Atlantic County Clerk Says Document Recording Backlog Cut From 18 Months to Three Days

Joe Giralo reports faster processing, $122 million in collections and 25,000 households enrolled in free property fraud alerts.

MAYS LANDING, N.J. — Atlantic County Clerk Joe Giralo says technological improvements and changes in office operations have dramatically reduced the time required to record property documents, turning what he described as an 18-month backlog into a process that now takes approximately three days.

Giralo discussed the changes during an October 29 appearance on The Lorry Young Show, guest-hosted by Jeanne Eisele, on News Talk 1400 & 92.3 WOND.

The county clerk's office handles deeds, mortgages, property records, passport applications, notary services and several election-related responsibilities.

Giralo said his office has modernized its operations while reducing staffing and handling tens of thousands of documents annually.

"I'm proud to say that when I took office, deed recordation, mortgage recordings, everything like that, took 18 months," Giralo said.

He said the turnaround time has since been substantially reduced.

"Right now that if you bring something in right now, within three days it's returned to you. It's done. It's recorded."

The improvement, if consistently achieved, would represent a significant change for homeowners, lenders, attorneys and title companies that rely on timely access to official property records.

The recording-time figures were provided by Giralo during the interview. South Jersey NewsBeat could not independently confirm the historical backlog or current average processing time through a published performance audit.

Most Documents Now Submitted Electronically

Giralo said electronic filing has become the primary method of submitting documents to the clerk's office.

"Eighty-six percent of our work comes in through e-file, which comes in through a computer," he said.

"Fourteen percent of our work comes in in a hard form, in paper. It's getting less."

He estimated that the office handles between 50,000 and 80,000 documents annually, depending on activity.

Property documents can include deeds transferring ownership, mortgage filings, mortgage satisfactions and other records affecting real estate.

Electronic submission can reduce the need for physical paperwork, allow documents to move through the recording process more efficiently and make records available for searching.

Giralo said the office has also reduced its workforce.

"My staff went from 31 to 25. I've been able to cut my budget," he said.

The interview did not establish whether the staffing figures represent authorized positions, filled positions or a particular budget-year comparison.

Giralo has previously reported that his office recorded more than 200,000 documents during his tenure, a figure also included in his January 2026 public statements.

The precise recording totals and turnaround times would require confirmation through the office's administrative records.

More Than $122 Million Collected Since 2022

Another substantial responsibility of the county clerk's office involves collecting fees associated with real estate transactions and document recordings.

During the interview, Eisele said the office had handled more than $122 million in receipts since 2022.

Giralo explained that much of that money comes from realty transfer fees established under New Jersey law.

"That number comes, Jean, from realty transfer fees, which are determined by the state of New Jersey," Giralo said.

He emphasized that the county clerk does not independently establish those charges.

"Those fees are set by the legislature and the governor. All we are is a collector of those fees."

The money is distributed among several purposes, including state and county government accounts, records preservation and a clerk's office trust fund used for equipment and other authorized expenses.

"There's money that goes to the county. There's money that goes, you know, to the state. And then there's money that goes for records retainage," Giralo said.

He said some funds support the equipment and technology needed to operate the office.

The $122 million represents reported collections processed through the clerk's office, not money retained entirely by Atlantic County or available for discretionary spending.

Giralo has previously reported processing more than $120 million in real estate-related fees since taking office.

An independently verified breakdown of the latest $122 million total, including the amounts distributed to state and county accounts, was not available from the interview.

Free Property Alert Program Reaches 25,000 Households

Giralo also provided an update on Atlantic County's free Property Alert program, which is designed to notify residents when certain documents are recorded under their registered names or property information.

He said approximately 25,000 households have enrolled.

"And I can tell you right now, about 25,000 households have signed up across our county," Giralo said.

The service is intended to help property owners discover potentially suspicious activity involving deeds, mortgages and other recorded documents.

Residents can register through the Atlantic County Clerk's website and receive email notifications when matching documents are recorded.

Giralo said he introduced the program shortly after taking office because of concerns about property fraud.

"I'm very proud I brought the program to the county clerk's office," he said.

He described it as a free alternative to certain commercial monitoring services.

"The program offered by the Atlantic County clerk is free of charge," Giralo said.

The county's official Property Alert service confirms that registration is voluntary and free.

Subscribers can register names associated with their property, and the system also offers an option to register municipality, block and lot information.

The service recommends registering names because not every recorded document contains complete parcel information.

Importantly, Property Alert is a notification system, not a guarantee against fraud.

It does not prevent someone from submitting a fraudulent document or automatically block a recording.

Instead, it provides an opportunity for owners to discover potentially unauthorized activity and contact the appropriate authorities.

Giralo Discusses Suspected Deed Fraud

During the interview, Giralo said he participated in a recent FBI-related review of property fraud in New Jersey.

He said the review identified two Atlantic County properties associated with suspected deed fraud, one in Margate and another in Brigantine, involving activity from 2020 and 2021.

"What was found was that there were two properties, one in Margate, one in Brigantine, that there was some type of deed fraud in 2020, 2021," he said.

Giralo said he was not serving as county clerk when those incidents occurred.

He also said his office has not encountered a confirmed suspicious recording requiring referral to the county prosecutor through the Property Alert process since the program was introduced.

The details of the two older cases, including whether criminal charges were filed or convictions obtained, could not be independently established from the interview.

Nor does the absence of reported referrals demonstrate that property fraud has been eliminated.

Giralo encouraged residents who receive an unexpected alert to contact the clerk's office.

"If you get an alert and you're signed up for the program, call the county clerk's office immediately," he said.

He said employees can review the relevant recording and, when warranted, refer suspected wrongdoing to the Atlantic County Prosecutor's Office.

New Website Designed to Improve Access

The clerk's office also launched an updated website in May 2026.

According to an Atlantic County announcement, the redesigned site was intended to improve access to election results, property protection services, passport information, deed recording and public records.

Giralo said at the time that the improvements included additional accessibility and security measures.

The website serves as a central location for residents who need to record documents, search public records or register for Property Alert.

The office operates from the Historic Court House Complex at 5901 Main Street in Mays Landing, with a satellite location at 1333 Atlantic Avenue in Atlantic City.

Residents can visit AtlanticCountyClerk.org or call 609-625-4011 for information about services.

Clerk Explains Division of Election Responsibilities

With the November 3 general election approaching, Giralo also used the interview to explain how election administration is divided among three separate Atlantic County offices.

He said the county clerk is responsible for duties including receiving certain candidate petitions, preparing ballots, handling vote-by-mail ballot issuance and publishing unofficial election results.

The Atlantic County Board of Elections handles responsibilities including receiving and counting mail-in ballots.

The Superintendent of Elections oversees voter registration records, voting machines and other responsibilities established under state law.

Giralo said the arrangement is often misunderstood by residents who assume the county clerk personally controls every aspect of an election.

"There are three offices that handle elections," he said. "It's the county clerk with a specific duty."

He said the division of responsibilities requires cooperation among the offices to conduct elections.

The clerk also participates in the certification process after the election, in accordance with statutory requirements.

A Broader Test of Government Efficiency

The figures Giralo presented offer a picture of how the county clerk's office says it has changed during his tenure.

Document submissions are increasingly electronic, recording times are reportedly much shorter, and thousands of households have enrolled in a free property-monitoring service.

At the same time, the office handles substantial collections that must be distributed according to state law.

The most significant outstanding questions concern independent measurements of performance.

Published comparisons of recording turnaround times, staffing levels, operating expenses and annual document volumes would provide a clearer assessment of the improvements Giralo described.

For residents, the practical importance of those changes is straightforward: faster access to recorded documents, easier electronic transactions and greater awareness of activity involving their property.

Giralo said his office's goal is to provide those services while keeping operations efficient.

"I'm very proud of the job we've done," he said.