Alright, Jeff Thigpen,
the register of deeds here in Guilford
County is here talking to us about
all things register of deeds related
for folks at home who are like, OK,
I don't even know what this office does.
What does the office do?
Well, that's normal.
People don't know what I do
until they need me until they
buy a house or they get married,
they get a marriage license or they
need to file a real estate paperwork
or they need they have children and
they need a birth certificate or
someone in their family passes away
and they need a death certificate.
Military discharges when people
get out of the military,
they file in our office.
We also have a passport office that we
started Tanya that's downstairs and we
do first time passport applications.
We also have think of that program
that I've talked about before.
The levy Flag retirement program.
Good Grief podcast series and we
have a fraud alert which is a system
that people can if they want to
know if someone files deed under
their name or something like that,
they'll get notified if something
like that happens and so they
can do that on our site,
but we do a lot of stuff.
It's a lot of stuff, alright.
We've got a couple questions.
How much does it cost to apply
for a marriage license and how
early do you need to go to get
one before you get married?
Cost 60 bucks to get the marriage
license and. Once you get it,
it's good for 60 days and so you
can get married anywhere in North
Carolina within that 60 day period.
If you go after that period,
you'll have to get another
license and it will expire
and pay another 60 bucks if
you let it expire right?
OK, so don't let it do that,
right? This person says.
Does the register of deeds keep
copies of Wills or power of attorneys?
We don't have wheels in Guilford County
as unique that if you have a wheel,
which usually file is filed after
a person passes away and it's
in the clerk of courts office,
so they deal with the matters
related to the wheels.
We do have power of attorneys that
are filed in our office as well,
and so in certain situations
people can get copies of powers
of attorneys if they're filed,
but they don't have to be filed
by the Register of Deeds, do they?
They do not to make it official,
they don't have to be filed.
Alright, this next question is can
I request or order a new flag?
Through the register of Deeds Office,
unfortunately we are not
doing that right now,
but that is a very good question
and I will maybe add something on
my website that addresses that.
If there are places that people
can get flags, that's good.
Right now we're focused on on getting
the the use flags and retiring them
right? And so there's a follow
up question about the flag.
It says. Why is burning a flag
the appropriate way to retire it?
Well, in the US flag code it started
the flag code started about like in
the 20s and then President Truman,
I think codified it in
the after World War Two.
In our bicentennial it was adjusted.
It's in our federal code.
It talks about how we are to care for
the flag and use the flag properly in
reverence and respect and based on the
flag code with input of of numerous. Uh.
Organizations and people who value the flag.
It was determined that you can,
respectfully.
Uhm, retire a flag through burning it and
when you look at the process of that when
we do the flag retirement ceremonies.
They are very reverential.
They are very respectful and I'll say
this if you ever have the opportunity
to go to a flag retirement ceremony,
there will be one that we're
working on having during Memorial
Day out at Oakridge Park,
and I will have more details on our website,
but if you want to see an event
that will inspire you and make
you really feel at a deep level.
What is important about our country
is to stand and listen to people who
are members of the Marine Core League
or the VFW or to see scouts listening
in their eyes and their faces.
These stories of people who have
sacrificed and upheld the highest
values of our country.
Those stories be told as a flag
is being retired.
I think that I think that that that
person who asked that question I
would love for you to take part
in that event and I think you'll
understand why you see
it. Here are we have a little
bit less than a minute.
If I lost a birth certificate,
could I get another one
through the deeds office?
Absolutely, if you're
born in Guilford County,
we can get it right here.
If you're born in North Carolina,
we have a statewide system.
We help you get that as well.
So yes, you can
write really quick if I can sneak this in
what is needed to get a marriage license.
You the couple needs to show up.
They need identification.
We have a marriage application that is
on our website at guilford.com and you
can fill out a lot of the particulars
that will save you a lot of time.
You'll come in and go through
the process of completing it
and reviewing the application.
Pay the $60.00. And, uh.
Get the license.
OK, I love that they have to show up.
That's part of it.
Thanks so much Jeffrey.
So appreciate it if you missed
any of this you can find the
information on our website in
the two wants to know section.