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, however, the names and legal description in the instrument itself will
determine the legal chain of title. 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):
1.
2.
3.
4.
Grantor(s) (Last
name first, then first name and initials)
1.
2.
3.
4.
5. 9 Additional names on page ___ of
document.
Grantee(s) (Last
name first, then first name and initials)
1.
2.
3.
4.
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.
