Josephine County Clerk & Recorder
About the Josephine County Clerk & Recorder
Josephine County sits in the Rogue Valley of southwest Oregon, where gold mining once drove the economy and whitewater guides now run the Wild & Scenic Rogue and Illinois Rivers through Hellgate Canyon instead. A public riverside park near Grants Pass, Indian Mary Park, traces back to a Native woman's small 19th-century land allotment before the county purchased it in 1958 — a quiet reminder of the valley's history that today has nothing to do with tribal land status. With growth that's leveled off after decades of steady expansion, the Clerk & Recorder's office in Grants Pass serves a county whose economy now leans on wine, tourism, and outdoor recreation as much as its mining-era roots.
Cities and Communities Served
Recording jurisdiction runs countywide, not by city limits — if the property sits anywhere within Josephine County, this is the Clerk & Recorder’s office that will accept the deed. That includes:
Incorporated cities: Grants Pass (county seat) and Cave Junction.
Unincorporated communities: Merlin, Selma, Williams, Takilma, O'Brien, Waldo, and Wolf Creek — the Cave Junction/Selma/Takilma/O'Brien cluster is often referred to locally as the Illinois Valley.
Office Details
Address: 500 NW 6th St., Room 170, Grants Pass, OR 97526
Phone: (541) 474-5240 | Fax: (541) 474-5246
Hours: Monday – Friday, 8:30 AM – Noon and 1:00 PM – 4:00 PM
Recording Fee: Oregon recording fees are set individually by each county and change periodically — check Josephine County's current fee schedule or call the office to confirm the exact amount before filing.
Document Search: Digital Research Room
How to File a Document
- Prepare Your Document: Make sure your deed meets Oregon's formatting and content requirements before you file.
- Get It Notarized: Have the document signed in front of an Oregon notary public or other authorized official. No notary nearby in Grants Pass? Oregon allows remote online notarization — you can have your Josephine County deed notarized online by an Oregon-commissioned notary instead.
- Meet Oregon's First-Page Requirements: Oregon law requires your deed's first page to show the title, grantor and grantee names, the true consideration, and an address for tax statements. If your document doesn't already include this, you'll need to attach a cover sheet, which adds $5 to the recording fee.
- Record It: You can file in person or by mail with the Josephine County Clerk & Recorder's office.
- Pay the Recording Fee: Oregon recording fees are set individually by each county and change periodically — check the current fee schedule or call the office to confirm the exact amount before filing.
- Keep Your Receipt: Your recorded document (or a certified copy) is your proof of filing.
Filing? Get a Deed the Josephine County Clerk & Recorder Will Accept
FREE generic forms are the most common reason Oregon deeds get rejected — usually over formatting, the legal description, or notary acknowledgment.
Two ways to avoid that:
Both are Oregon-compliant and built for the Josephine County Clerk & Recorder’s exact requirements.
Disclosure: affiliate links to Standard Legal, our partner — no extra cost to you.
You are not on the official Josephine County government website. OregonQuitclaimDeed.com is a privately owned website and is not affiliated with any government agency.