The Register of Deeds is Proud to serve you during these extremely Challenging Times.  We are Fully Operational Recording and Protecting Your Important Real Estate Documents thru E-Recording, U.S. Mail, U.PS. and FedEx.  Many People have found our "Record Search" Data Base Site Very Helpful and Time Saving in Searching and Downloading Printable Documents.

My Team of Staff and I are exceptionally proud of the opportunity to serve you in the extremely important discipline of Recording, Retrieving and Preserving Muskegon County’s Land Records such as Deeds, Mortgages, Surveys, Plats and Condominiums. Our mission is to provide friendly customer service and our office is always open Monday through Friday 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. except for Holidays. To better serve you and understand your needs we even remain open during the traditional lunch hour and believe it is important to answer the telephone with a live friendly voice instead of an annoying voice mail system. We stand committed to provide you with Great Customer Service.     

On Friday March 13, 2020, The Muskegon County Health Director and the County Board of Commissioners Chairperson Declared a Local State of Emergency in response to the COVID-19 Pandemic. This Local State of Emergency as we now know meant the Closure of all Non-essential County offices and facilities.  I knew and determined that it would be Impossible to close The Register of Deeds office because of its Importance to the citizens of Muskegon County. The citizens would still need the ability to originate new Mortgages and sell Real Estate. 

I and The U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Cyber Security and Infrastructure Agency Deemed that The Register of Deeds was Essential Critical Infrastructure and should remain operational.  Although the Deeds office lobby was closed to the public during the “Governors COVID-19 Stay at Home Order” until June 15, 2020, the Deeds office continued to operate fully behind the scenes and remotely with the Deeds staff working from home.

During this period, Because we previously implemented  "No Contact E-recording" back in 2013, the Register of Deeds was able to successfully Record over One Hundred Thousand Documents, responded to thousands of telephone calls and e-mails, while fulfilling thousands of copy request for previously Recorded Documents. Even after the Deeds office lobby opened back up in June and the Entire County closed all their offices on Fridays in June and July, We kept The Register of Deeds office lobby open to the serve the citizens of the County.  On September 1, 2020 The Muskegon Tribune published a front page story titled "Good Deeds Last Forever" which highlighted the Critical Importance of the Register of Deeds during the COVID-19 Pandemic. http://muskegontribune.com/good-deeds-last-forever/ .

The Muskegon County Register Of Deeds began with the creation of the County of Muskegon in 1859. The Land Records dating back to the beginning are all Archived here in our New Home at 173 East Apple Avenue across the Street from The Michael E Kobza Hall of Justice. The early records are preserved in Large hand written Books and on Microfilm. In 2002 I introduced a complete integrated state of the art computerized recording system to the Register Of Deeds Office. This latest technology allows our Recording Team to Expeditiously Record and Process the Land Records Efficiently and Accurately. I and the Register Of Deeds Team using our latest technology have converted over 2 Million archived records dating back to 1859 into digital form for easy retrieval here in the office and over the Internet in the future.

Before I became The Muskegon County Register Of Deeds, this Register Of Deeds Office was plagued with the same difficulty still presently faced by many of the Register Of Deeds and Recorders across the Country, a Serious back log in Recording and Returning Documents which affected the certainty of Title to many properties in Muskegon County. Myself and the Register of Deeds Team understand how crucial it is to Record and Return the Land Records in a timely fashion. Today we Record and Return Documents in 24 Hours. State Law, National Standards and the Latest Technology Now also allow us to Record Documents Electronically here in Muskegon from around the County. The Progress and Accomplishments of The Muskegon County Register Of Deeds can be attributed to the Friendly and Hard Working Team of Staff who are dedicated to assisting your Recording and Record retrieval needs. A Visit to our Record Search Page will direct you on procedures to Access The Records Recorded here in our Office. Another Very Important Feature available on the Search Page, is Enrollment in Our Property Fraud Guard Alert. A simple tool that helps protect you or your business from becoming the victim of fraud. Fraud Guard notifies you, via email, when your name is on a document being recorded in this county. With Fraud Guard, you stay informed about how your name is used by others.

The Muskegon County Register Of Deeds Office by means of the business practices that have been applied has Saved or Generated over 40 Million Dollars for the Citizens and Taxpayers in the last Eight Fiscal Years. I feel extremely honored and privileged to Serve You as Your Register Of Deeds and I understand how important it is to You and the Citizens of Muskegon County to Know your land Records are Recorded and Safeguarded. I Pledge to continue to uphold the Statutory Responsibilities of this office.

Sincerely,

Mark F. Fairchild
Your Register Of Deeds