Love County County Clerk Records

About the Love County Clerk's Office

Shelly Russell has served as the Love County Clerk since 2009. The post is an elected county office. Her staff carries the daily recording and land-record work. Meagan Wilson is the First Deputy County Clerk. Tina Renick is Second Deputy over land records. Amanda Gillham is Second Deputy and purchasing agent. Lorri Hull handles land records and purchasing. The office sits in the county courthouse in Marietta.

The County Clerk is the registrar of deeds and the custodian of county records. The office records and keeps deeds, mortgages, and liens. It serves as secretary to several county boards. It records board proceedings, reviews claims, prepares warrants, and keeps the county's financial ledgers. A judgment docket is kept here too. District Court orders that affect real property are entered on that docket. The State Auditor and Inspector checks the books each year.

What the County Clerk Does in Love County

The County Clerk handles real property and county business records, not court case files. Love County's official routing sends a long list of filings to this office. Land records, UCC liens, judgments, tax warrants and releases, mechanic's liens, powers of attorney, plats, deeds, mortgages, and fictitious-name partnership certificates all land here. Each filing is indexed so it can be found later by name or by legal description. That index is what makes a title search possible.

Most people reach this office for one of a few reasons. They are buying or selling property. They are clearing a lien. They are checking a chain of title. The office also acts as the county's record keeper for board business and spending.

• Deeds, mortgages, and other instruments that transfer or secure real property.
• UCC liens and financing statements filed against property.
• Tax warrants, tax liens, and the releases that clear them.
• Mechanic's and materialmen's liens, plus the notices that go with them.
• Plats, powers of attorney, and fictitious-name partnership certificates.
• A judgment docket where District Court orders affecting real property are entered.

The office does more than record. The County Clerk serves as secretary to several county boards and keeps the minutes of their proceedings. The clerk reviews claims against the county, prepares the warrants that pay them, and maintains the county's financial ledgers. Open-record copy-fee lists are kept here as well. Because the office handles public money and public records, the State Auditor and Inspector reviews its books every year.

How to Record a Document in Love County

Recording puts a document into the public land record. Once recorded, it is indexed and open for others to find. The steps are simple, but the document has to meet the office's standards first. Bring the original or a certified copy to the counter in Suite 203. The clerk checks the form, collects the fees, and returns the original to you.

1. Bring the original document or a certified copy to the County Clerk counter in Suite 203.
2. Confirm the document is legible, written in English, and carries a clear legal description for indexing.
3. Make sure there is blank space for stamps, mortgage-tax certification, and recording information.
4. Pay the recording fee, the preservation fee, and any documentary stamp tax that applies.
5. The clerk records and indexes the filing, then hands the original back to you.

Love County Land Record Request Fields

Requesting a copy of a recorded document is faster when you arrive with the right details. The office indexes records by party name and legal description, so those fields matter most. A book and page number, when you have it, points straight to the document. The table below shows what to bring or send with a land-record copy request.

You can ask for a plain copy or a certified copy. A plain copy is fine for a quick check. A certified copy carries the clerk's stamp and is the one you want for legal use, such as proving title or clearing a recorded lien. The office can take a request at the counter, by mail, or by phone, and a photographic copy of a record runs one dollar per page. Knowing the exact document and party name keeps the search short and the fee low.

Conforming Document Standards

The County Clerk records documents that meet Oklahoma's conforming standards. These rules keep the record legible and easy to copy for years to come. A document that misses one rule may still be recorded as nonconforming, but it costs more. Check each point before you bring a filing to the counter.

• Be an original or a certified copy.
• Be clearly legible without magnification and written in English.
• Carry a specific legal description for indexing.
• Reproduce cleanly by photocopy or scan.
• Stay no larger than 8.5 by 14 inches unless an exception applies.
• Leave blank space for documentary stamps, mortgage-tax certification, and recording information.

A nonconforming instrument can be recorded if it still meets statutory requirements. The trade-off is a higher fee for the first page and each added page. When in doubt, ask the office before you file so the cost does not surprise you.

Love County Clerk Recording Fees

The Love County fee page lists the recording and copy charges the County Clerk collects. Recording fees turn on page count and whether the document conforms. A documentary stamp tax applies to many property transfers, and a preservation fee is added to each filing. The table below pulls the published amounts from the county fee schedule.

A documentary stamp follows Title 68 Section 3201. Over 25 legal descriptions on one instrument adds $1 for each description past 25. Mailing a notice of mechanic's lien costs $5 plus actual postage. Confirm the current total with the office before you file a large or unusual document.

County Clerk vs Court Clerk in Love County

Two clerks serve Love County, and they keep very different records. The County Clerk holds land and property records in Suite 203. The Court Clerk holds court case files one floor of suites away, in Suite 201. The names sound alike, so callers often reach the wrong desk. The quick test is simple. If the record is about property, it belongs here. If the record is about a court case, it belongs with the Court Clerk.

Marriage licenses, protective orders, court costs, and traffic tickets filed in District Court all go to the Court Clerk, not the County Clerk. Civil, criminal, probate, and family case records are court files too. For any of those, the Love County Court Clerk is the right office. The County Clerk can still help when a court judgment touches real property, because those orders are entered on the judgment docket kept here. Bring the right record type to the right suite and the visit goes faster.

The two offices share the same building, which adds to the mix-up. Both sit at 405 West Main in Marietta, only a couple of suite numbers apart. The phone lines differ, the records differ, and the staff differ. A caller who needs a deed, a mortgage, or a lien release wants the County Clerk in Suite 203. A caller who needs a case file, a court cost balance, or a marriage license wants the Court Clerk in Suite 201. When in doubt, describe the record you need and the office will point you to the right counter.