Indiana Code

Ind. Code § 32-21-4-1 (2026)

Conveyances and mortgages; recording in county where located; priority of documents

✓ current as of May 2026
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     Sec. 1. (a) As used in this section, "conveyance" means an electronic document as defined in IC 32-21-2.5-3 or a paper document as defined in IC 32-21-2.5-8(a) that is:

(1) a deed or other instrument concerning land or an interest in land, except a last will and testament;

(2) a lease or memorandum of lease for a term exceeding three (3) years;

(3) a transfer on death deed as defined under IC 32-17-14-3(16) or an affidavit pursuant to IC 32-17-14-26(b)(20); or

(4) a land contract or a memorandum of land contract for the sale and purchase of land.

     (b) A conveyance or mortgage must be recorded in the recorder's office in the county where the land is located.

     (c) A conveyance or mortgage takes priority according to the time of its recording. The conveyance or mortgage is fraudulent and void as against any subsequent purchaser, lessee, or mortgagee in good faith and for a valuable consideration if the purchaser's, lessee's, or mortgagee's deed, mortgage, or lease is first recorded.

     (d) This subsection applies regardless of when an instrument is recorded. If:

(1) an instrument is recorded; and

(2) the instrument:

(A) does not comply with the requirements of:

(i) IC 32-21-2-3, including whether there was both an acknowledgment and proof on the instrument; or

(ii) IC 32-21-2-7;

(B) does not comply with the technical requirements of IC 36-2-11-16(c);

(C) was executed and included an acknowledgment executed pursuant to the terms of any executive order issued by the governor or an order of the supreme court; or

(D) was recorded and indexed by a county recorder as an electronic record (as defined in IC 26-2-8-102);

the instrument is validly recorded and provides constructive notice of the contents of the instrument as of the date of recording.

[Pre-2002 Recodification Citation: 32-1-2-16.]

As added by P.L.2-2002, SEC.6. Amended by P.L.1-2003, SEC.81; P.L.135-2007, SEC.2; P.L.129-2008, SEC.1; P.L.94-2014, SEC.5; P.L.236-2015, SEC.7; P.L.2-2021, SEC.5.

 

Notes of Decisions
Cited in 34 cases (2 in the last 5 years), 2003–2025 · leading case: Provident Bank v. Tri-Cnty. Southside Asphalt, Inc., 804 N.E.2d 161 (Ind. Ct. App. 2004).
Provident Bank v. Tri-Cnty. Southside Asphalt, Inc., 804 N.E.2d 161 (Ind. Ct. App. 2004). · cites it 29× “§ 32-28-3-2 provides that when land is encumbered by a mechanic's lien "the entire land upon *170 which the building, erection, or other improvement is situated, .”
Meyer v. Marine Builders, Inc., 797 N.E.2d 760 (Ind. Ct. App. 2003). · cites it 6× “Indiana Code Section 32-21-4-1 provides that: (a) A: (1) conveyance or fiortgage of land or of any interest in land; and (2) a lease for more than three (3) years; must be recorded in the ré-corder's office of the county where the land is situated.”
Bank of New York v. Nally, 820 N.E.2d 644 (Ind. 2005). · cites it 2× “The conveyance, mortgage, or lease is fraudulent and void as against any subsequent purchaser, . lessee, or mortgagee in good faith and for a valuable consideration if the purchaser's, lessee's, or mortgagee's deed, mortgage, or lease is first recorded.”
Weathersby v. JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A., 906 N.E.2d 904 (Ind. Ct. App. 2009). · cites it 4× “Indiana is a race-notice state, and Ind. Code § 32-21-4-1 provides, in part: 4 (a) The following must be recorded in the recorder's office of the county where the land is situated: *910 (1) A conveyance or mortgage of land or of any interest in land.”
Gibson v. Neu, 867 N.E.2d 188 (Ind. Ct. App. 2007). · cites it 2× “In general, Indiana’s recording statute, Ind.Code § 32-21-4-1, would resolve this issue.”
Patterson v. Seavoy, 822 N.E.2d 206 (Ind. Ct. App. 2005). · cites it 2× “Ind.Code § 32-21-4-1 (formerly, Ind.Code § 32-1-2-16).”
Kumar v. Bay Bridge, LLC, 903 N.E.2d 114 (Ind. Ct. App. 2009). · cites it 2× “Kumar failed to record his tax deed as required by Indiana Code section 32-21-4-1, and it remained unrecorded until after Bay Bridge filed its complaint to quiet title.”
ABN AMRO Mortg. Grp., Inc. v. Am. Residential Servs., LLC, 845 N.E.2d 209 (Ind. Ct. App. 2006). · cites it 2× “Indiana Code Section 32-21-4-1 provides: (a) The following must be recorded in the recorder's office of the county where the land is situated: (1) A conveyance or mortgage of land or of any interest in land.”
Walter E. Lunsford v. Deutsche Bank Trust Co. Americas as Tr., 996 N.E.2d 815 (Ind. Ct. App. 2013). · cites it 2× “See Ind.Code §§ 32-21-4-1 to -2. In the instant case, the mortgage was recorded on August 25, 2005, by the Recorder of Hancock County.”
Phillip Herron v. First Fin. Bank, N.A., & First Christian Missionary Baptist Church, Inc. & First Christian Charities, Inc. (mem. dec.), 91 N.E.3d 994 (Ind. Ct. App. 2017). · cites it 4× “Ind. Code § 32-21-4-1 . "Consistent with the common law rule that 'priority in time gives a lien priority in right,' a prior equitable interest or lien will prevail over a judgment lien while the judgment lien will generally prevail over subsequently-manifesting equitable…”
City Sav. Bank v. Eby Constr., LLC, 954 N.E.2d 459 (Ind. Ct. App. 2011). · cites it 2× “The first statute, Indiana Code Section 32-21-4-1 (b) provides, in pertinent part, that “[a] conveyance, mortgage, or lease takes priority according to the time of its filing.”
Nat'l City Mortg. Co. v. Yoon (Hershman), 417 B.R. 97 (N.D. Ind. 2009). · cites it 9× “What sense does it make that a minor error in the acknowledgment would defeat an otherwise properly recorded mortgage lien? So Indiana’s 115th General Assembly in 2007 amended the Indiana Code by enacting a curative provision in the form of Indiana Code § 32-21-4-1. What this…”
Ind. Code § 32-21-4-1(b): 8 cases
Provident Bank v. Tri-Cnty. Southside Asphalt, Inc., 804 N.E.2d 161 (Ind. Ct. App. 2004). “§ 32-28-3-2 provides that when land is encumbered by a mechanic's lien "the entire land upon *170 which the building, erection, or other improvement is situated, .”
First Fed. Sav. Bank v. Hartley, 799 N.E.2d 36 (Ind. Ct. App. 2003).
Phillip Herron v. First Fin. Bank, N.A., & First Christian Missionary Baptist Church, Inc. & First Christian Charities, Inc. (mem. dec.), 91 N.E.3d 994 (Ind. Ct. App. 2017). “Ind. Code § 32-21-4-1 . "Consistent with the common law rule that 'priority in time gives a lien priority in right,' a prior equitable interest or lien will prevail over a judgment lien while the judgment lien will generally prevail over subsequently-manifesting equitable…”
Wells Fargo Bank, N.A. v. Rieth-Riley Constr. Co., 38 N.E.3d 666 (Ind. Ct. App. 2015).
Ind. Code § 32-21-4-1(c): 3 cases
Nat'l City Mortg. Co. v. Yoon (Hershman), 417 B.R. 97 (N.D. Ind. 2009). “What sense does it make that a minor error in the acknowledgment would defeat an otherwise properly recorded mortgage lien? So Indiana’s 115th General Assembly in 2007 amended the Indiana Code by enacting a curative provision in the form of Indiana Code § 32-21-4-1. What this…”
In Re Hershman, 417 B.R. 97 (N.D. Ind. 2009).
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