County Recorder

The basics

Term

4 years. ^[4]

Term limit

No person may hold the office of clerk, auditor, recorder, treasurer, sheriff or coroner more than eight years in any period of twelve years (Indiana Constitution, Art. 6, Sec. 2). ^{[5, 6]}

Who may stand

Must have resided in the county at least one year before the election (Art. 6, Sec. 4), must keep residing in the county (the officer forfeits office on moving out), and must be registered to vote; candidates file a statement of economic interests. ^{[5, 7]}

Training the law requires

Must complete 5 hours of newly-elected-official training before taking office (first term), then at least 15 hours within one year and 40 hours within three years after each election, using Association of Indiana Counties courses approved by the State Board of Accounts. ^[8]

On the 2026 ballot

54 races in Indiana

What the law puts in this job

• Records deeds, mortgages, plats and other documents, keeps indexes and collects recording fees. ^{[2, 3]}
• Manages the recorder's records perpetuation fund for document preservation and technology (fee-funded). ^[3]

What the officeholder decides

• Records technology and online access (fee and payment changes in P.L.115-2026 / SB 169). ^[6]
• Protecting owners against deed fraud and redacting sensitive data in online records. ^[6]

Who the officeholder answers to

• The county council fixes the officer's salary and the number and pay of deputies and staff in an annual salary ordinance; an elected officer's pay may not be changed during the year for which it is fixed. ^{[9, 10, 11]}
• Each officer files an itemized budget estimate before the Thursday after the first Monday in August and a positions/compensation statement before July 2; the council adopts the budget by Nov. 1. ^{[12, 13, 14]}
• The officer appoints deputies and staff within the positions the council authorizes, and keeps final authority over discipline of employees under the officer's supervision (new in 2026). ^{[15, 16]}
• Contracts an elected officer signs must be in the county's name and submitted to the commissioners for execution or review; the commissioners may void a contract signed without that review. ^{[17, 18]}
• The State Board of Accounts audits county offices at least once every four years (risk-based); DLGF certifies the county budget and tax rates. ^{[19, 20]}

What it pays, and who sets that

• Set by the county council. ^[9]
• Varies by county.
• In the 36 of 54 counties where a salary line could be identified in the 2026 budget, elected-official pay lines ran from $34,536 to $93,746 (median $55,590). From county budget lines; verify against each county's salary ordinance. ^[1]

Questions worth asking a candidate

Ours, not a questionnaire anyone answered. They come from what the job actually involves.

• How long does it take to record a document now?
• What would you do about property-title fraud?
• How is the perpetuation fund being spent?

Sources

Office research by Legal Insights (Oct. 13, 2026): Indiana Code 2026 edition, state agencies and county budgets. Nothing here rates an officeholder or candidate.