Home > County Clerk > County Clerk

Recorder

Welcome to the Effingham County, Illinois Recorder’s office.

Here you will find information, news and many answers to your questions about recording documents and searching for information.

It is our responsibility to maintain accurate, timely indexing and maintenance of the documents filed in our office. The staff at the Recorder’s office is committed to provide you with fast and friendly assistance with your recording and searching needs.

The Recorder’s office is official record keeper for all land records in Effingham County. Our records date back to 1833. The office processes and maintains all documents transferring land in order to establish legal ownership and protect rights.

Fee Schedule

Land Search

E-Recording

FAQs

MyDec

Recording Fees and Guidelines

  • Only Original Documents Are Accepted For Recording.
  • The County Recorder Does Not Offer Legal Advice, Opinions, Or Legal Descriptions.
  • The County Recorder Does Not Provide Land Record Searches.
  • Document Recording is accepted in Person or via US Mail Courier. Only Original Documents bearing actual signatures may be recorded.
  • Faxed Documents cannot be accepted.
  • E-Recording is also available.

PUBLIC NOTICE
Legislators have recently passed HB3878 which increases the Rental Housing Support Fee by an additional $9.00.  The increase affects recording fees in all 102 counties throughout the State of Illinois and will take effect July 1, 2023.

PUBLIC NOTICE
Effective January 1, 2024 – All property transactions will be required to be processed using the Illinois Department of Revenue’s MyDec Program.

PUBLIC NOTICE

Effective January 1, 2025 – SB 694 was passed which amends the County Recorders Predictable Fee Schedule and Classification.

 

IL Department of Revenue MyDec Program

The Effingham County Recorder’s Office participates in the Illinois Department of Revenue’s MyDec program which allows for the FREE online preparation and submission of real estate property transfer tax declarations. The MyDec program also allows users to track the status of and make corrections to electronically prepared PTAX-203 forms throughout the entire recording process.

EFFECTIVE JANUARY 1, 2024 – ALL property transactions will be processed through MyDec.

Please register to become a MyDec user at: https://mytax.illinois.gov/MyDec.

Registered users can submit electronically prepared PTAX-203 forms to any Illinois county that participates in the MyDec program.

Benefits of using MyDec include:

  • Fewer rejections and quicker corrections.
  • Declarations can be saved and edited later before they are submitted.
  • Helpful tips are available for many of the lines where common mistakes are made. These tips can be viewed or hidden by clicking on the blue help icon next to the lines.
  • Fields that contain errors are displayed in red, providing a clear indication where changes must be made before the declaration is submitted.

A detailed set of instructions for the MyDec program can be found at https://www2.illinois.gov/rev/localgovernments/property/Pages/MyDec-Updates.aspx.

Support is also available by phone (844-445-1114, Monday thru Friday from 8:00AM – 4:30PM) or email (Rev.MyDecProject@illinois.gov).

A military discharge form (DD214) or any other certificate of discharge or release from active duty document that was issued by the United States government or any state government in reference to those who served with an active or inactive military reserve unit or National Guard force and that was recorded by a County Clerk or Recorder of Deeds is not subject to public inspection, enjoying all the protection covered by the federal Privacy Act of 1974 or any other privacy law.

Full copies of these documents shall be accessible only to the person named in the document, the named person’s dependents, the county veterans’ service officer, representatives of the Department of Veterans’ Affairs, funeral home representative or any person with written authorization from the named person or the named person’s dependents.

(Source: P.A. 93468, eff. 1104.)

To request of a copy of a Military Discharge DD-214 please use this request form.

Documentation Notification Program

New County Service Provides Property Fraud Alert

Preventing mortgage fraud and identity theft is a top priority of your Effingham County Recorder’s office. The Recorder’s office has made a conscious effort to be on the lookout for documents that may involve deed or mortgage fraud. For your protection, consider subscribing to our “FREE” Property Fraud Alert website for real-time monitoring and notification of any potentially fraudulent activity.

Your security does matter!

Unfortunately, it’s all too easy for a criminal to record fraudulent deed making it appear as if they own your home. Once they’ve done this, they can use your name as collateral on a mortgage or even attempt to sell your home to an unsuspecting buyer.

Don’t let this happen to you!!

Sign Up!

To sign up for this free service, go to https://www.propertyfraudalert.com/ and pick Effingham County. Complete the registration form and submit.

The service will notify you if a document is recorded with your name. After enrollment the information that has been provided will be automatically monitored.  Anytime new information is entered into our system here in the Effingham County Recorder’s office that matches the information entered during enrollment the customer will be notified. You will be given the option to be notified by either “email” or “phone”.

If you have any questions regarding this or having trouble signing up, please contact 217-342-6535 for assistance.

HB 3036 effected changes to 55 ILCS 5/3-5018.1

The Illinois Legislature has enacted a revision to the Recording Act (55 ILCS 53/-5018), effective January 1, 2019 by Effingham County Resolution #18-124, which provides for a predictable fee schedule that eliminates surcharges or fees based on the individual attributes of a standard document to be recorded.

Under the Predictable Fee Schedule, as used in Section 55 ILCS 5/3-5018.1, a “Nonstandard Document” means:

  1. A document that creates a division of a then active existing tax parcel identification number.
  2. A document recorded pursuant to the Uniform Commercial Code.
  3. A document which is non-conforming, as described in paragraphs (1) through (5) of Section 3-5018 (the Standardization of Forms referred to above).
  4. A State lien or a federal lien.
  5. A document making specific reference to more than 5 tax parcel identification numbers in the County in which it is presented for recording.
  6. A document making specific reference to more than 5 other document numbers recorded in the County in which it is presented for recording.

A “Standard Document” means any document other than a “Nonstandard Document”.