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Recording Minimum Document Standards

Probate Fees & General Information Regarding Fees and Requirements

Effective September 28, 2009, with the legislatures’ passage of House Bill 2436 we are required to collect an additional $15.00 for each recorded document. This fee is for Low Income Housing and will be forwarded on to the Oregon Dept. of Revenue for that purpose. With the addition of this fee, the basic fee for recording a one page document in Harney County will be $36.00.  The fee for each additional page will continue to be $5.00. Also see how this law affects Probate Fees.

The ONLY documents Exempt from this fee are the following:

• Any document recorded by the Oregon Dept. of Revenue
• Oregon Employment Dept. Warrants
• Certified Copies of Judgments and Satisfactions
• Lien Record Abstracts
• Any Satisfaction, Release, Assignment, or Extension of the above documents
• Affidavits of Annual Compliance (Mining)

If you have any questions, or need further information, please feel free to contact our office.

Documents submitted for recording must be:

• Printed on sheets of paper not larger than 14 inches long and 8-1/2 inches wide
• Printed or written in at least 8-point type
• Originals with original signatures and notary stamps; no photocopies (unless certified copies) or electronically-generated reproductions (especially of signatures or notary seals)
• Printed on paper of sufficient quality for photographic reproduction that will not permit “bleed-through” if printed on both sides.

First Page Requirements

• Document must be clearly titled with name(s) of transaction(s)
• Names of parties involved (grantor and grantee, mortgagee or mortgagor, assignor and assignee, claimant and lien debtor, etc.)
• Name and address of person to whom the instrument will be delivered after recording, preceded by the words “Return To”
• The address for tax statements must appear on the first page, or the document will be rejected (ORS 93.260)
• Consideration (if deed or contract)
• Judgment or warrant amount for Clerk Lien Record document
• A cover sheet, containing all the required information, may be recorded for an additional fee.

Legibility

If a document is rejected as “illegible” due to a notary and/or corporate seal or highlighting covering text, please re-do the document or consider the following options:

• If it is your opinion that the illegible information on the document is either unimportant or unnecessary, you may consider removing it or crossing it out. Please check with your legal counsel prior to doing so, the information may be required. If a form contains illegible text, a legible form of the same kind may be attached to the original, and it should state, “attached for legibility” somewhere on the attached page. Attaching extra pages will increase the total cost for recording. Signatures and rotary stamps/seals must be original; photocopies cannot be recorded. Notary seals must not cover text or signatures on the document. A notary stamp that is blurred or faint is not acceptable for recording. You may write the information outside the seal border, or a new seal and/or acknowledgement can be affixed to compensate. (OAR 160-100-0000)
• Any highlighting of text or any other information on a document will cause the document to be rejected.

Legal Description Required Form

• Subdivision name, lot and block; or
• Book and page or instrument number of a recorded deed where the legal can be found.
• Assessor’s map and tax lot number or account number is not acceptable as a legal description.

Recording a Document

• You MUST provide a legible copy before your document is recorded.
• Any text of a document submitted for recording not sufficiently legible to reproduce a readable photographic record after the recording process will be returned without being recorded with an explanation of what is wrong.
• Flaps or riders must be attached to page on at least two sides. Anything under the flap or rider will not be recorded.
• The first page of the instrument must have a 2 inch border at the top of the page and 1-1/2 inch border along the other three sides.
• If this space is not provided you will be charged for an extra page ($5) of recording
• Document will be mailed back after recording.

This office cannot:

• Give legal advice Provide blank forms Help fill out forms. If you need help you should contact an attorney or title company. Suggest what type of forms to use Accept illegible, smeared documents which may not provide a readable scanned image Record documents other than those specified by Oregon Statutes
• Provide birth, death and court records (including divorce decrees).

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