vendor
- Hours & turnaround
- Documents e-recorded and received by 4:45pm are processed and returned same business day
Can you e-record in Durham County?
Yes. Durham County accepts electronic recording through Simplifile, CSC, ePN, Indecomm, so a properly formatted document can be recorded the same or next business day without mailing paper.
How to record a document in Durham County, North Carolina
- Prepare the document so it meets Durham 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, CSC, ePN, Indecomm, or by mail to Durham County Register of Deeds.
- Pay the recording fee, payable to Durham County Register of Deeds.
- Receive the recorded instrument back with its book/page or instrument number as proof of record.
Looking up a Durham County property
Owner names, parcel numbers and legal descriptions for Durham County property are searchable at Durham County Tax Administration - Real Property CAMA 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.