About the Hot Springs County Clerk
Thermopolis was founded in 1897 after a treaty with the Shoshone and Arapaho tribes opened land near the Big Horn Hot Springs to settlers; the town's name comes from the Greek for "hot city." Hot Springs State Park, established that same year on former Shoshone reservation land, became Wyoming's first state park and has anchored the county's tourism economy ever since. Hot Springs County itself was carved out of Big Horn, Fremont, and Park counties in 1911 and organized in 1913. Alongside tourism, energy has long been a foundation of the local economy, with seven producing oil fields in the county accounting for nearly a quarter of all active fields in the Bighorn Basin.
Cities and Communities Served
Recording jurisdiction runs countywide, not by city limits — if the property sits anywhere within Hot Springs County, this is the Hot Springs County Clerk that will accept the deed. That includes:
Incorporated cities: Thermopolis (county seat), East Thermopolis, Kirby.
Unincorporated communities: Lucerne, Owl Creek, Embar, Grass Creek, Hamilton Dome.
Office Details
Address: 415 Arapahoe St, Thermopolis, WY 82443
Phone: (307) 864-3515
Hours: Monday - Friday, 8:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Recording Fee: a flat statewide per-page fee set by Wyoming statute, not a percentage of the property's value
How to File a Document
- Sign in Front of a Notary: Wyoming Statute § 34-1-113 requires the grantor's signature to be acknowledged before a notarial officer, following the requirements of Wyoming Statute § 34-26-107, before the Hot Springs County Clerk can accept a deed for recording. The deed is actually valid between grantor and grantee as soon as it's signed and delivered -- the notarized acknowledgment is what makes it eligible for recording, which is the step that protects the new owner against someone else later claiming an interest in the same property.
- Attach a Full Legal Description, Not Just an Address: A street address alone won't satisfy Wyoming's requirements -- the deed needs the property's actual legal description (a government survey reference, a metes-and-bounds description, or a platted lot and block, depending on how the parcel was originally surveyed). You can usually copy this directly from the deed that transferred the property to you.
- Complete a Statement of Consideration: Unlike many states, Wyoming requires a separate signed Statement of Consideration to accompany the deed when it's filed (Wyoming Statute § 34-1-142), unless a specific exemption applies. This is a distinct document with its own signature, not a box you check on the deed itself -- the Hot Springs County Clerk can provide the current form and confirm whether your situation qualifies for an exemption.
- Consider Online Notarization if an In-Person Visit Is Hard: Wyoming has permitted remote online notarization on a permanent basis since July 1, 2021, when Senate File 29 took effect (Wyo. Stat. § 32-3-102) -- so if getting to a notary's office in person is inconvenient, a signer may be able to complete the acknowledgment over live video with a Wyoming-commissioned online notary instead.
- Record with the County Clerk: Bring, mail, or (where the county supports it) e-file the signed, notarized deed and its Statement of Consideration with the Hot Springs County Clerk for the county where the property sits. Wyoming's recording fee is set by state statute (W.S. § 18-3-402) -- a flat rate for the first page and a separate flat rate for each additional page, not a percentage of the property's value -- and Wyoming imposes no state or local real estate transfer tax on top of that.
Still Have Questions About Filing With the Hot Springs County Clerk?
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Other Counties in Wyoming
Filing somewhere else in the state? Here are a few other county pages:
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