General Recording Requirements

Under NRS 7.285, the Recorder and Recorder Office’s personnel are forbidden to practice law, which includes advising what forms are needed, how to fill them out, or giving any other legal advice. Documents to be recorded must be ready for recording at the time of submission; the Recorder's Office cannot complete forms.


Outline of Requirements

The following provides a general outline of recording requirements:

  • Fees: Refer to our schedule of fees for recording documents. Cash, checks, money orders, and credit cards (MasterCard, VISA, American Express, and Discover) are accepted. For further information, please contact the Recorder's Office at 775-847-0967 or by email.
  • APN: The Assessor's Parcel Number of the property at the top left corner of the first page of the document.
  • Requested by/Return Address: Mailing address of the person who is requesting the recording.
  • Affirmation Statement: Per NRS 239B.030, affirmation is required on the first page of documents.
  • Title: Documents should be easily identifiable by a title.
  • Parties: Names of parties to be indexed must be contained in the document.
  • Names Under Signature: Names must be printed or typed under all signatures except notaries and witnesses.
  • Notary Acknowledgment: Documents affecting title to real property must be properly acknowledged. No notary services are available in the County Recorder's Office.
  • Legal Description: If a document that is being recorded includes a legal description of real property that is provided in metes and bounds, the document must include the name and mailing address of the person who prepared the legal description.
  • Declaration of Value: A Declaration of Value form is required by the Department of Taxation for any document that involves a change of title. You can download the form here.
  • Legibility: All documents must be clearly readable and capable of producing a legible imaged record. A downloadable Legibility Statement is available here.
  • Non-Recordable Documents: This includes negotiable instruments (such as stocks, bonds, and money), vital records (such as birth or death certificates), passports, citizenship papers, copyrights, trademarks, or any other documents not authorized by law.


Formatting Requirements


Using our downloadable Cover Page, most formatting requirements will be met. Submitted documents are required to:

  • Be on white paper 8 ½” by 11” in size.
  • Have a space of 3" by 3" at the upper right corner of the 1st page, a margin of 1" at the top of each succeeding page (see below).
  • Have a margin of 1" on the left and right sides and at the bottom of each page (see below).
  • NOT be on sheets of paper that are bound together at the side, top, or bottom.
  • NOT contain printed material on more than one side of each page.
  • NOT have any documents or other materials physically attached to the paper.
  • NOT have colored markings to highlight text or any other part of the document.
  • NOT have a stamp or seal that overlaps with text or a signature on the document, except in the case of a validated stamp or seal of a licensed, professional engineer or land surveyor.
  • NOT have text that is smaller than a 10-point Times New Roman font and is printed in any ink other than black.
  • NOT have more than 9 lines of text per vertical inch.
  • The provisions of subsection 3 do not apply to a certified copy of a document submitted for recording that has been filed with a court and that conforms to the formatting requirements established by the court.  Court documents will require a cover page to meet general recording formatting requirements.
This information is available for download here.