About the Cimarron County Clerk's Office
The County Clerk is the recorded-instrument office for Cimarron County. The official public land-records portal lists the office as the Cimarron County Clerk under County Clerk Paula Rodman, based at the courthouse in Boise City. The portal notes that the data and images belong to the county clerk, not the vendor that hosts them, and that revenue from printing copies goes directly to support Cimarron County. Records are indexed and imaged from January 1985, and new records are added in real time.
This office records and preserves documents that affect title to real property and other rights. Its index lets a searcher trace ownership, find a mortgage, confirm a release, or spot a lien before a sale closes. It is separate from the Court Clerk, which keeps court cases. The contact details below come from the official county records portal.
Cimarron County Clerk
Clerk: Paula Rodman
Cimarron County Courthouse
P.O. Box 145
Boise City, OK 73933-0145
(580) 544-2251
countyclerk@cimarroncounty.net
Hours: 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
What the County Clerk Records in Cimarron County
The County Clerk records instruments, which are documents that create or transfer a legal interest. Most touch real estate, but the index also captures judgments, federal and state tax liens, and mineral rights. Cimarron County sits in the Oklahoma Panhandle, where oil, gas, and mineral instruments matter, so the land record runs deep. The main categories appear below.
- Deeds, including warranty deeds, quitclaim deeds, sheriff deeds, and tax deeds
- Mortgages, releases, assignments, and other lender instruments
- Liens, including state and federal tax liens, plus their releases
- Lis pendens notices that flag property tied up in pending litigation
- Court-related instruments such as judgments, final decrees, and orders that are recorded
- Oil and gas instruments, including leases, assignments, ratifications, and releases
- Plats, patents, easements, and named subdivision additions
Cimarron County Land Records Search Portal
The County Clerk publishes its index and images through an official online land-records portal for Cimarron County. The system indexes and images documents from January 1985 forward, and it adds new recordings in real time. That makes it the fastest first stop for a title chain, a lien check, or a mineral search. The portal is a land-records search and is not a court-case search.
Because the index begins in 1985, anything older may still sit only in the paper books at the courthouse. The portal also notes that printing a copy carries a charge, and that the money supports Cimarron County rather than the host vendor. For pre-1985 records, certified copies, or a hard-to-find instrument, the office counter and phone line fill the gap. The portal does not replace OSCN or ODCR for criminal, civil, probate, or traffic court cases.
County Clerk Search Fields
The advanced search on the Cimarron County land-records portal offers many ways to find an instrument. You can search by a party name, by book and page, by instrument number, by recorded date, or by a legal description tied to the public land survey. The table below lists the fields the portal exposes and how each one is used.
| Field | Type | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Name | text | "Last, First" or a business name, for example Smith, John. |
| Party Type | dropdown | All parties, Grantees, or Grantors. |
| Book | text / list | A "see all books" list is available. |
| Page | text | Search by book and page; an extra book and page can be added. |
| Series | dropdown | All series, with years 1985 through 2026 shown. |
| Instrument Number | text | The county recorded instrument number. |
| Instrument Type | dropdown | All types, plus codes such as DEED, WD, QCD, MTG, LIEN, LIS PEND, JUDG, FINAL DECREE, SHERIFF DEED, TAX DEED, OGL, REL, and WILL. |
| Recorded Start | date | Start of the recorded date range. |
| Recording End | date | End of the recorded date range. |
| Legal Description | text | Use the county's format; examples are linked on the portal. |
| Quarter | dropdown / text | For example NW NE. |
| Section | dropdown | 1 through 36, plus other listed values. |
| Township | dropdown | Values such as 1N, 1S, 2N, 3N, 4N, 5N, and 6N. |
| Range | dropdown | Values such as 1E through 9E. |
| Addition | dropdown | Includes Boise City, Felt, Garlington, Kenton, Keyes, and named subdivisions. |
How to Search Recorded Land Records
A land search works best when you start broad and then narrow. Most users begin with a name or a legal description, then filter by instrument type or date. The steps below outline a clean path through the Cimarron County portal.
- Open the official Cimarron County land-records portal and choose the advanced search.
- Pick a starting point: a party name in "Last, First" form, an instrument number, a book and page, or a legal description.
- Narrow the results by series year from 1985 to 2026, by instrument type, or by a recorded date range.
- Open the indexed entry to view the imaged document and confirm it is the instrument you need.
- Print if you need a copy, knowing the print charge supports the county, or call (580) 544-2251 for certified copies and pre-1985 records.
Note: An online image is a convenience copy, so order a certified copy from the office when a lender, court, or title company requires one.
Instrument Types in Cimarron County Records
The portal's instrument-type menu is long because one office records so many kinds of documents. Grouping the codes makes them easier to use. Each group below maps to a common reason people search the Cimarron County land index.
- Ownership transfers: DEED, WD for warranty deed, QCD for quitclaim deed, SHERIFF DEED, TAX DEED, and PATENT.
- Loans and security: MTG for mortgage, ASSN for assignment, and REL for release.
- Claims and court items: LIEN, TAX LIEN-FED, TAX LIEN-OK, JUDG, LIS PEND, ORDER, DECREE, and FINAL DECREE.
- Mineral and energy: OGL for oil and gas lease, plus its assignments, ratifications, and releases.
- Estate and survey: WILL, AFF for affidavit, EASE for easement, and PLAT.
These codes let a searcher zero in fast. A title examiner may filter to deeds and mortgages, while a landman may pull only oil and gas leases for a section, township, and range.
Recording Fees and Print Costs
Oklahoma sets county recording fees by statute, and the County Clerk collects them when a document is filed. The land portal confirms that printing a copy carries a charge and that the revenue supports Cimarron County, but it does not publish an exact per-page figure in its visible text. Confirm current amounts with the office before you record or order copies. The table below records only what official sources state.
| Item | What official sources state |
|---|---|
| Portal copy printing | Print revenue supports Cimarron County; exact per-page charge not posted |
| Recording fees | Set by Oklahoma statute; call (580) 544-2251 to confirm |
| Certified copies | Available from the office; call for the current fee |
| Document margins | SB57 amended Title 19, Section 298, effective November 1, 2024 |
The 2024 margin change set a top margin of at least two inches and other margins of at least one inch on recorded documents. Filers who prepare their own instruments should match that standard so the office can accept the recording.
County Clerk Versus Court Clerk in Cimarron County
The split between the two clerk offices trips up many searchers. The County Clerk records land and instruments. Court case files are with the Cimarron County Court Clerk, a separate office with its own phone line at the courthouse. A lawsuit, a divorce, a probate case, or a traffic citation lives with the Court Clerk, while a deed, a mortgage, a lien, or a mineral lease lives with the County Clerk.
The line can blur when a court action also touches land. A judgment, a lis pendens, or a sheriff deed begins in a court case but is recorded as a land instrument, so it can appear in both systems. When that happens, the County Clerk index shows the recorded document, while the Court Clerk holds the underlying case. Matching the document to the right office saves a wasted call.
Recorded Probate Instruments in Cimarron County
Estates often leave a trail in the land records. When a probate transfers real property, the deed, decree, or order that completes the transfer is recorded with the County Clerk. That makes the land portal a useful companion to the court file for anyone tracing how an estate moved a piece of property.
To follow an estate fully, search both systems. The recorded deeds and decrees show up in the County Clerk index, while the petitions, notices, and full case sit in the court system covered on the Cimarron County probate records page. Wills recorded as instruments, affidavits of death, and final decrees are common entries to look for in the land index.