News Release



Over 200 prospective users attended Laredo online document searching seminars on Aug. 28.
 
Recorder’s Office Launches Online Records Services
Nearly 2 million documents offer land, neighborhood
and business and other information via the Internet

(Sept. 6, 2007) – For the first time, customers of the Allen County Recorder’s Office can now access more than 1.7 million recorded documents via the Internet.

Two new online services offering remote access to digitized documents dating back to 1986 are complete and ready for use. These services make it possible for users to view land, neighborhood, business and other records from their home or office, day or night, 365 days a year.

“Our customers can’t always stop working and doing research when the Recorder’s Office closes for the day,” said Allen County Recorder John McGauley. “Providing online access to the records customers need enhances their ability to succeed and our ability to provide service.”

The project was launched on April 6, 2007, with the signing of a contract with Fidlar Software for the replacement of the recorder’s computerized land records system. The system went live internally on June 26 and implementation of the online system was completed on Aug. 27.

Customers may utilize two systems to search for and retrieve documents via the web. Laredo is a service that, like a cellular telephone plan, is based on minutes used. It is designed with frequent users, such as title searchers and mortgage companies, in mind. Tapestry is a service that charges on a per-search basis. (Click here for details on the services and associated charges).

Recorder’s Office customers may search electronically, online or in the office, for mortgages, deeds, liens, restrictive covenants and a host of other records going back to 1986. In the near future, users will be able to search back to 1970, with older records still available in the office in hard copy form. Approximately 80,000 documents a year are recorded by the Allen County Recorder’s Office.

Once completed, the project will also make it possible for users of the office to record documents online, making Allen County’s the first recorder’s office in Indiana to achieve that capability.

“Government can reach out in new and innovative ways and bring services to its customers,” McGauley added. “This is a great step forward in realizing our potential to use technology to reach people.”

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