Office of the County Clerk Makes Historic Records Searchable and Viewable Online, All Public Deeds for Nearly a Century Now Available Digitally
Press Release 4/12/22
MIDDLESEX COUNTY, NJ – As part of its commitment to making information more easily available to the public, the Middlesex County Clerk’s Office has digitized public deeds from the 1950s back to 1923. The records can now be searched and viewed online through the NewVision Systems’ Official Records system.
Deeds are the first documents to be converted to digital records. Other records available at the Office of the County Clerk include mortgages, maps, liens, releases, easements, powers of attorney, trade names, assignments, medical licenses, and veteran peddler licenses.
Recording deeds were previously digitized back to 1950. The older records were available only in large books stored in the Public Search Room in the Office of the County Clerk. These records are aging and increasingly fragile, and do not have an electronic index for locating documents.
The digitization of these deeds is a key step in modernizing the deed retrieval process, which enables the public to quickly and securely locate, view, download, and print deeds based on common search criteria while protecting and preserving the data. The need for this project was made abundantly clear during the Covid-19 pandemic when searchers and members of the public were able to access the public deeds that were available electronically back to 1950.
“The digitization of public deeds from the 1950s all the way back to 1923 is a project of tremendous scope and impact,” said Middlesex County Board of County Commissioners Director Ronald G. Rios. “Here in Middlesex County, we strive to make public information and records as accessible as possible to residents and businesses. Modernizing the records management process is integral to that goal. On behalf of the Board of County Commissioners, I thank Clerk Pinkin and everyone in the Office of the County Clerk for all of their hard work and dedication in making this a reality.”
“Digitizing these deeds, and all public records, is an ongoing project and a high priority for the County and for my office in particular,” said Middlesex County Clerk Nancy J. Pinkin. “We are working hard to ensure that all public records are accessible to everyone who needs them, when they need them. Our partner, NewVision Systems, has extensive experience with this work and a high quality of performance with the County to date. I expect that to continue.”
Located within the Office of the County Clerk, the Registry Office is where records pertaining to land ownership are recorded. The Registry Office is open to the public and services individuals who have purchased or sold property in Middlesex County. Copies of land records including deeds and mortgages recorded since 1683 are on file and accessible to citizens, attorneys, title searchers, historians, and genealogists.
Funding for the digitization project was provided by the County Clerk Trust Fund which is designed to set aside resources to invest in technology that can increase access to public information in an efficient manner.
In addition to digital access to public deeds dating back to 1923, Middlesex County offers the Middlesex County Property Alert Service. This free service is designed to protect property owners against fraudulent property issues such as false ownership documentation and claims, etc. After registering for the service, Middlesex County property owners will receive email alerts if a document with their name or property description is recorded in the Middlesex County Clerk’s Office. More information about this free service can be found at https://mcrecords.co.middlesex.nj.us/propertyalert.
