Miscellaneous Records

After making a notation in the notebook, the register must decide where to record a variety of miscellaneous records.  T.C.A. § 8-13-108 indicates that almost all instruments except those affecting land title, bankruptcies, and the UCC may be recorded with the deeds of trust.  However, the statutes referring to mechanic's and materialmen's liens and other types of liens (T.C.A. § 66-11-111, 66-21-103) require the register to keep a lien book.  The register must index the recordings of liens and releases and must note the nature of the lien in the index. The register has discretion to maintain a separate direct and reverse index, or to combine the index with the federal lien direct and reverse index or to combine it with the other indexes of the office in a master direct and reverse index.  T.C.A. § 66-21-103.  For further information on federal tax liens, please refer to Title 66, chapter 21, part 2.

After the completion of improvements to real property, the owner or purchaser, or the contractor, may register a notice of completion in the register's office in order to be protected from lien claims.  T.C.A. § 66-11-143.  The register is required to make a permanent record of these notices.  The register may find it useful to have a separate book for these records and a separate index.  The register may use only a direct index for notices of completion.  T.C.A. § 10-7-202.

As mentioned above, T.C.A. § 8-13-108 requires a separate book known as record of bankruptcies, where certified copies of petitions in bankruptcy, decrees of adjudication of bankruptcy, and other orders of the bankruptcy court are recorded.

Another group of records which often have separate books and indexes is that of corporate charters and related documents.  Also, plats of subdivisions and surveys are usually maintained as separate records.  Because of the important legal distinction between a plat which has the approval of a planning commission, and a survey, which does not, these two types of records should be segregated in some fashion.

Statements of claim, declarations of interest and court decrees relating to mineral interests must be recorded in a book known as the Dormant Mineral Interest Record.  When a statement of claim is recorded, it must be entered in the index for this type of record and a notation must be made in the index where the instrument creating the original mineral interest is indexed referencing the statement of claim.  Orders involving mineral interests must also be referenced in the indexes for the instrument creating the original mineral interest and the instrument creating the interest of the current owner.  T.C.A. § 66-5-108.  Declaration of interest (in mineral estates) forms must be available in the office of the register.  Declaration of interest forms are indexed under the names of the mineral interest owners as grantors and under the names of the surface owners as grantees.  T.C.A. § 67-5-2502.

Even if all of the separate books mentioned above are maintained, registers still may keep a miscellaneous book for entry of contracts, leases, powers of attorney and other instruments which do not fit into the other categories.  If a separate book is maintained for these records, then a separate direct and reverse index should also be kept.