CHAPTER 317: RECORDER

There shall be elected quadrennially in each county a county recorder, who shall assume office on the first Monday in January next after his election and shall hold such office for a period of four years.

Effective Date: 10-01-1953

Before entering upon the duties of his office, the county recorder shall give a bond, conditioned for the faithful discharge of the duties of his office, signed by a bonding or surety company authorized to do business in this state, or, at his option, by two or more freeholders having real estate in the value of double the amount of the bond over and above all encumbrances to the state in the sum of not less than ten thousand dollars, the surety company and the amount of the bond to be approved by the board of county commissioners. The expense or premium for such bond shall be paid by the board and charged to the general fund of the county. Such bond, with the oath of office required by sections 3.22 and 3.23 of the Revised Code, and by Section 7 of Article XV, Ohio Constitution, and the approval of the board indorsed thereon, shall be deposited with the county treasurer.

Effective Date: 03-18-1969

The office of the county recorder shall be kept in such rooms at the county seat as the board of county commissioners provides.

Effective Date: 10-01-1953

The county recorder shall keep a seal of office, to be procured at the expense of the county, which he shall affix to all his certificates attached to copies of records.

Effective Date: 10-01-1953

The county recorder may appoint deputies to aid him in the performance of his duties. Such appointment or removal shall be in writing and filed with the county treasurer. The recorder and his sureties shall be responsible for his deputies’ neglect of duty or misconduct in office. Before entering upon the discharge of their duties such deputies shall take the oath of office as prescribed in section 317.02 of the Revised Code.

Effective Date: 08-30-1957

Effective Date: 10-12-1961

On going out of office, each county recorder shall deliver to his successor the seal of office, all books, records, and other instruments of writing belonging to the office, and take his receipt for them. In case of the death of the recorder, his personal representatives shall deliver such seal, books, records, and papers to his successor in office.

Effective Date: 10-01-1953

(A) Except as provided in divisions (C) and (D) of this section, the county recorder shall keep six separate sets of records as follows:

(1) A record of deeds, in which shall be recorded all deeds and other instruments of writing for the absolute and unconditional sale or conveyance of lands, tenements, and hereditaments; all notices as provided in sections 5301.47 to 5301.56 of the Revised Code; all judgments or decrees in actions brought under section 5303.01 of the Revised Code; all declarations and bylaws, and all amendments to declarations and bylaws, as provided in Chapter 5311. of the Revised Code; affidavits as provided in sections 5301.252 and 5301.56 of the Revised Code; all certificates as provided in section 5311.17 of the Revised Code; all articles dedicating archaeological preserves accepted by the director of the Ohio historical society under section 149.52 of the Revised Code; all articles dedicating nature preserves accepted by the director of natural resources under section 1517.05 of the Revised Code; all agreements for the registration of lands as archaeological or historic landmarks under section 149.51 or 149.55 of the Revised Code; all conveyances of conservation easements and agricultural easements under section 5301.68 of the Revised Code; all instruments extinguishing agricultural easements under section 901.21 or 5301.691 of the Revised Code or pursuant to terms of such an easement granted to a charitable organization under section 5301.68 of the Revised Code; all instruments or orders described in division (B)(2)(b) of section 5301.56 of the Revised Code; all no further action letters issued under section 122.654 or 3746.11 of the Revised Code; all covenants not to sue issued under section 3746.12 of the Revised Code, including all covenants not to sue issued pursuant to section 122.654 of the Revised Code; any restrictions on the use of property contained in a no further action letter issued under section 122.654 of the Revised Code, any restrictions on the use of property identified pursuant to division (C)(3)(a) of section 3746.10 of the Revised Code, and any restrictions on the use of property contained in a deed or other instrument as provided in division (E) or (F) of section 3737.882 of the Revised Code; any easement executed or granted under section 3734.22, 3734.24, 3734.25, or 3734.26 of the Revised Code; any environmental covenant entered into in accordance with sections 5301.80 to 5301.92 of the Revised Code; all memoranda of trust, as described in division (A) of section 5301.255 of the Revised Code, that describe specific real property; and all agreements entered into under division (A) of section 1506.44 of the Revised Code;

(2) A record of mortgages, in which shall be recorded all of the following:

(a) All mortgages, including amendments, supplements, modifications, and extensions of mortgages, or other instruments of writing by which lands, tenements, or hereditaments are or may be mortgaged or otherwise conditionally sold, conveyed, affected, or encumbered;

(b) All executory installment contracts for the sale of land executed after September 29, 1961, that by their terms are not required to be fully performed by one or more of the parties to them within one year of the date of the contracts;

(c) All options to purchase real estate, including supplements, modifications, and amendments of the options, but no option of that nature shall be recorded if it does not state a specific day and year of expiration of its validity;

(d) Any tax certificate sold under section 5721.33 of the Revised Code, or memorandum of it, that is presented for filing of record.

(3) A record of powers of attorney, including all memoranda of trust, as described in division (A) of section 5301.255 of the Revised Code, that do not describe specific real property;

(4) A record of plats, in which shall be recorded all plats and maps of town lots, of the subdivision of town lots, and of other divisions or surveys of lands, any center line survey of a highway located within the county, the plat of which shall be furnished by the director of transportation or county engineer, and all drawings and amendments to drawings, as provided in Chapter 5311. of the Revised Code;

(5) A record of leases, in which shall be recorded all leases, memoranda of leases, and supplements, modifications, and amendments of leases and memoranda of leases;

(6) A record of declarations executed pursuant to section 2133.02 of the Revised Code and durable powers of attorney for health care executed pursuant to section 1337.12 of the Revised Code.

(B) All instruments or memoranda of instruments entitled to record shall be recorded in the proper record in the order in which they are presented for record. The recorder may index, keep, and record in one volume unemployment compensation liens, internal revenue tax liens and other liens in favor of the United States as described in division (A) of section 317.09 of the Revised Code, personal tax liens, mechanic’s liens, agricultural product liens, notices of liens, certificates of satisfaction or partial release of estate tax liens, discharges of recognizances, excise and franchise tax liens on corporations, broker’s liens, and liens provided for in sections 1513.33, 1513.37, 3752.13, 5111.022, and 5311.18 of the Revised Code.

The recording of an option to purchase real estate, including any supplement, modification, and amendment of the option, under this section shall serve as notice to any purchaser of an interest in the real estate covered by the option only during the period of the validity of the option as stated in the option.

(C) In lieu of keeping the six separate sets of records required in divisions (A)(1) to (6) of this section and the records required in division (D) of this section, a county recorder may record all the instruments required to be recorded by this section in two separate sets of record books. One set shall be called the “official records” and shall contain the instruments listed in divisions (A)(1), (2), (3), (5), and (6) and (D) of this section. The second set of records shall contain the instruments listed in division (A)(4) of this section.

(D) Except as provided in division (C) of this section, the county recorder shall keep a separate set of records containing all corrupt activity lien notices filed with the recorder pursuant to section 2923.36 of the Revised Code and a separate set of records containing all medicaid fraud lien notices filed with the recorder pursuant to section 2933.75 of the Revised Code.

Effective Date: 07-20-2004; 12-30-2004; 10-01-2005; 06-30-2006; 2007 HB119 09-29-2007

The county recorder shall keep county and township zoning resolutions, including text and maps, and amendments to them, in his office and make all these documents available for public inspection during normal business hours. By the fifteenth day of January each year, the county recorder shall notify the board of county commissioners and the board of township trustees of each township within the county of that board’s duty under section 303.11, 303.12, 519.11, or 519.12 of the Revised Code to file zoning resolutions and amendments in the office of the county recorder. The fee provided in section 317.32 of the Revised Code shall be charged for each resolution and amendment filed in the office of the county recorder.

Effective Date: 01-01-1992

(A) As used in this section, “preparer” means any mortgage company, bank, title agency, or other person responsible for filing documents with the office of a county recorder for recording under section 317.08 of the Revised Code.

(B) Except as provided in division (C) or (D) of this section, the preparer of any document to be recorded by a county recorder under section 317.08 of the Revised Code shall not include any individual’s social security number in any document that is filed for recording in the office of the county recorder under that section. The county recorder shall not accept such a document for recording if it includes any individual’s social security number. If a document presented for recording includes any individual’s social security number and the county recorder refuses to accept that document for recording, the county recorder or the person who attempted to file the document with the county recorder may immediately redact the individual’s social security number from the document.

The preparer is not liable in damages in a civil action for any harm an individual allegedly sustains as a result of the inclusion of the individual’s social security number on a document in violation of this division if the preparer establishes as an affirmative defense that the preparer made a good faith effort to comply with this division. The county recorder and the county recorder’s employees are immune from liability in damages in a civil action brought against the county recorder or an employee of the county recorder to recover damages for any harm an individual allegedly sustains as a result of the county recorder or an employee of the county recorder accepting a document that includes the individual’s social security number in violation of this division, unless the county recorder or an employee of the county recorder accepted that document with malicious purpose, in bad faith, or in a wanton or reckless manner, or division (A)(6)(a) or (c) of section 2744.03 of the Revised Code applies.

(C) An individual who executes a document that must be filed by a preparer for recording in the office of the county recorder under section 317.08 of the Revised Code may execute an affidavit consenting to the inclusion of the individual’s social security number in the document. If an individual executes an affidavit consenting to the inclusion of the individual’s social security number in the document under this division, division (B) of this section does not apply to the preparer of the document or to the county recorder and the county recorder’s employees.

(D) Division (B) of this section does not apply to any of the following:

(1) Any document that originates with any court or taxing authority;

(2) Any document that upon its filing for recording in the office of the county recorder under section 317.08 of the Revised Code constitutes a nonconsensual lien against an individual;

(3) Any publicly recorded document that is required by federal or state law to include an individual’s social security number.

(E) This section does not apply to documents that were executed by an individual prior to the effective date of this section.

Effective Date: 09-28-2006

(A)(1) Notices of liens for internal revenue taxes, of liens arising under section 107 of the “Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980,” 94 Stat. 2781, 42 U.S.C.A. 9607, as amended, and of any other lien in favor of the United States, as provided in the statutes of the United States or in any regulation adopted under those statutes, certificates discharging the liens, and certificates of release of the liens shall be filed for record, by mail or otherwise, in the office of the county recorder of the county in which the property subject to the lien is situated. If a duplicate copy of a notice of a lien or a certificate of discharge or release of a lien is provided, the recorder shall endorse on the copy the date and hour that the notice or certificate was received for filing and recording and shall return the copy, by mail or otherwise, to the district director of the internal revenue service of the Ohio district from which the notice or certificate originated, the regional administrator of the region of the United States environmental protection agency from which the notice or certificate originated, or the other official of the United States who originated the notice or certificate, whichever is applicable.

(2) Except as provided in division (B) of this section, when a notice of a lien in favor of the United States is filed, the recorder shall enter it in a book or an electronic or magnetic medium known as the “federal tax and other federal lien index,” in alphabetical order, showing on one line the name and residence of the person named in the notice, the serial number or other identifying number of the notice, and the total amount of the lien. Except as provided in division (C) of this section, the recorder shall file and keep all original notices of liens in numerical order. Except as provided in division (C) of this section, when a certificate of discharge or release of any lien in favor of the United States is issued by the proper official of the United States or the official’s delegate and is filed for record in the office of the recorder in which the original notice of the lien is filed, the recorder shall enter the certificate with the date of filing in the federal tax and other federal lien index on the line on which the notice of the lien so discharged or released is entered and permanently attach the original certificate of discharge or release to the original notice of the lien.

(B) If a county recorder records all instruments in two sets of record books pursuant to division (C) of section 317.08 of the Revised Code, notices of liens in favor of the United States and certificates discharging or releasing those liens that are filed with the recorder shall be recorded in the “official records” set of books.

(C) A county recorder may use any nonpaper electronic or magnetic medium specified in section 9.01 of the Revised Code to record the notices of liens and the certificates of discharge or release of liens covered by this section. If any of those mediums is used, an “original notice,” for purposes of this section, shall mean the notice as originally recorded by the nonpaper electronic or magnetic medium, and the recorder, instead of permanently attaching an original certificate of discharge or release to the original notice, shall otherwise clearly indicate on the original notice that it has been discharged or released by the particular certificate. If such a recorder wishes to dispose of paper versions of the notices and certificates covered by this section because they are no longer needed in that format, the recorder shall request the county records commission to revise the county’s schedule of records retention and disposal in accordance with section 149.38 of the Revised Code to provide for the disposal of those paper records.

(D) The county recorder shall receive a fee of five dollars for filing and indexing each notice of a lien filed pursuant to this section and shall receive a fee of three dollars for filing and indexing a certificate of discharge or release of the lien. The fees provided for in this division shall be collected at the time that the notice or certificate is presented in the office of the recorder.

Effective Date: 07-20-2004; 07-20-2006

The county recorder shall record any certified copy of any matter in reference to bankruptcy, which any act of congress provides for, as being necessary to be filed in the county wherein lands of the bankrupt are situated, in order to be notice of such bankruptcy. Such certified copy shall be recorded in the record of deeds and indexed in the same manner as deeds, in the name of the bankrupt as grantor, and in the name of the trustee in bankruptcy, or receiver, as grantee. The recorder shall be paid the same fees for recording such certified copy as is provided in section 317.32 of the Revised Code.

Effective Date: 10-01-1953

No instrument by which the title to real estate or personal property or any interest therein or lien thereon, is conveyed, created, encumbered, assigned, discharged, canceled or otherwise disposed of, shall be received for record of filing by the county recorder, if the signatures of the persons signing such instrument are illegibly written, unless the name of each person who in any capacity signed such instrument, and whose written signature is illegible, is legibly printed, typewritten, or stamped upon such instrument immediately beneath the signature of such person. The recorder shall receive any such instrument for record or filing, although it does not comply with this paragraph, if the name of each such person appears elsewhere in the instrument legibly printed, typewritten, or stamped, or if there is written on or attached to the instrument, for record, an affidavit of some person having personal knowledge of the facts, which affidavit states the correct name of the person whose signature was illegibly written and whose name was not printed, typewritten, or stamped thereon.

Whenever, in this section it is required that the name of a person be printed, typewritten, or stamped upon such instrument immediately beneath the signature of such person, such signature shall be written upon the instrument directly preceding or above the printed, typewritten, or stamped name. Such printed, typewritten, or stamped name shall not be superimposed upon the signature so as to render either illegible. Any such instrument shall be entitled to be received for record or filing if the printed, typewritten, or stamped name and signature are deemed by the recorder to be so placed upon such instrument as to render the connection between the two apparent. Any instrument received and recorded or filed by a recorder is conclusively presumed to comply with the requirements of this section, which shall be in addition to the requirements imposed by any other law relating to the recording of instruments.

This section does not apply to any instrument executed prior to October 11, 1945, nor to the following: Any decree, order, judgment, or writ of any court; any will, or death certificate; any instrument executed or acknowledged outside this state. This section does not apply to any instrument upon which the signature itself is printed, typewritten, or stamped.

Effective Date: 10-01-1953

No instrument by which the title to real estate or personal property, or any interest therein or lien thereon, is conveyed, created, encumbered, assigned, or otherwise disposed of, shall be received for record or filing by the county recorder unless the name of the person who, and governmental agency, if any, which, prepared such instrument appears at the conclusion of such instrument and such name is either printed, typewritten, stamped, or signed in a legible manner. An instrument is in compliance with this section if it contains a statement in the following form: “This instrument was prepared by (name).”

This section does not apply to any instrument executed prior to October 5, 1955, nor to the following: any decree, order, judgment, or writ of any court; any will or death certificate; any instrument executed or acknowledged outside of this state.

Effective Date: 01-10-1961

(A) Each instrument by which the title to real estate or personal property, or by which any interest in or lien on real estate or personal property, is conveyed, created, encumbered, assigned, discharged, canceled, or otherwise disposed of, and that is presented to the county recorder for recording or filing shall satisfy each of the following requirements:

(1) The instrument shall be of a quality of paper that permits the legible reproduction of the instrument by photographic or microphotographic processes;

(2) The contents of the instrument shall be sufficiently legible to permit their reproduction by photographic or microphotographic processes.

(B)(1) If an instrument that is described in division (A) of this section and that is presented for recording or filing does not satisfy each of the requirements of that division, the county recorder may prior to recording or filing the instrument require the person who presented the instrument for recording or filing to do either of the following:

(a) If the instrument presented was a copy of an original document, to substitute the original document for recording or filing if it satisfies the requirements of division (A) of this section;

(b) To prepare or cause to be prepared, and present for recording or filing a true copy of the instrument, which true copy shall be handwritten or typewritten, satisfy the requirements of division (A) of this section, and contain a certification of the person who prepared the true copy that it is a true copy of the instrument.

(2) The county recorder shall attach a true copy of an instrument that is presented for recording or filing pursuant to division (B)(1)(b) of this section to the instrument that was presented for recording or filing.

(3) The notice that is imparted by the recording or filing of an instrument is not affected if the county recorder accepts an instrument for recording or filing that subsequently is found not to satisfy each of the requirements of division (A) of this section.

(C) This section does not apply to wills or death certificates.

Effective Date: 01-01-1981

The county recorder shall not accept for recording a deed or other instrument in writing that is executed or certified in whole or in part in a language other than the English language unless it complies with the requirements of sections 317.11, 317.111 , and 317.112 of the Revised Code and is accompanied by a complete English translation certified as provided in this section. The translator of the deed or other instrument in writing shall certify that the translation is accurate and that the translator is competent to perform the translation. The translator shall sign and acknowledge the translation of the deed or other instrument in writing before a judge of a court of record in this state, a clerk of a court of record in this state, a county auditor, a county engineer, or a notary public.

A certificate of the translator that is substantially in the following form satisfies the requirements of this section:

“CERTIFICATE OF TRANSLATOR

The undersigned, ..............., hereby certifies that the document attached to this certificate and made a part of this certificate has been translated into English by the undersigned; that the translation is accurate; and that the undersigned is competent to perform the translation.

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

(Signature of Translator)

SSN: ............................................

State of ….......................

County of …....................

The foregoing certificate of translator has been acknowledged before me this ….... day of …......., ......

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

(Signature of Judge or Officer

Taking the Acknowledgment)”

This section does not apply to a deed or other instrument in writing executed or certified prior to August 20, 1996.

Effective Date: 02-01-2002

Upon the presentation of a deed or other instrument of writing for record, the county recorder shall indorse thereon the date, the precise time of its presentation, and a file number. Such file numbering shall be consecutive and in the order in which the instrument of writing is received for record, except financing statements, which shall have a separate series of file numbers and be filed separately, as provided by sections 1309.501 to 1309.527 of the Revised Code. Until recorded, each instrument shall be kept on file in the same numerical order, for easy reference. If required, the recorder shall, without fee, give to the person presenting such instrument a receipt naming the parties thereto, the date thereof, and a brief description of the premises. When a deed or other instrument is recorded, the recorder shall indorse on it the time when recorded, and the number or letter and page of the book in which it is recorded.

Effective Date: 07-01-2001

(A) Except as otherwise provided in division (B) of this section, the county recorder shall record in the proper record, in legible handwriting, typewriting, or printing, or by any authorized photographic or electronic process, all deeds, mortgages, plats, or other instruments of writing that are required or authorized by the Revised Code to be recorded and that are presented to the recorder for that purpose. The recorder shall record the instruments in regular succession, according to the priority of presentation, and shall enter the file number at the beginning of the record. On the record of each instrument, the recorder shall record the date and precise time the instrument was presented for record. All records made, prior to July 28, 1949, by means authorized by this section or by section 9.01 of the Revised Code shall be deemed properly made.

(B) The county recorder may refuse to record an instrument of writing presented to the recorder for recording if the instrument is not required or authorized by the Revised Code to be recorded or the recorder has reasonable cause to believe the instrument is materially false or fraudulent. This division does not create a duty upon a recorder to inspect, evaluate, or investigate an instrument of writing that is presented for recording.

(C) If a person presents an instrument of writing to the county recorder for recording and the recorder, pursuant to division (B) of this section, refuses to record the instrument, the person may commence an action in or apply for an order from the court of common pleas in the county that the recorder serves to require the recorder to record the instrument. If the court determines that the instrument is required or authorized by the Revised Code to be recorded and is not materially false or fraudulent, it shall order the recorder to record the instrument.

Effective Date: 11-06-1996

When a deed, mortgage, power of attorney, or other instrument of writing, for the sale, conveyance, or encumbrance of lands, tenements, or hereditaments, situated in two or more counties in this state, has been recorded in one of such counties, or when a new county is organized and such lands, tenements, or hereditaments are situated within the new county, and the instrument has been recorded in the county from which the new county was taken, or when, by change of county lines, lands are transferred from one county to another and such instrument has been recorded in the county from which the lands were transferred, any person interested in such lands may procure from the county recorder a certified copy of the record and cause it to be recorded in any other county containing such lands, tenements, or hereditaments, in the same manner as the original instrument is required to be recorded. In making the record, such certificate shall be recorded with the copy, and the record of the copy and certificate shall have the same validity and legal effect as the record of the original instrument.

Effective Date: 10-01-1953

When a deed or other instrument of writing for the sale, conveyance, or encumbrance of lands, tenements, or hereditaments, situated within this state, has been recorded in the proper records of a county of the state, other than the county in which they are situated, whether or not the county in which such instrument is recorded ever comprised a part of the territory in which such lands, tenements, and hereditaments are situated, any person interested therein may procure, from the records of the county in which the instrument is recorded, a certified copy of such record from the county recorder, with his seal of office affixed thereto, and cause it to be recorded in the county where such lands, tenements, or hereditaments lie, in the manner provided by section 5301.25 of the Revised Code. In making such record, the certificate shall have the same validity and legal effect as the record of other deeds and instruments of writing.

Effective Date: 10-01-1953

After copies of records have been recorded, as provided in sections 317.14 and 317.15 of the Revised Code, in the county in which such lands, tenements, or hereditaments lie, a copy of such record, certified by the county recorder of the county in which the premises are situated, shall be received in evidence in the same manner and have the same force and effect as if the record were of the original instrument.

Effective Date: 10-01-1953

When directed by the board of county commissioners to do so, the county recorder may transcribe in suitable books provided for that purpose, from the records of other counties, all deeds, mortgages, powers of attorney, and other instruments of writing, for the sale, conveyance, or encumbrance of lands, tenements, or hereditaments situated within his county. When transcribed, such records shall be part of the records of the county and have the same legal effect as other records of instruments of like kind recorded originally in his office. Copies of such records shall be received in evidence in the same manner and with the same effect as original records of like instruments.

Effective Date: 10-01-1953

At the beginning of each day’s business, the county recorder shall make and keep up general alphabetical indexes, direct and reverse, of all the names of both parties to all instruments previously received for record by him. The volume and page where each such instrument is recorded may be omitted until it is actually recorded if the file number is entered in place of the volume or page. The indexes shall show the kind of instrument, the range, township, and section or the survey number and number of acres, or the permanent parcel number provided for under section 319.28 of the Revised Code, or the lot and sublot number and the part thereof, all as the case requires, of each tract, parcel, or lot of land described in any such instrument. The name of each grantor shall be entered in the direct index under the appropriate letter, followed on the same line by the name of the grantee, or, if there is more than one grantee, by the name of the first grantee followed by “and others” or its equivalent. The name of each grantee shall be entered in the reverse index under the appropriate letter, followed on the same line by the name of the grantor, or, if there is more than one grantor, by the name of the first grantor followed by “and others” or its equivalent.

As to notices of claims filed in accordance with sections 5301.51, 5301.52, and 5301.56 of the Revised Code, there shall be entered in the reverse index under the appropriate letter the name of each claimant, followed on the same line by the name of the present owner of title against whom the claim is asserted, if the notice contains the name of the present owner; or, if the notice contains the names of more than one such owner, there shall be entered the name of the first owner followed by “and others” or its equivalent.

In all cases of deeds, mortgages, or other instruments made by any sheriff, master commissioner, marshal, auditor, executor, administrator, trustee, or other officer, for the sale, conveyance, or encumbrance of any lands, tenements, or hereditaments, and recorded in the recorder’s office, the recorder shall index the parties to such instrument under their appropriate letters, respectively, as follows:

(A) The names of the persons represented by such officer as owners of the lands, tenements, or hereditaments described in any such instruments;

(B) The official designation of the officer by whom such instrument was made;

(C) The individual names of the officers by whom such instrument was made.

In all cases of instruments filed in accordance with Chapter 5311. of the Revised Code, the name of each owner shall be entered in the direct index, under the appropriate letter, followed on the same line by the name of the condominium property, and the name of the condominium property shall be entered in the reverse index under the appropriate letter followed on the same line by the name of the owner of the property, or, if the instrument contains the names of more than one owner, there shall be entered the name of the first owner followed by “and others” or its equivalent.

Any general alphabetical index shall be commenced in conformity to this section, and whenever, in the opinion of the board of county commissioners, it becomes necessary to transcribe, on account of its worn out or incomplete condition, any volume of an index in use, such volume shall be revised and transcribed to conform with this section; except that in counties having a sectional index in conformity with section 317.20 of the Revised Code, such transcript shall be only a copy of the original.

Effective Date: 03-22-1989

The county recorder shall keep a daily register of deeds and a daily register of mortgages, in which he shall note, as soon as filed, in alphabetical order according to the names of the grantors, respectively, all deeds and mortgages affecting real estate, filed in his office. He shall keep such register in his office, and it shall be open to the inspection of the public during business hours. The recorder may destroy such daily register after the expiration of a period of ten years from the date of the last entry in such register.

Effective Date: 09-16-1957

(A) When, in the opinion of the board of county commissioners, sectional indexes are needed and it so directs, in addition to the alphabetical indexes provided for in section 317.18 of the Revised Code, the board may provide for making, in books prepared for that purpose, sectional indexes to the records of all real estate in the county beginning with some designated year and continuing through the period of years that the board specifies. The sectional indexes shall place under the heads of the original surveyed sections or surveys, parts of a section or survey, squares, subdivisions, permanent parcel numbers provided for under section 319.28 of the Revised Code, or lots, on the left-hand page or on the upper portion of that page of the index book, the name of the grantor, then the name of the grantee, then the number and page of the record in which the instrument is found recorded, then the character of the instrument, and then a pertinent description of the interest in property conveyed by the deed, lease, or assignment of lease and shall place under similar headings on the right-hand page or on the lower portion of that page of the index book, beginning at the bottom, all the mortgages, liens, notices provided for in sections 5301.51, 5301.52, and 5301.56 of the Revised Code, or other encumbrances affecting the real estate.

(B) The compensation for the services rendered under this section shall be paid from the general revenue fund of the county, and no additional levy shall be made in consequence of the services.

(C) If the board of county commissioners decides to have sectional indexes made, it shall advertise for three consecutive weeks in one newspaper of general circulation in the county for sealed proposals to do the work provided for in this section, shall contract with the lowest and best bidder, and shall require the successful bidder to give a bond for the faithful performance of the contract in the sum that the board fixes. The work shall be done to the acceptance of the auditor of state upon allowance by the board. The board may reject any and all bids for the work, provided that no more than five cents shall be paid for each entry of each tract or lot of land.

(D) When the sectional indexes are brought up and completed, the county recorder shall maintain the indexes and comply with division (E) of this section in connection with registered land.

(E)(1) As used in division (E) of this section, “housing accommodations” and “restrictive covenant” have the same meanings as in section 4112.01 of the Revised Code.

(2) In connection with any transfer of registered land that occurs on and after the effective date of this amendment in accordance with Chapters 5309. and 5310. of the Revised Code, the county recorder shall delete from the sectional indexes maintained under this section all references to any restrictive covenant that appears to apply to the transferred registered land, if any inclusion of the restrictive covenant in a transfer, rental, or lease of housing accommodations, any honoring or exercising of the restrictive covenant, or any attempt to honor or exercise the restrictive covenant constitutes an unlawful discriminatory practice under division (H)(9) of section 4112.02 of the Revised Code.

Effective Date: 03-30-1999

The county recorder shall maintain a book to be known as the “Notice Index.” Separate pages of the book shall be headed by the original survey sections or surveys, or parts of a section or survey, squares, subdivisions, or the permanent parcel numbers provided for under section 319.28 of the Revised Code, or lots. In this book, there shall be entered the notices for preservation of claims presented for recording in conformity with sections 5301.51, 5301.52, and 5301.56 of the Revised Code. In designated columns, there shall be entered on the left-hand page:

(A) The name of each claimant;

(B) Next to the right, the name of each owner of title;

(C) The deed book number and page where the instrument containing the claim has been recorded;

(D) The type of claim asserted.

On the opposite page on the corresponding line, a pertinent description of the property affected as appears in such notice shall be entered.

Effective Date: 03-22-1989

Whenever the county recorder, county auditor, and county treasurer, or a majority of them, determines to provide, for the convenience of the various county officials and the more efficient performance of their duties, including those prescribed by sections 5309.01 to 5309.98 and 5310.01 to 5310.21, inclusive, of the Revised Code, plats, records, abstracts, books, copies of records, abstracts of records, existing or destroyed by fire or otherwise, or other documents or instruments affecting the title of any lands, tenements, or hereditaments within the county, they may acquire the same by purchase, lease, or rental. When acquired, such property shall be kept up and maintained in the office of the recorder or auditor, as such officials determine, and shall be at all times subject to the use, examination, and inspection of the public, and all officials of the county and the municipal corporations therein.

Effective Date: 10-01-1953

No deed of absolute conveyance of land or any conveyance, absolute or otherwise, of minerals or mineral rights shall be recorded by the county recorder until:

(A) The conveyance presented to the recorder bears the stamp of the county auditor stating the conveyance has been examined and the grantor has complied with section 319.202 of the Revised Code;

(B) Such conveyance has been presented to the county auditor, and by the county auditor indorsed “transferred,” or “transfer not necessary.”

Before any real estate, the title to which has passed under the laws of descent, is transferred from the name of the ancestor to the heir at law or next of kin of such ancestor, or to any grantee of such heir or next of kin; and before any deed or conveyance of real estate made by any such heir or next of kin is presented to or filed for record by the recorder, the heir or next of kin, or that person’s grantee, agent, or attorney shall present to the auditor the affidavit of such heir or next of kin, or of two persons resident of this state, each of whom has personal knowledge of the facts. Such affidavit shall set forth the date of the ancestor’s death, and the place of residence at the time of death; the fact that the ancestor died intestate; the names, ages, and addresses, so far as known and can be ascertained, of each of such ancestor’s heirs at law and next of kin, who, by the ancestor’s death, inherited such real estate, the relationship of each to the ancestor, and the part or portion of such real estate inherited by each. Such transfers shall be made by the auditor in accordance with the statement contained in the affidavit, and the auditor shall indorse upon the deed or conveyance the fact that such transfer was made by affidavit. The affidavit shall be filed with the recorder of the county in which such real estate is situated, at or before the time such deed or conveyance is filed with the recorder, and shall be recorded by the recorder of the county in the record of deeds and indexed in the general index of deeds in the recorder’s office, in the name of such ancestor as grantor and of each such heir or next of kin as grantee, in the same manner as if such names occurred in a deed of conveyance from the ancestor to such heirs at law. The recorder shall receive the same fees for such indexing and recording as provided by section 317.32 of the Revised Code.

(C) The record of such affidavit shall, in the trial of any cause, so far as competent, be prima-facie evidence.

(D) No county recorder shall record a conveyance if the indorsement, indorsements, or stamps of indorsement of a county auditor indicating compliance with section 319.202 of the Revised Code on the conveyance are in whole or in part defaced, illegible, or incomplete.

Effective Date: 03-18-1997

The county recorder shall not record any lease, deed, or other conveyance of lots or lands belonging to any university keeping transfer books, unless such instrument is indorsed by the president or other proper officer of such university, showing that such instrument has been transferred on such books.

Effective Date: 10-01-1953

(A) Upon request of any discharged member of the armed forces of the United States and presentation of the member’s discharge, the county recorder shall record the discharge in a book to be furnished by the board of county commissioners for that purpose. There shall be no fee for the recording. The record of discharge, or a certified copy of the record, shall be received in evidence in all cases where the original discharge would be received.

(B) Upon application by a person whose discharge has been recorded pursuant to this section, the county recorder shall, without fee, expunge the person’s record of discharge, expunge the person’s separation program number or separation code from the person’s record of discharge and from any of the person’s other service-related documents that have been recorded, or expunge the person’s social security number from the person’s record of discharge and from any of the person’s other service-related documents that have been recorded. The application shall be in the following form:

“APPLICATION FOR EXPUNGEMENT OF

DISCHARGE RECORD

I, ...... (Name of Applicant), the undersigned, hereby request the County Recorder of the County of …......... (Name of County), state of Ohio, to expunge my …..... (Insert Record of Discharge, Separation Program Number or Separation Code from my Record of Discharge and other service-related documents, or Social Security Number from my Record of Discharge and other service-related documents).

Dated this ….... day of …...., .....

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

(Signature of Applicant)

Sworn to and subscribed before me by …..... (Name of Applicant) on …...., .....

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

Notary Public

My commission expires …..., ....”

(C) As used in this section:

(1) “Separation code” or “separation program number” means the coded number or numbers used to specify the reasons for a person’s separation from active duty, as contained in one of the following:

(a) Regarding a separation code, as contained in line 23 or 26 of a veteran’s discharge paper, United States department of defense form DD-214;

(b) Regarding a separation program number, as contained in line 9 (c) or line 11 (c) of a veteran’s discharge paper, under prior versions of United States department of defense form DD-214.

(2) “Service-related document” means any United States department of defense form DD-215 or DD-220, or any National Guard Bureau form NGB-22 or NGB-22A.

(D) Upon the request of any person who served during World War I or World War II as a member of any armed force of the government of Poland or Czechoslovakia and participated while so serving in armed conflict with an enemy of the United States and who has been a citizen of the United States for at least ten years, and the presentation of the person’s discharge, the county recorder shall record the person’s discharge in a book to be furnished by the board of county commissioners for that purpose. No fee shall be charged for the recording. The record, or a certified copy of it, shall be received in evidence in all cases where the original would be received.

Effective Date: 09-27-2002

The county recorder shall be the custodian of all records which are provided for the county and furnished under the laws of this state, providing for the registration of the graves of all persons who served in any war in which the United States had a part and who were honorably discharged from the United States army, navy, or marine or nurse corps. The recorder shall provide the necessary and proper equipment to preserve and protect such records and they shall be available for public examination at all times.

On proper request from any duly constituted and authorized veterans’ organization, providing such request is made at least thirty days prior to Memorial day of each year, the recorder shall furnish such organization a list of all veterans’ grave locations within the county, giving the name, section, lot, and grave number or location in the cemetery, as designated by the request.

Effective Date: 07-20-1984

Upon the presentation of any instrument of writing for filing or record, the county recorder shall indorse thereon the fee charged by him for filing or recording such instrument, and also enter such fee upon the margin of the folio upon which the filing or recording of such instrument is entered.

Effective Date: 10-01-1953

On demand and tender of the proper fees, the county recorder shall furnish to any person an accurate, certified copy of any record in his office, and affix his official seal thereto. The recorder shall issue, without charge, upon the request of any discharged member of the armed forces, one certified copy or one certified photostatic copy of the recorded record of discharge, with the official seal of the county recorder affixed thereto.

Any certified copy of any record, document, or map and any transcription of records, required or permitted to be made by the recorder, may be made by any method provided for the making of records.

Effective Date: 10-01-1953

No county recorder, deputy, or employee of such recorder, shall take the acknowledgment of any instrument required to be filed or recorded in his office.

Effective Date: 10-01-1953

When the records in the county recorder’s office, or any part of them, become defaced or injured, the recorder, when directed to do so by the board of county commissioners, shall transcribe them into new books, which shall be as valid as the original record, and transcripts from the new books shall be received and taken as of the same force and effect.

Effective Date: 10-01-1953

When any of the records of a county are destroyed in whole or in part, a map, plat, deed, conveyance, mortgage, power of attorney, or other instrument in writing, or record in any proceeding authorized by law to be recorded, which affects real estate in the county, or the continuing rights of parties to such record, and of which the original or exemplification thereof has been recorded, such original, or exemplification, or a certified copy of the former record may be recorded in the proper office for it. In re-recording it, the officer shall record the certificate of the previous record with date of filing for record appearing on the original or certified certificate so recorded, which shall be held as the date of the recording of the instrument to which it is attached. Certified copies of records authorized by this section to be made shall have the same force and effect as evidence as certified copies of the original record.

Effective Date: 10-01-1953

When any instrument or record mentioned in section 317.30 of the Revised Code is presented to the county recorder or other proper custodian of such records, he shall forthwith record and index it in the same manner as provided for in the original recording. A competent person shall compare such record with the instrument so recorded, and, if correctly recorded, certify on the margin of the page upon which such record has been made the correctness of it.

Effective Date: 10-01-1953

The county recorder shall charge and collect the following fees, to include base fees for the recorder’s services and housing trust fund fees, collected pursuant to section 317.36 of the Revised Code:

(A) For recording and indexing an instrument when the photocopy or any similar process is employed, a base fee of fourteen dollars for the first two pages and a housing trust fund fee of fourteen dollars, and a base fee of four dollars and a housing trust fund fee of four dollars for each subsequent page, size eight and one-half inches by fourteen inches, or fraction of a page, including the caption page, of such instrument;

(B) For certifying a photocopy from the record previously recorded, a base fee of one dollar and a housing trust fund fee of one dollar per page, size eight and one-half inches by fourteen inches, or fraction of a page; for each certification where the recorder’s seal is required, except as to instruments issued by the armed forces of the United States, a base fee of fifty cents and a housing trust fund fee of fifty cents;

(C) For manual or typewritten recording of assignment or satisfaction of mortgage or lease or any other marginal entry, a base fee of four dollars and a housing trust fund fee of four dollars;

(D) For entering any marginal reference by separate recorded instrument, a base fee of two dollars and a housing trust fund fee of two dollars for each marginal reference set out in that instrument, in addition to the fees set forth in division (A) of this section;

(E) For indexing in the real estate mortgage records, pursuant to section 1309.519 of the Revised Code, financing statements covering crops growing or to be grown, timber to be cut, minerals or the like, including oil and gas, accounts subject to section 1309.301 of the Revised Code, or fixture filings made pursuant to section 1309.334 of the Revised Code, a base fee of two dollars and a housing trust fund fee of two dollars for each name indexed;

(F) For recording manually any plat not exceeding six lines, a base fee of two dollars and a housing trust fund fee of two dollars, and for each additional line, a base fee of ten cents and a housing trust fund fee of ten cents;

(G) For filing zoning resolutions, including text and maps, in the office of the recorder as required under sections 303.11 and 519.11 of the Revised Code, a base fee of fifty dollars and a housing trust fund fee of fifty dollars, regardless of the size or length of the resolutions;

(H) For filing zoning amendments, including text and maps, in the office of the recorder as required under sections 303.12 and 519.12 of the Revised Code, a base fee of ten dollars and a housing trust fund fee of ten dollars for the first page and a base fee of four dollars and a housing trust fund fee of four dollars for each additional page;

(I) For photocopying a document, other than at the time of recording and indexing as provided for in division (A) of this section, a base fee of one dollar and a housing trust fund fee of one dollar per page, size eight and one-half inches by fourteen inches, or fraction thereof;

(J) For local facsimile transmission of a document, a base fee of one dollar and a housing trust fund fee of one dollar per page, size eight and one-half inches by fourteen inches, or fraction thereof; for long distance facsimile transmission of a document, a base fee of two dollars and a housing trust fund fee of two dollars per page, size eight and one-half inches by fourteen inches, or fraction thereof;

(K) For recording a declaration executed pursuant to section 2133.02 of the Revised Code or a durable power of attorney for health care executed pursuant to section 1337.12 of the Revised Code, or both a declaration and a durable power of attorney for health care, a base fee of at least fourteen dollars but not more than twenty dollars and a housing trust fund fee of at least fourteen dollars but not more than twenty dollars.

In any county in which the recorder employs the photostatic or any similar process for recording maps, plats, or prints the recorder shall determine, charge, and collect for the recording or rerecording of any map, plat, or print, a base fee of five cents and a housing trust fund fee of five cents per square inch, for each square inch of the map, plat, or print filed for that recording or rerecording, with a minimum base fee of twenty dollars and a minimum housing trust fund fee of twenty dollars; for certifying a copy from the record, a base fee of two cents and a housing trust fund fee of two cents per square inch of the record, with a minimum base fee of two dollars and a minimum housing trust fund fee of two dollars.

The fees provided in this section shall be paid upon the presentation of the instruments for record or upon the application for any certified copy of the record, except that the payment of fees associated with the filing and recording of, or the copying of, notices of internal revenue tax liens and notices of other liens in favor of the United States as described in division (A) of section 317.09 of the Revised Code and certificates of discharge or release of those liens, shall be governed by section 317.09 of the Revised Code, and the payment of fees for providing copies of instruments conveying or extinguishing agricultural easements to the office of farmland preservation in the department of agriculture under division (H) of section 5301.691 of the Revised Code shall be governed by that division.

Effective Date: 08-01-2003; 04-15-2005

(A) Not later than the first day of October of any year, the county recorder may submit to the board of county commissioners a proposal for the acquisition or maintenance of micrographic or other equipment or for contract services. The proposal shall be in writing and shall include at least the following:

(1) A request that an amount not to exceed four dollars of the fee collected for filing or recording a document for which a fee is charged as required by division (A) of section 317.32 of the Revised Code or by section 1309.525 or 5310.15 of the Revised Code be placed in the county treasury and designated as “general fund moneys to supplement the equipment needs of the county recorder”;

(2) The number of years, not to exceed five, for which the county recorder requests that the amount requested under division (A)(1) of this section be given the designation specified in that division;

(3) An estimate of the total amount of fees that will be generated for filing or recording a document for which a fee is charged as required by division (A) of section 317.32 of the Revised Code or by section 1309.525 or 5310.15 of the Revised Code;

(4) An estimate of the total amount of fees for filing or recording a document for which a fee is charged as required by division (A) of section 317.32 of the Revised Code or by section 1309.525 or 5310.15 of the Revised Code that will be designated as “general fund moneys to supplement the equipment needs of the county recorder” if the request submitted under division (A)(1) of this section is approved by the board of county commissioners.

The proposal may include a description or summary of the micrographic or other equipment, or maintenance thereof, that the county recorder proposes to acquire, or the nature of contract services that the county recorder proposes to utilize. If the county recorder has no immediate plans for the acquisition of equipment or services, the proposal shall explain the general needs of the office for equipment and shall state that the intent of the proposal is to reserve funds for the office’s future equipment needs.

(B) The board of county commissioners shall receive the proposal and the clerk shall enter it on the journal. At the same time, the board shall establish a date, not sooner than fifteen nor later than thirty days after the board’s receipt of the proposal, on which to meet with the recorder to review the proposal.

(C) Not later than the fifteenth day of December of any year in which a proposal is submitted under division (A) of this section, the board of county commissioners shall approve, reject, or modify the proposal and notify the county recorder of its action on the proposal. If the board rejects or modifies the proposal, it shall make a written finding that the request is for a purpose other than for acquiring, leasing, or otherwise obtaining micrographic or other equipment or contracts for use by the county recorder or that the amount requested is excessive as determined by the board. If the board approves the proposal, it shall request the establishment of a special fund under section 5705.12 of the Revised Code for any fees designated as “general fund moneys to supplement the equipment needs of the county recorder.”

(D) The acquisition or maintenance of micrographic or other equipment and the acquisition of contract services shall be specifically governed by sections 307.80 to 307.806, 307.84 to 307.846, 307.86 to 307.92, and 5705.38, and by division (D) of section 5705.41 of the Revised Code.

Effective Date: 07-01-2001

Notwithstanding any contrary provision of section 317.32 or Chapter 1337. of the Revised Code, the county recorder shall not charge a fee to any member of the armed forces of the United States who presents for recording a military power of attorney executed pursuant to section 574(a) of the “National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 1994,” 107 Stat. 1674 (1993), 10 U.S.C. 1044b.

Effective Date: 05-18-2005

(A) Except as otherwise provided in division (B) of this section, if a county recorder refuses to accept a deed or other instrument of writing presented to the recorder for recording, the legal fee for recording it being paid or tendered; or refuses to give a receipt therefor, when required; or fails to number consecutively all deeds or other instruments of writing upon receipt; or fails to index a deed or other instrument of writing, by the morning of the day next after it is filed for record; or neglects, without reasonable cause, to record a deed or other instrument of writing within twenty days after it is received for record; or demands and receives a greater fee for the recorder’s services than that allowed by law; or knowingly endorses on a deed or other instrument of writing a different date from that on which it was presented for record, or a different date from that on which it was recorded; or refuses to make out and certify a copy of any record in the recorder’s office, when demanded, the recorder’s legal fee for the copy being paid or tendered; or purposely destroys, defaces, or injures any book, record, or seal belonging to the recorder’s office, or any deed or other instrument of writing deposited in the recorder’s office for record, or negligently suffers it to be destroyed, defaced, or injured; or does or omits any other act, contrary to sections 317.01 to 317.33 of the Revised Code, the recorder shall be liable solely on the recorder’s bond to any party harmed by the improper conduct.

(B) If a county recorder, acting under division (B) of section 317.13 of the Revised Code, improperly refuses to record an instrument of writing in a manner that is not described in division (A)(6)(b) of section 2744.03 of the Revised Code, the recorder shall not be personally liable on account of the improper refusal and the surety that issued the recorder’s bond shall not have a right of subrogation against the recorder on account of a claim made on the recorder’s bond as a result of the improper refusal.

Effective Date: 03-14-2002

No county recorder shall record a map or plan of a subdivision of a lot or ground without the approval or certification of such map or plan by the planning commission, platting commissioner, legislative authority, engineer, or other board or officer.

Effective Date: 10-01-1953

(A) The county recorder shall record the plans and drawings filed with him under section 9.56 of the Revised Code and shall make them available for public inspection.

(B) For his services, the county recorder shall charge for photocopying ten dollars for the first two pages and two dollars for each page thereafter.

Effective Date: 05-01-1992

(A) The county recorder shall collect the low- and moderate-income housing trust fund fee as specified in sections 317.32, 1563.42, 1702.59, 2505.13, 4141.23, 4509.60, 5111.022, 5310.15, 5719.07, 5727.56, 5733.18, 5733.22, 6101.09, and 6115.09 of the Revised Code. The amount of any housing trust fund fee the recorder is authorized to collect is equal to the amount of any base fee the recorder is authorized to collect for services. The housing trust fund fee shall be collected in addition to the base fee.

(B) The recorder shall certify the amounts collected as housing trust fund fees pursuant to division (A) of this section into the county treasury as housing trust fund fees to be paid to the treasurer of state pursuant to section 319.63 of the Revised Code.

Effective Date: 08-01-2003; 10-01-2005

A county recorder, upon request, may distribute to any person free of charge a copy of the printed form of the declaration described in section 2133.07 of the Revised Code and a copy of the printed form of the durable power of attorney for health care described in section 1337.17 of the Revised Code.

Effective Date: 11-06-1996

(A) The county recorder shall display at all times, in a conspicuous place in the office of the recorder, a printed card that shall read substantially as follows:

“WARNING

Documents recorded in the recorder’s office generally are considered to be public records. Other persons have access to the information contained in recorded documents.”

(B) If the county recorder fails to post a card in accordance with division (A) of this section, the county recorder is not liable in a civil action for injury, death, or loss to person or property that allegedly results from that failure.

Effective Date: 09-27-2002

Whoever violates section 317.34 of the Revised Code shall be fined not less than one hundred nor more than five hundred dollars.

Effective Date: 01-01-1974