A recorder is a public official responsible for keeping track of all real estate transactions in an area. Most recording procedures in the United States are set by state statutes. There is usually a recorder by for each county in the state. The document the recorder will update the most is the grantor/grantee index. This is a document that lists the seller and buyer of every piece of property in the area and tracks these transactions by date. In order for a transaction to be official, it needs to be reported to the recorder, often called the recorder of deeds. If there is ever a dispute over who owns a piece of property, the grantor/grantee index will be used to resolve the issue. The grantor/grantee index is public record and can be openly searched by member of the public.