How to Register Legal Ownership Documents
- 1). Ensure that you receive your title to the property at the time of purchase. This tile should reflect your status as owner of the property. It will also contain a description of the property and any other entities that have an interest in the property, such as lien holders.
- 2). Determine which legal entity you must contact to place the document on file. Oftentimes proof of ownership for items like a deed for a house or property will be kept on file with a county government official, such as the county clerk. Copies of legal ownership for vehicles will probably need to be placed on file with the state-level legal entity charged with issuing registration documents for the vehicles, such as the state department of public safety or tax commission.
- 3). Place your document on file with the appropriate office. If you are registering a vehicle title, it will probably be possible to place the title on file at the same time that you purchase your license plate. Ask the official with whom you are registering the documentation to provide you with a certified copy of the document so that you can demonstrate that the document was in fact placed on file. This certification should include the physical description of the location where your document was filed. For instance, a title for property might be recorded as being in book 200, page 22 of the county clerk's property ownership records.
- 4). Carefully read any documents that are attached to the filing. As an example, your deed for property may be attached to a set of guidelines or neighborhood restrictive covenants which serve to restrict your use of a property to certain criteria.
- 5). Keep the certified copy on file in a safe location. You never know when you will need to retrieve this document in order to to sell, insure, take out a loan on or prove your ownership of the item.
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