County Recorder's Office Warns of Private Offers to Provide Property Records

Information provided by John Sonderegger, spokesman for St. Charles County. 

St. Charles County Recorder of Deeds Barbara J. Hall urges county residents to be wary of private offers to provide copies of public records.
Recently, property owners in St. Charles County received a letter from Secured Document Services of Washington, D.C., offering an official, certified copy of their deed for $85 or more. Companies such as this simply obtain the certified copies from the Recorder’s Office for a nominal fee and then mail it to the homeowner while charging theman outrageous fee, Hall said.
Most property owners received their original property deed when their property was purchased. If they no longer have the original, they may contact the Recorder’s Office to purchase a certified copy for their records.
This private company's offer costs significantly more than obtaining certified copies of deeds directly from the St. Charles CountyRecorder’s Office. Fees are $2 for the first page, $1 for each additional page, plus $1 for the certification. Since most property deeds are only one or two pages the cost for directly obtainingcertified copies from the Recorder will usually cost less than $5.
"I am concerned about companies deceitfully trying to take advantageof our citizens,” Hall said. “If anyone receives one of these letters, Iwould urge them to ignore it and contact my office directly for thisservice."
For information or to obtain a copy of your property deed, you mayvisit the St. Charles County Recorder’s Office at the St. CharlesCounty Administration Building, 201 N. Second St., Suite 338, St.Charles, Mo., or call the office at (636) 949-7509.