Read first time 01/21/2005.   Referred to Committee on Local Government.

     AN ACT Relating to recorded instruments; and amending RCW 65.04.045 and 65.04.080.

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

Sec. 1   RCW 65.04.045 and 1999 c 233 s 12 are each amended 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, except that an instrument may be recorded if a minor portion of a notary seal, incidental writing, or minor portion of a signature extends beyond the margins;
     (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, or type or types, of the instrument to be recorded indicating the kind or kinds of documents or transactions contained therein immediately below the three-inch margin at the top of the page. The auditor or recording officer shall be required to index only 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), as defined under RCW 65.04.015, with reference to the document page number where additional names are located, if applicable;
     (f) An abbreviated legal description of the property, and for purposes of this subsection, "abbreviated legal description of the property" means lot, block, plat, or section, township, range, and quarter/quarter section, 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 set forth separately from the legal description or other text.
     (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. All text within the document must be of sufficient color and clarity to ensure that when the text is imaged all text is readable. Further, all pages presented for recording must have at minimum a one-inch margin on the top, bottom, and sides for all pages except page one, except that an instrument may be recorded if a minor portion of a notary seal, incidental writing, or minor portion of a signature extends beyond the margins, be prepared in ink color capable of being imaged, and have all seals legible and capable of being imaged. No attachments, except firmly attached bar code or address labels, may be affixed to the pages.
     (3) When any instrument, except those generated by governmental agencies, is presented to a county auditor or recording officer for recording, the document may not contain the following information: (a) A social security number; (b) a date of birth identified with a particular person; or (c) the maiden name of a person's parent so as to be identified with a particular person.
     The information provided on the instrument must be in substantially the following form:

       This Space Provided for Recorder's Use

When Recorded Return to:

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

Sec. 2   RCW 65.04.080 and 1996 c 229 s 4 are each amended to read as follows:
     (1) When any instrument, paper, or notice, authorized or required by law to be filed or recorded, is deposited in or electronically transmitted to the county auditor's office for filing or record, that officer must indorse upon the same the time when it was received, noting the year, month, day, hour and minute of its reception, and note that the document was received by electronic transmission, and must file, or file and record the same without delay, together with the acknowledgments, proofs, and certificates written or printed upon or annexed to the same, with the plats, surveys, schedules and other papers thereto annexed, in the order and as of the time when the same was received for filing or record, and must note on the instrument filed, or at the foot of the record the exact time of its reception, and the name of the person at whose request it was filed or filed and recorded((: PROVIDED, That)). However, the county auditor shall not be required to accept for filing, or filing and recording, any instrument unless there appear upon the face thereof, the name and nature of the instrument offered for filing, or filing and recording, as the case may be.
     (2) When any instrument, except those generated by governmental agencies, is presented to a county auditor or recording officer for recording, the document may not contain the following information: (a) A social security number; (b) a date of birth identified with a particular person; or (c) the maiden name of a person's parent so as to be identified with a particular person.