Anatomy of a mineral deed, part 11 of 11
The recording stamp on a mineral deed
The county clerk's stamp or label: filing date and time, the volume and page or instrument number, and the county. It is how you cite and find the deed.
Filed for record [date] at [time]. Recorded in Volume 000, Page 000, Deed Records of Sample County, Texas. [County Clerk], by [deputy].
What it is
When a deed is filed, the county clerk stamps or labels it with the filing date and time and where it is recorded: a volume and page in older books, an instrument or document number in newer ones.
Recording gives public notice. Against later buyers who did not know about it, an unrecorded deed can lose out, so the recording date can matter as much as the signing date.
What to check
Where is it recorded (volume and page, or instrument number), and on what date?
- That it is recorded in the county where the land lies. Land that crosses a county line is recorded in each county.
- The volume and page or instrument number, written down exactly. That reference is how you pull it again and how others cite it.
- The gap between signing and recording. A long gap means other deeds may have been recorded in between.
- The record it is in: deed records, official public records, or oil and gas records, depending on the county and the year.
Where it goes wrong
A deed signed and kept in a drawer for years, then recorded after the same interest was conveyed again by someone else.
See the recording stamp on the sample deed
Related
We are landmen, not attorneys. This page explains how mineral deeds are usually read. What your deed means can turn on its exact words and on Texas law, and a title opinion comes from an attorney.
Want us to read yours?
Tell us what your deed says and what you want to know. We can read the deed and explain what it conveys, or pull the chain of title in the county records and show how the interest reached you. We read every request and can reply by email.
For a lease, a division order or a check you cannot read, Landman Help works for owners. For a full runsheet or title packet, Landman Services runs the county records.