If you’re a new e-submission customer, the electronic recording process can seem overwhelming and complex—too complicated to understand for those of us who aren’t in the technology industry. But it’s just not true. There are a lot of technical terms that come with online applications like Iowa Land Records E-Submission, making the process seem more complicated than it really is. But if you break it down, it’s easy to understand.

The Basic Breakdown

For many customers, the seemingly complex process of e-submission begs one major question: What happens to documents after they are submitted? The answer is much simpler than you might expect.

After a document is submitted though Iowa Land Records, the entered information and uploaded files are transmitted to the corresponding Iowa county recorder’s office. In most cases, a county recorder will review your document within a few hours of submitting it, but this depends on the county. In some counties, there are designated staff members who act on electronic submissions all day long. However, the majority of county recorders perform double-duty between e-submitted and over-the-counter submitted documents.

Approval/Rejection of Land Documents

Once each of the documents in a group has been reviewed by a recorder or staff member, they will either be approved or rejected. If a document is approved by the county recorder, it will be downloaded, stamped and indexed into the county’s local archiving system. You will know this has occurred by looking in your e-submission account at the document group’s status. Once the status displays “County Indexed- Paid,” your account will have been charged for the transaction and the document will be ready for reviewing.  

Alternatively, if a document is rejected or declined by the county recorder, it will be transmitted back to the customer for corrections. In some cases, rejection is merely a formality to confirm a fee change with a customer before charging the’r account. Whether returned for errors or fee changes, the customer must either make changes or approve the fee change and submit back to the county for processing.

Property Record Corrections

If corrections are approved by the county recorder or staff member, the documents are downloaded, stamped and indexed into the county’s local system. Once the status displays “County Indexed- Paid,” your account will have been charged for the transaction and the document will be ready for reviewing.