2015 New Officer School The office of the county recorder was created by the first Legislative Assembly of the Territory of Iowa in This makes it one of the earliest created offices in Iowa.

2015 New Officer School Recorder duties have evolved to include Registrar of Vital Records; issuing marriage licenses; registration and titling of boats, snowmobiles, and OHV’s; custodian of Naturalization archives; passport issuance; and hunting and fishing licensing.

2015 New Officer School Recorders, in their role of being both archivists and technology specialists, have two dual goals: Preservation – preserving and maintaining the county’s oldest and most emotionally important family records: birth, death, marriage, and immigration, as well as land records.

2015 New Officer School Innovation – constantly migrating libraries of documents into the newest formats to ensure preservation long-term; provide contingency for any disaster scenario; accommodate the market’s demand for 24/7 service offerings online, and decrease costs for citizens and businesses.

2015 New Officer School Get to Know Your Recorder as Change Agent It used to be so simple … little technology and lots of books. But today’s economy is global – anyone in the world can own property in your community. Stored paper records are not sufficient to meet today’s needs for 24/7 access. Statewide, records must conform to identical standards to be consistent for customers doing title research. Recorders constantly leverage technology to meet the needs of local business partners. Best practices in document management have become essential. Iowa’s Recorders are leaders in these areas, writing white papers for national organizations.

2015 New Officer School Get to Know Your Recorder as CEO Iowa Land Records is a statewide web site providing for electronic submission of real estate recordings – 12.7 million documents archived in secure, state-of-the-art storage, accessible online – Over 15,000 registered users conduct 1M+ searches/year – ILR staff and project manager overseen by Recorders – Iowa first in the nation to have a statewide portal for e- submission – Enabled with Code authority by Iowa General Assembly

2015 New Officer School

Increasing numbers of financial institutions, attorneys, and realtors across Iowa now utilize Iowa Land Records for filing documents electronically.

2015 New Officer School Get to Know Your Recorder as a Professional County Recorders undergo certification to maintain standing within the Association – A County Recorder must earn 30 credit hours, with 21 credit hours awarded from the Core Courses as offered by the program in a 2 year period.

2015 New Officer School Certification program - created by Recorders and the Extension and Outreach staff at Iowa State University, with support from ISAC The Mission of the Iowa Certified Recorder Program: “To provide educational training designed to improve and enhance the management skills, knowledge and professionalism of Iowa County Recorders, and further enable them to fulfill their elected duties and better serve their community.”

2015 New Officer School Get to Know Your Recorder as a Resource ● Management ● Fraud Protection ● Technology Project Oversight ● Contingency Planning/Disaster Recovery ● Customer Service ● Strategic Planning

2015 New Officer School Recorders are professionals, prepared and willing to assist in any way with the collegial process of county governance. Counties face many challenges. Recorders have capitalized on opportunities to evolve and lead. We are here to help. Get to know us!