(1) Technical standards and implementation guidelines.

(a) Electronic recording of real property documents shall meet technical standards for document formatting and document data fields and follow implementation guidelines as prescribed by the Property Records Industry Association (PRIA) which are hereby incorporated by reference, made a part of this rule, and listed below:

(i) PRIA Request Version 2.4.2, August 2007;

(ii) PRIA Response Version 2.4.2, August 2007;

(iii) Document Version 2.4.1, October 2007;

(iv) Notary Version 2.4.1, October 2007;

(v) eRecording XML Implementation Guide for Version 2.4.1, Revision 2, March 2007;

(vi) URPERA Enactment and eRecording Standards Implementation Guide, December 2005.

These standards are available from the Property Records Industry Association, 2501 Aerial Center Parkway, Ste. 103, Morrisville, NC 27560, and at http://www.pria.us/.

(b) eRecording shall be offered and conducted in accordance with the models of submission described in the URPERA Enactment and eRecording Standards Implementation Guide, Section 2.3, eRecording Models.

(c) Each recording officer who accepts documents for eRecording shall provide open architecture for reception of electronic documents. All reception software, including web portals, must support PRIA eRecording SML Implementation Guide for Version 2.4.1 standards.

(2) Web portals.

(a) The world wide web will be the most common delivery medium for electronic documents.

(b) A document delivered over the web should provide a minimum amount of information in the delivery package sufficient to identify and authenticate the sender to the recording officer, while also itemizing the contents of the package.

(c) Payment processing, if supplied at the portal, shall comply with the 2012 NACHA Operating Rules & Guidelines, which is hereby incorporated by reference and made a part of this rule. This publication is available from NACHA: The Electronic Payments Association, 13450 Sunrise Valley Drive, Suite 100, Herndon, VA 20171, and at http://www.nacha.org/. The recording officer and portal provider shall determine the portal's payment processing capabilities, and each recording officer shall designate approved methods of payment, which may include credit cards, ACH (automated clearing house), escrow accounts, electronic checks, or other methods.

(3) Business rules. Recording officers shall establish and publish business rules that govern how eRecording will be conducted. The business rules may be in electronic or hard copy format and may appear on a portal or the recording officer website. The transmitting parties' electronic acknowledgment of acceptance of the terms of the business rules is acceptable. The business rules must cover the following items:

(a) Memorandum of understanding or contract;

(b) Defined technical specifications;

(c) Document formatting and indexing specifications;

(d) Hours of operations and processing schedules;

(e) Payment options;

(f) Termination terms;

(g) Document rejection rights;

(h) Statement that any amendments and/or alterations to the business rules will be published with adequate notice before taking effect;

(i) Statement clarifying the liability of the recording offices.

(4) Security.

(a) All electronic documents must be secured in such a way that both the transmitting and receiving parties are assured of each other's identity and that no unauthorized party can view or alter the electronic document during transmission, processing, and delivery. If followed through the entire electronic document process of execution through recording, the security measures identified in chapter 6 of the eRecording XML Implementation Guide for Version 2.4.1, Revision 2, March 2007, satisfy this requirement.

(b) Each recording officer who elects to accept electronic real property documents for recordation shall implement reasonable measures such that each electronic document accepted for recordation is protected from alteration and unauthorized access.

(5) Electronic signatures. Recording officers are only required to accept electronic signatures that they have the technology to support. Recording officers have no responsibility to authenticate electronic signatures embedded within the body of the document.

(6) Notarizations. Pursuant to chapter 65.24 RCW, notarizations must:

(a) Be performed by a notary public who has been appointed by the Washington state department of licensing, or a person authorized by the laws of another jurisdiction outside the state of Washington, in accordance with chapter 42.44 RCW; and

(b) Comply with all applicable requirements for performing a notarial act as found in chapter 42.44 RCW and chapter 308-30 WAC, as amended from time to time, except that in the case of notarizations performed electronically, an impression of the official seal or stamp is not required.

Recording officers have no responsibility for verifying or authenticating notary signatures and acknowledgments.

(7) File formats for eRecording. The electronic recording standards commission recommends that electronic recordings be converted to (if necessary) and preserved as image files along with their associated metadata. If submissions are accepted in XHTML (extensible hypertext markup language) format, they shall be converted to a digital image until the viability of preserving these eRecordings in their native format has been demonstrated. Document images should be submitted as defined in WAC 434-663-305 and meet all state requirements for recorded instruments as defined in RCW 65.04.045.

(8) Records retention and preservation. Recording officers must not destroy public records, including electronic records, without the approval of the local records committee, in accordance with RCW 40.14.070.

Recording officers must retain electronic public records in electronic format such that the records remain usable, searchable, retrievable, and authentic for the length of the designated retention period in accordance with WAC 434-662-040.

The local records committee has approved the local government common records retention schedule (CORE) and the county auditor records retention schedule authorizing the minimum retention periods for recording officer records, and designating those records with enduring value as "archival."

Recording officers may transfer public records designated as "archival," including electronic records, to Washington state archives for preservation and for facilitating public access to the records.

(9) Payment of recording fees. Electronic payment of recording fees and excise tax, where applicable, shall be collected by the county agency responsible for such as prescribed in accordance with Washington state law and accepted industry standards without incurring unreasonable electronic processing fees.