Land Court / Registered Land Department in Hampden County
• All grantors names’ must appear as they do on the Certificate of Title
• Current Certificate of Title must be on all documents
• Lot, plan and plan filed with Certificate must match the Certificate of Title
• Deeds, Mortgages, and Easements cannot be dated over one year old.
• Certificates of Good Standing are required for LLC’s and LP’s when they are signing any instrument of transferring interest in real estate. (Good for 60 days as of document date)
• A Trustee Certificate must be recorded every time a trust is signing or when a Deed is being granted to a trust.
• If any owner of the Certificate of Title is deceased, please see the Land Court Guidelines: The Effect of Death upon Registered Land Titles
• Corp.’s and Inc.’s conveying land (Deeds and Mortgages) please refer to M.G.L Ch. 155 s. 8.
• Land Court does not take Scrivener’s Affidavits, Corrective or Confirmatory documents.
• If signing under Power of Attorney, Land Court requires the POA to be recorded with us at the Hampden County Registry. Please make sure the Power of Attorney is not expired.
• If Property is in BOTH Land Court and Recorded Land, record the documents in Land Court first. Then, file with the Recorded Land department with the LC recording information on it.
We require a separate check for each department.
• If any document requires Land Court Approval, please see the Land Court Memo regarding Attorney Certifications.
Below are Land Court Registration Requirements that may be helpful to you:
• All documents pertaining to Registered Land must note the Certificate of Title number and relevant document number (if discharging/assigning or making reference to a specific document of record). Registry employees are not permitted to add any information to documents. If this information is missing, your document will not be registered.
• Requirements for Deeds:
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- Document cannot be over one year old
- The current Certificate of Title number
- Full property description: Lot number (if noted on said Certificate) and the plan filed with certificate number
- A grantee address
- Full consideration statement
- Property address
- Grantor name must appear EXACTLY as it does on the current Certificate of Title (or aka/fka their name in ALL places on the document)
- A proper notary acknowledgment (See M.G.L. Ch. 222 Sec. 15 (b))
• Requirements for Mortgages:
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- Document cannot be over one year old
- The current Certificate of Title number
- Full property description: Lot number (if noted on said Certificate) and the plan filed with certificate number
- Property address
- Grantor name must appear EXACTLYas it does on the current Certificate of Title (or aka/fka their name in ALL places on the document)
- A proper notary acknowledgment (See M.G.L. Ch. 222 Sec. 15 (b))
- Must have two dates: a signature date (executed on) and notary date
• Fiduciary Deeds must be approved by Land Court in Boston. If such a deed does not have Land Court Approval, it will not be registered.
• Tenants by the Entirety: when title is held by tenants by the entirety and one tenant is deceased, a Death Certificate and an Affidavit of No Divorce must be filed before transferring the property.
• All documents presented for Registration must be originals. If the property in question relates to both Registered and Recorded Land, you must ALWAYS record the documents in Land Court first. Once the documents are on record in Land Court, the documents containing Land Court recording information will then need to be submitted to the Recorded Land Department. Excise Stamps will be collected in Land Court ONLY.
• A Discharge of mortgage signed by a bank that is not the original Lender must have a previously registered Assignment of Mortgage or documented proof of authority of said bank to release the mortgage. Discharges, Partial Releases or Assignments of Mortgage must reference the document number of the mortgage being discharged, partially released or assigned and the current Certificate of Title number.
• Most documents filed in the Registry District that can stand alone must be filed separately (i.e. do not attach a Death Certificate to any document). Please call with any questions before presenting documents for registration.
Land Court / Boston
The Land Court of Massachusetts has statewide jurisdiction over the Registration of Title to real property, Foreclosure and Redemption of Real Estate tax liens. The Court has superintendence authority over the registered land offices in each Registry of Deeds. The Register of Deeds serves as an Assistant Recorder of the Land Court. The registered land section is a separate department from the recorded land section of the Registry of Deeds.
The Hampden registered land section currently retains all documents that are registered, including the original deed. A Transfer Certificate of Title is issued showing all mortgages, liens, encumbrances etc., on the certificate. Documents filed in the registered section are assigned document numbers not book and page numbers. Registered land documents, images, indices, certificates and plans are available at the registry and online at Search.hampdendeeds.com from 1899 to the present.
