The Recorder's Office keeps records of all documents recorded in Kootenai County. Under this general description is a long list of services. For example, marriage licenses are obtained in the Recorder's Office, passports are processed, land documents are recorded, as are plat maps, surveys, easements, assertions of right-of-way, some types of liens, etc. The legal description of the property and the name of the owner, obtainable in the Assessor's Office, are required in order to locate the document.

In general, the Recorder's Office does not have forms for these documents; they may be obtained from an attorney or from a retailer of legal forms. Exceptions are:

• Applications for passports
• Catering permits
• Liquor licenses
• Applications for "DBA"s, or Assumed Business Names.

The latter is also available as a courtesy at the Information Center on the Main Level of the Administration Building; in any case, it must be mailed to the Secretary of State's office, P O Box 83720, Boise, ID 83720-0080 (208-334-2301).

A recordable document, per Idaho Code, must be notarized, have original signatures of grantor and notary, and, if it conveys real property, must have the grantee's current mailing address. However, not all recorded documents are certifiable. A certified copy from the Recorder's Office is as good as an original (except a birth or death certificate, which must come from Idaho Vital Statistics, P O Box 83720, Boise ID 83720; 208-334-5980).