BP BHEAD INT H

AN ACT Relating to standardization of recorded documents; amending RCW 36.18.010 and 65.04.050; adding new sections to chapter 65.04 RCW; and providing an effective date.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:

Sec. 1. RCW 36.18.010 and 1995 c 246 s 37 are each amended to read as follows:

County auditors or recording officers shall collect the following fees for their official services:

For recording instruments, for the first page((~~, legal size (~~))eight and one-half by fourteen inches or less(())), five dollars; for each additional ((~~legal size~~)) page eight and one-half by fourteen inches or less, one dollar; the fee for recording multiple transactions contained in one instrument will be calculated individually for each transaction requiring separate indexing as required under RCW 65.04.050;

For preparing and certifying copies, for the first ((~~legal size~~)) page eight and one-half by fourteen inches or less, three dollars; for each additional ((~~legal size~~)) page eight and one-half by fourteen inches or less, one dollar;

For preparing noncertified copies, for each ((~~legal size~~)) page eight and one-half by fourteen inches or less, one dollar;

For administering an oath or taking an affidavit, with or without seal, two dollars;

For issuing a marriage license, eight dollars, (this fee includes taking necessary affidavits, filing returns, indexing, and transmittal of a record of the marriage to the state registrar of vital statistics) plus an additional five-dollar fee for use and support of the prevention of child abuse and neglect activities to be transmitted monthly to the state treasurer and deposited in the state general fund plus an additional ten-dollar fee to be transmitted monthly to the state treasurer and deposited in the state general fund. The legislature intends to appropriate an amount at least equal to the revenue generated by this fee for the purposes of the displaced homemaker act, chapter 28B.04 RCW;

For searching records per hour, eight dollars;

For recording plats, fifty cents for each lot except cemetery plats for which the charge shall be twenty-five cents per lot; also one dollar for each acknowledgment, dedication, and description: PROVIDED, That there shall be a minimum fee of twenty-five dollars per plat;

For recording of miscellaneous records((,)) not listed above, for the first ((~~legal size~~)) page eight and one-half by fourteen inches or less, five dollars; for each additional ((~~legal size~~)) page eight and one-half by fourteen inches or less, one dollar;

For modernization and improvement of the recording and indexing system, a surcharge as provided in RCW 36.22.170.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 2. A new section is added to chapter 65.04 RCW to read as follows:

(1) When any instrument is presented to a county auditor or recording officer for recording, the first page of the instrument shall contain:

(a) A top margin of at least three inches and a one-inch margin on the bottom and sides;

(b) The top left-hand side of the page shall contain the name and address to whom the instrument will be returned;

(c) The title or titles of the instrument to be recorded indicating the kind or kinds of documents or transactions contained therein. The auditor or recording officer shall only be required to index the title or titles captioned on the document;

(d) Reference numbers of documents assigned or released with reference to the document page number where additional references can be found, if applicable;

(e) The names of the grantor(s) and grantee(s) with reference to the document page number where additional names are if applicable;

(f) An abbreviated legal description of the property, including lot, block, plat, or section, township, and range, and reference to the document page number where the full legal description is included, if applicable;

(g) The assessor's property tax parcel or account number;

(2) All pages of the document shall be on sheets of paper of a weight and color capable of producing a legible image that are not larger than fourteen inches long and eight and one-half inches wide with text printed or written in eight point type or larger. Further, all instruments presented for recording must have a one-inch margin on the top, bottom, and sides for all pages except page one, be prepared in ink color capable of being imaged, and have all seals legible and capable of being imaged, and no attachments may be affixed to the pages.

The information provided on the instrument must be in substantially the following form:

This Space Provided for Recorder's Use

When Recorded Return to:

..................................................................................

Document Title(s)

Grantor(s)

Grantee(s)

Legal Description

Assessor's Property Tax Parcel or Account Number

Reference Numbers of Documents Assigned or Released

NEW SECTION. Sec. 3. A new section is added to chapter 65.04 RCW to read as follows:

If an instrument presented for recording does not contain the information required by section 2(1)(a) through (e) of this act, the person preparing the instrument for recording shall prepare a cover sheet that contains the required information. The cover sheet shall be attached to the instrument and shall be recorded as a part of the instrument. An additional page fee as determined under RCW 36.18.010 shall be collected for recording of the cover sheet. Any errors in the cover sheet shall not affect the transactions contained in the instrument itself. The cover sheet need not be separately signed or acknowledged. The cover sheet information shall be used to generate the auditor's grantor/grantee index. The cover sheet shall be substantially the following form:

WASHINGTON STATE COUNTY AUDITOR/RECORDER'S

INDEXING FORM

Return Address

Please print or type information

Document Title(s) (or transactions contained therein):

Grantor(s) (Last name first, then first name and initials)

5. 9 Additional names on page ___ of document.

Grantee(s) (Last name first, then first name and initials)

5. 9 Additional names on page ___ of document.

Legal Description (abbreviated: i.e., lot, block, plat or section, township, range)

9 Additional legal description is on page ___ of document.

Assessor's Property Tax Parcel or Account Number:

Reference Number(s) of Documents assigned or released:

9 Additional references on page ___ of document.

The Auditor or Recording Officer will rely on the information provided on this form. The staff will not read the document to verify the accuracy of or the completeness of the indexing information provided herein.

Sec. 4. RCW 65.04.050 and 1991 c 26 s 6 are each amended to read as follows:

Every auditor or recording officer must keep a general index, direct and inverted. The index may be either printed on paper or produced on microfilm or microfiche, or it can be created from a computerized data base and displayed on a video display terminal. Any reference to a prior record location number may be entered in the remarks column. Any property legal description contained in the instrument must be entered in the description of property column of the general index. The direct index shall be divided into ((~~seven~~)) eight columns, and with heads to the respective columns, as follows: Date of reception, grantor, grantee, nature of instrument, volume and page where recorded and/or the auditor's file number, remarks, description of property, assessor's property tax parcel or account number. The auditor or recording officer shall correctly enter in such index every instrument concerning or affecting real estate which by law is required to be recorded, the names of grantors being in alphabetical order. The inverted index shall also be divided into ((~~seven~~)) eight columns, precisely similar, except that "grantee" shall occupy the second column and "grantor" the third, the names of grantees being in alphabetical order. The auditor or recording officer may combine the direct and indirect indexes into a single index if it contains all the information required to be contained in the separate direct and indirect indexes and the names of all grantors and grantees can be found by a person searching the combined index. For the purposes of this chapter, the term "grantor" means any person conveying or encumbering the title to any property, or any person against whom any lis pendens, judgment, notice of lien, order of sale, execution, writ of attachment, or claims of separate or community property shall be placed on record. The auditor or recording officer shall also enter in the general index, the name of the party or parties platting a town, village, or addition in the column prescribed for "grantors," describing the grantee in such case as "the public." However, the auditor or recording officer shall not receive or record any such plat or map until it has been approved by the mayor and common council of the municipality in which the property so platted is situated, or if the property be not situated within any municipal corporation, then the plat must be first approved by the county legislative authority. The auditor or recording officer shall not receive for record any plat, map, or subdivision of land bearing a name the same or similar to the name of any map or plat already on record in the office. The auditor or recording officer may establish a name reservation system to preclude the possibility of duplication of names.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 5. This act shall take effect January 1, 1997.