*NOTICE*
ELECTRONIC AND REMOTE NOTARIZATION
RSA 456-B (effective February 6, 2022)New Hampshire laws have changed as of February 6, 2022.
Please refer to the New Hampshire Secretary of State’s website, including any linked pages and FAQs, for complete information.
Additional notarial requirements may be found in the Online Notary Public and Justice of the Peace Manual.
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________*NOTICE*
The Hillsborough County Registry of Deeds is open to the public.
Face masks are encouraged and available upon request.
Please follow social distancing guidelines while in the building.
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Webinars
Upcoming Laredo/Tapestry Webinars
Searching with Laredo v8 Desktop, Laredo Anywhere, and Tapestry Webinars
These webinars cover the basics of searching with Laredo and Tapestry while also highlighting the new features in the latest version of Laredo. By attending, both new users and experienced users will learn how to effectively search county land records with some helpful tips and tricks. The webinars are hosted on the second and third Thursday of each month and start at 10 AM (CST). Each webinar lasts about 45 minutes.
Click here to view a list of dates and sign up for the webinar.There are no closing rooms available at the registry. Please be advised that as of April 1, 2015 the Hillsborough County Registry of deeds will be requiring 3 separate checks for recording documents.
One check for recording fees, one check for LCHIP surcharge and one check for the DRA Real Estate Transfer Tax. All three checks should be made payable to Hillsborough County Registry of Deeds.
The ability of the New Hampshire Department of Revenue to collect insufficient funds is the driving force behind the policy change. Without this change this would leave the taxpayers of Hillsborough County responsible for any uncollected funds on returned checks for Real Estate Transfer Tax.
*** LCHIP Recording Surcharge Information, Effective July 1, 2008***
The Registry of Deeds processes information as it relates to the selling and buying of real property. It is a public office open to the legal profession and general public for researching the records.
Hillsborough County is in the south central part of the state and is the most thickly populated. It is named for the Earl of Hillsborough, a councilor of King George III, and includes two cities and twenty nine towns. It is 875 square miles in area and has a population of over 380,000. The official records maintained at this location are dated from 1771 to present. There is much information available in the early volumes and anyone interested in genealogy will probably find it useful to research the records.
A visit to the Registry of Deeds during regular office hours enables the researcher access to all records. Records dated from 1966 to present are computerized. The computers enable the user to locate both index information and document image at the touch of a button. You can also order copies of any documents of interest at our copy centers.
A plan index is available to research surveys, subdivisions and other plans of record. All recorded plans are available for viewing on the computers.
CONSUMER ALERT
Attorney General Michael A. Delaney issued the following consumer alert to all New
Hampshire property owners:
Consumers should be aware of mailings being sent to property owners throughout the state
from companies using the names:
SECURED DOCUMENT SERVICES, and
DEED RETRIEVAL SERVICES
The mailings appear to be official government notices recommending, “that all United States [or New Hampshire] homeowners obtain a copy of their current grant deed” and further indicate that, for a fee of $86.00 or $87.00, these companies will provide the property owner with a copy of their Grant Deed and a Property Profile.
The Attorney General advises that these companies are providing a service of questionable value and the information advertised in these solicitations can be obtained from any of the State’s Registers of Deeds for significantly less money. With deeds so easily and inexpensively attainable, the existence of these companies depends greatly on the public’s unfamiliarity with the county registers of deeds offices.
Attorney General Delaney stated, “The real lesson for an educated consumer is to know what you are paying for, which in the case of these deed retrieval companies is virtually nothing more than a homeowner can acquire for far less cost. Don’t be fooled by a company whose name sounds ‘official’ or by an ‘official’ looking notice designed to confuse and mislead you. If you would like a copy of your deed, you can obtain it yourself for nominal cost and time, or contact your county’s Register of Deeds, who would be glad to assist you.“
Under New Hampshire’s Consumer Protection Act, N.H. RSA 358-A, it is unlawful for any person to use any unfair or deceptive act or practice in the conduct of any trade or commerce within this state. Anyone who feels they have been the victim of any unfair or deceptive act should call the Attorney General’s Consumer Protection Bureau hotline at
(603) 271-3641 or 1-888-468-4454. For more information on consumer fraud you can also visit the Bureau’s
website at www.doj.nh.gov/consumer.
RSA 478:42
I. A person may not knowingly present for filing or cause to be presented for filing in a registry or other public office, any type of document that fraudulently purports to be a judgment or other document to memorialize or evidence an act, order, directive, or process of creating a lien without having been authorized under state law, the Constitution, or the laws of the United States.
II. For purpose of this section, a document or instrument that purports to create a lien on, assert a claim against, or assert an interest in, real or personal property, is presumed to be fraudulent if it:
(a) Is not certified or ordered by a court or a judicial entity expressly created or established under the Constitution or the laws of this state or of the United States; or
(b) Is not a document or instrument provided for by the Constitution or the laws of this state or the United States.
III. Nothing contained herein shall affect the validity of a mechanic’s or statutory lien created pursuant to state or federal law.
IV. If a Register of Deeds or other public official believes in good faith that a document filed with the Registry of Deeds or other public office purports to create a lien that is fraudulent, the register or other public official shall index the document only under the signer of the document in the grantor index and shall identify the document as a notice in the document type. No other names appearing on the document shall be indexed.
(a) The register or other public official shall send a copy of such document to the county attorney for the county where the document was filed or to the New Hampshire attorney general’s office for review and possible prosecution.
(b) The county attorney or attorney general receiving a copy of a document under subparagraph (a) shall send a notice of the action taken under this paragraph to the person presenting or causing such filing by regular mail at his or her last known address no later than the next business day after such action.
(c) Any such document or instrument on file with the Registry of Deeds or other public office presumed to be fraudulent or deemed fraudulent as described in this section shall be considered invalid, void, and having no force or effect on any named person or persons named within the document or instrument.
(d) Any Register of Deeds or other public official acting in good faith pursuant to this chapter shall be immune from civil and criminal liability.
V. Any person who knowingly files a document or instrument to fraudulently create a lien on real or personal property shall be guilty of a class B felony.
86:2 Effective Date.
This act shall take effect upon its passage
Approved: June 11, 2014
Effective Date: June 11, 2014
