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SENATE FLOOR VERSION
February 9, 2023
SENATE BILL NO. 57 By: Rader
An Act relating to counties and county officer s;
amending 19 O.S. 2021, Section 298, which relates to
instruments to contain information necessary for
indexing; specifying m argin size requirement for
certain documents; updating statutory references; and
providing an effective date .
BE IT ENACTED BY THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF OKLA HOMA:
SECTION 1. AMENDATORY 19 O.S. 2021, Section 298, is
amended to read as follows:
Section 298. A. Every county clerk in this state shall require
that the mandates of the Legislature be c omplied with, as expressed
in Sections 287 and 291 of this title, and for that purpose, every
instrument offered which m ay be accepted by the county clerk for
recording, affecting specific real property whether of conveyance,
encumbrance, assignment, or re lease of encumbrance, lease,
assignment of lease or release of lease, shall be an original or
certified copy of an origi nal instrument and clearly legible in
accordance with the provisions of subsection B of this section, and
shall by its own terms describ e the property by its specific legal
description, and provide such information as is necessary for
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indexing as required in Sections 287 and 291 of this title, and on
each such instrument shall be listed the mailing address of the
grantee, mortgagee, assign ee or other designated party to which the
instrument is to be delivered after recording. If an instrument
offered to a county clerk for recording contains more than twenty -
five legal descriptions requiring separate entries in the indexes
required by Sections 287 and 291 of this title, the des criptions
shall be sorted by addition, block, and lot if platted property, or
by township, range, and section if described by governmental survey
description. Any instrument offered to a county clerk for recording
containing more than twenty -five legal descriptions per page,
counted as each description which could require a separate li ne
entry in the numerical index, shall be accompanied by an additional
filing fee of One Dollar ($1.00) per legal description in excess of
twenty-five legal descriptions per page to be paid to the county
clerk. Unless the person offering a nonconforming i nstrument for
filing is willing to reform the instrument to conform to statutory
requirements, for which purpose it may be withdrawn and refiled
during the same business day, the county clerk may refuse to record
the same in the records of deeds, leases or mortgages or to index
the same upon the index records referred to in Section 287 or 291 of
this title, or to file or record the same in the office of the
county clerk.
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B. All documents filed of record in the office of the county
clerk pursuant to subsect ion A of this section or pursuant to any
other law shall be an original or a certified copy of an original
document. Such documents sha ll be clearly legible, in the English
language, using xerographically reproducible dark ink, on paper of a
color that is xerographically reproducible by the copying equipment
in use by the county clerk. Unless otherwise provided by law, such
documents shall measure no larger than eight and on e-half (8 1/2)
inches by fourteen (14) inches. All documents shall provide an are a
free of printed information sufficient in size to accommodate
affixation of the documentary stamps required by Section 3201 of
Title 68 of the Oklahoma Statutes, any certif ication of the payment
of mortgage taxes required by Section 1901 et seq. of Title 68 of
the Oklahoma Statutes, and the recording information affixed by the
county clerk upon acceptance of a document for recordation. Any
part of a signature or any stray m arkings within the margin shall
not void the requirements for accepting and filing any document by
any county within the state, provided there remains sufficient space
for the affixation of stamps and recording informa tion without
covering language contain ed in the instrument. If an instrument
submitted to the county clerk for recordin g does not contain
sufficient space for the affixation of such stamps and recording
information without covering language contained in t he instrument,
the county clerk shall attach an additional page to the document to
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provide for the affixation of such st amps and recording information.
A county clerk shall not charge any additional fee or fine for stray
markings within the margin of a do cument. The top margin of all
documents shall be at least one (1) inch two (2) inches and all
other margins shall be at lea st one-half (1/2) one (1) inch.
C. Despite any provision in this section to the contrary, the
county clerk shall accept for filing any document that fails to meet
the requirements of subsection B of this section if:
1. The document is an original or a ce rtified copy of an
original;
2. The document is legible without the aid of magnification or
other enhancement of the text;
3. The document is xerographically reproducib le by the copying
equipment in use by the county clerk;
4. The document meets all oth er statutory requirements for
recordation; and
5. The person offering the instrument for recording pays the
additional fee provided in Section 32 of Title 28 of the Okla homa
Statutes for nonconforming documents.
D. Despite any provision in this section t o the contrary, a
digitized image or electronic copy of an original or certified copy
of an original instrument or document shall sa tisfy the requirement
that the document be an original or certified copy of an original
instrument or document, provided tha t the digitized image or
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electronic copy is submitted for recording electronically pursuant
to the Uniform Real Property Electronic Recording Act in Title 16 of
the Oklahoma Statutes and all other rules promulgated pursuant to
that act.
E. This section shall not apply to plats, filings under the
Uniform Commercial Code, or any other instruments that may be filed
pursuant to any other law.
F. All documents accepted for fi ling, including all documents
filed before the effective date of this act February 18, 1997, shall
be deemed to comply with the requirements of this section and,
except as otherwise provided by law, impart constructive notice of
the contents of such docume nt to third parties unless a person
claiming adversely to any such document files an a ffidavit setting
forth the basis of s uch claim in the office of the county clerk of
the county where the property is located within six (6) months from
the effective date of this act February 18, 1997.
SECTION 2. This act shall become effe ctive November 1, 2023.
COMMITTEE REPORT BY: COMMITTEE ON GENERAL GOVERNMENT
February 9, 2023 - DO PASS