Online Search Service

Frequently Asked Questions - Online Search Service

1. What documents are available online?
2. Do I need to pay to view documents?
3. How do I register for a new account?
4. How do I purchase documents?
5. How do I purchase a subscription?
6. I purchased a document, but it is difficult to read. What should I do?
7. How do I sign up for notifications to help combat deed fraud?
8. How can I use the historical index book to search for documents?

1. What documents are available online?

Real Estate

All users can view real estate documents from 1965 to present by searching for the grantor or grantee name in the "Name Search", or the book and page of the document using the "Instrument Search". All users can also access images of the handwritten index books covering deeds recorded between 1821-1965. To view or purchase documents recorded prior to 1965, a subscription is required. Our office is continually indexing documents recorded prior to 1965, which will become available online as the indexing process is completed. If you need assistance locating a document, please contact our office at (573) 886-4345 or email recorder@boonecountymo.org.

Tax Liens

Federal and State Tax Liens and Tax Lien Releases are indexed and will show the total amount referenced in the document. Images of tax lien filings are not available to view or purchase online. Images of tax lien filings can be viewed on public research terminals located in our office. If you need to purchase copies of tax liens, please complete the Real Estate/Tax Lien Copy Request Form or call (573) 886-4345.

Marriage Records

Records of marriage licenses issued starting from 1865 to today are included in the online search. Marriage licenses that do not list a recording date were issued but not returned to be recorded or expired. Images of marriage licenses are not available to view or purchase online. Certified copies of Marriage Licenses can be obtained by completing the Marriage Copy Request Form or calling (573) 886-4345.

2. Do I need to pay to view documents?

No, all registered users are provided access to view a protected version of the document. Payment is only required to purchase copies, or for subscription access to view documents prior to 1965.

3. How do I register for a new account?

1. Visit the Online Search Service and then click "Register" on the log in page.
2. Complete the required information and click "Register".
3. You will receive a verification email at the email address used to register. Emails may take a few minutes to receive.
4. Click on the verification link sent to your email to complete your registration. You will not be able to access the system until you click the verification link. If you attempt to login before verifying your registration, you will receive an error message stating "Login failed (UserPendingVerification)."
5. Once you have clicked the verification link, you should see a message stating "Your email has been verified, please click the link below to return to the login page."
6. You may now login (using your full email address and password you just created) and begin searching for documents.

4. How do I purchase documents?

Once you have identified documents you would like to purchase, you can click the green button titled "Add to Cart".

Users who have purchased a subscription have the option to select specific pages of a document to purchase. For subscribed users, the green button will say "Purchase" and will pop up an additional screen for you to select which pages of the document you would like to purchase.

Once all documents have been added to your shopping cart, click the shopping cart icon in the top righthand corner of the screen. Review the documents you want to purchase, then click "Pay Credit Card" and follow the instructions for payment. Once payment has been processed, you can download each document, as well as a detailed receipt. Additionally, all documents you have purchased within the last 60 days will be available in the "Purchase History" tab of the menu.

5. How do I purchase a subscription?

If you are interested in purchasing a subscription, please note that the subscription purchase must be completed prior to the benefits of the subscription being available to the user.

To purchase a subscription, press "Subscription" in the lefthand menu. Select "Add to Cart" for the subscription you would like to purchase and complete the checkout process by clicking on the shopping cart icon in the top righthand corner. Subscription benefits are applied after purchase.

Multiple User Subscriptions: The user who purchases a multiple user subscription will be the subscription administrator and have an additional menu option to "Share Subscription". Users with the same email address domain as the administrator will be shown, and the administrator can activate subscription access for each listed user.

Daily subscriptions expire at midnight on the day the subscription is purchased.

Monthly subscriptions expire at midnight on the last day of the month the subscription is purchased.

6. I purchased a document, but it is difficult to read. What should I do?

Please contact our office at (573) 886-4345 or email recorder@boonecountymo.org.

7. How do I sign up for notifications to help combat deed fraud?

Deed fraud can occur when a criminal files fraudulent documents attempting to claim ownership, without the property owner's knowledge. To help property owners stay informed, the Boone County Recorder of Deeds provides a free notification service. Follow the directions below to sign up:

1. Visit the DeedWatch website.
2. Select Boone County, MO from the dropdown menu.
3. Enter your email address.
4. You will receive an email with a verification code to log in.
5. Enter the names of individuals or businesses you would like to be notified about when new documents are filed.

Please note, the notification service only works for documents filed after you have completed the notification setup process. If you have questions, please contact our office at (573) 886-4345 or email recorder@boonecountymo.org.

8. How can I use the historical index book to search for documents?

To view and purchase documents recorded prior to 1965, you must first purchase one of the subscription plans. See "How do I purchase a Subscription?" for additional details. Once you have purchased a subscription, you will have an additional menu option of "Book" to view and purchase document images. A subscription is not required to search the historical index book.

The historical index book provides images of scanned pages from the physical index books located in the Recorder of Deed's office. Each index book covers specific timeframes of recorded documents and are broken down into two categories. The direct index book (also known as the Grantor index) is organized by the last name of the grantor of the document. Alternatively, the indirect index book (also known as the Grantee index) is organized by the last name of the grantee of the document.

Index books A through F are organized by the first letter of the party's last name. Beginning with index book G, the books are organized by the first letter and then the first vowel of the party's last name. For example, a document recorded with the grantor last name "Smith" would be indexed in the section SI. When searching indirect indexes, you must also change the index type field to "indirect" before you can select the section to view.

As you identify documents listed in the index that you would like to view, entering the book and page into the "Add Bookmark" section will help you easily find the document image once you switch over to the "Book" menu. Once in the "Book" area, you can use the drop-down menus to select the book and page you would like to view, or you can click on any documents in your bookmarks to go directly to that page.

The "Book" area allows you to add multiple pages into one virtual document before adding it to your cart to checkout. Press "add page" to add the displayed page to a virtual document. Once you have added all pages to the virtual document, press "Add to Cart" to add the document to the cart.

If you have questions, please contact our office at (573) 886-4345 or email recorder@boonecountymo.org.