Liens that are available in the Register of Deeds office include mortgages, security agreements, land contracts, medical assistance liens, and federal tax lien notices. Most other types of liens are filed in the Clerk of Courts; these would include state tax liens, child support, unemployment, construction liens and other liens filed by a firm or an individual. For real estate property tax information please contact the Treasurer’s office at 920-674-7250.
Jefferson County staff cannot give legal advice, if you are looking at purchasing a property through a Sheriff sale; please contact an attorney for questions regarding what liens you are responsible for after purchase.
When searching liens on a property you will need to know the property owners name, the Register of Deeds office began a tract index in 2010, any liens prior to that date will only be accessible by the owner’s name. All records in the Clerk of Courts will require a name; a property address is not accessible.
Jefferson County’s staff cannot perform lien searches for you; however you are welcome to come to the Register of Deeds office and use the public computers to view the Register of Deeds records during normal business hours. We will be happy to show you how to navigate our computer system so that you can do your own research. There is a fee due when searches are performed by a clerk in the Clerk of Courts office; you can perform your own Clerk of Courts search by using the State of Wisconsin Circuit Court Access website.
We always recommend if you are really interested in a property that you have a professional title company perform a title search for you, this way you are ensured that all items have been looked at and you have no surprises at closing. If you are purchasing a property and require financing, your finance company will require a title search to be completed so you may not need to do this research yourself.
Please go to the Sheriff Departments website for a list of properties currently scheduled for sale.