CHAPTER 5309: REGISTRATION OF LAND TITLES

As used in this chapter and Chapter 5310. of the Revised Code:

(A) “Certificate of title” includes all memorials and notations noted under a certificate of title.

(B) “Trust deed in the nature of a mortgage” is a mortgage and subject to the same rules as a mortgage.

(C) “Probate court” has the same meaning as in section 2101.01 of the Revised Code.

(D) “Registered land” means any land registered under this chapter and Chapter 5310. of the Revised Code.

(E) “Housing accommodations” and “restrictive covenant” have the same meanings as in section 4112.01 of the Revised Code.

Effective Date: 03-30-1999

Concurrent jurisdiction, except as otherwise provided, is hereby conferred upon the court of common pleas and the probate court in all matters arising under sections 5309.02 to 5310.21, inclusive, of the Revised Code. The probate court shall have all the powers at law and in equity of a court of general jurisdiction as to such matters. In counties having three or more judges of the court of common pleas, such judges may select one or more from their own number who shall act as judges in land registration cases and matters. If the judges so selected are unable to perform the duties on account of interest, absence, or other disability, or in case of emergency, any other judge of the court of common pleas for the same county may perform them. The court of common pleas in any county may appoint one or more deputy clerks to assist the clerk in attending to land registration cases and matters. Such court may inquire into the condition of the title to all interests in land, legal or equitable, or any lien, charge, or encumbrance thereon, and make all orders, judgments, and decrees necessary to settle, as against all persons known and unknown, in being or unborn, such title or interest, and all liens and encumbrances existing therein, and their order and preference, and remove clouds from such title and forever quiet and settle the title.

Effective Date: 10-01-1953

To carry out sections 5309.02 to 5310.21, inclusive, of the Revised Code, the county recorder may administer oaths, issue subpoenas, summons, and other process, serve and cause notices to be served, enforce the attendance of and examine witnesses, compel the production of papers and evidence, order surveys and appoint competent surveyors to make them, and conduct hearings and make such orders as are appropriate and in accordance with such sections.

Effective Date: 10-01-1953

(A) Notwithstanding any provision of this chapter or Chapter 5310. of the Revised Code to the contrary, and in accordance with the rules adopted by the county recorder under division (C) of this section, the recorder may perform any of the following functions by nonpaper means:

(1) Transcribe a certified copy of a decree of registration sent by the clerk of a probate court pursuant to section 5309.25 of the Revised Code;

(2) Enter any memorial, notation, or memorandum pertaining to registered land;

(3) Register a subsequent transfer of registered land and carry forward in connection with the registration any memorial, notation, or memorandum;

(4) Enter, index, and, if applicable, file any registered land record, including, but not limited to, documents relating to cancellations, releases, discharges, or satisfactions;

(5) Maintain each of the following:

(a) The register of titles kept pursuant to section 5309.25 of the Revised Code;

(b) The records of surveys of registered land kept pursuant to section 5309.32 of the Revised Code;

(c) The tract indexes, if any, required by the board of county commissioners pursuant to section 5309.33 of the Revised Code and the alphabetical indexes kept pursuant to that section;

(d) The record of trusts and exceptional estates in registered land kept pursuant to section 5309.35 of the Revised Code;

(e) The entry book kept pursuant to section 5309.38 of the Revised Code;

(f) The records of liens on registered land kept pursuant to section 5309.50 of the Revised Code and the record of leases on registered land kept pursuant to that section.

(6) Fulfill any other requirement of this chapter or Chapter 5310. of the Revised Code concerning the recorder’s maintenance of registered land records.

(B) If a county recorder maintains registered land records by nonpaper means under division (A) of this section, all of the following shall apply:

(1) The recorder shall keep and have readily available the machines and equipment necessary to permit the inspection of, or to reproduce copies of, the registered land records maintained at the recorder’s office, to fulfill requests made under section 149.43 of the Revised Code.

(2) Photographs, microphotographs, films, or microfilms shall be placed and kept in conveniently accessible, fireproof, and insulated files, cabinets, or containers.

(3) Notwithstanding any rules adopted by a county records commission under section 149.38 of the Revised Code specifying the length of time original paper records must be retained in that format, the recorder may dispose of the register of titles kept in book format and any other original paper registered land record provided for in section 5309.25 of the Revised Code after it has been transcribed, registered, entered, indexed, or filed by nonpaper means under division (A) of this section, in accordance with the rules adopted under division (C) of this section. The recorder shall adhere to all other applicable records retention rules adopted by a county records commission under section 149.38 of the Revised Code.

(C)(1) A county recorder choosing to maintain registered land records by nonpaper means under division (A) of this section shall adopt rules for implementing this section. These rules shall be subject to approval by the board of county commissioners and shall do all of the following:

(a) Specify the type of nonpaper means that the county recorder will use to perform registered land functions;

(b) Identify the registered land functions that the county recorder will perform, and the registered land records that the county recorder will maintain, by nonpaper means;

(c) Specify the form of the record maintained by nonpaper means that will be deemed the original certificate of title under division (B) of section 5309.25 of the Revised Code;

(d) Provide for preserving, safekeeping, using, examining, exhibiting, projecting, and enlarging photographs, microphotographs, films, and microfilms;

(e) Provide for secure storage and maintenance of nonpaper records, including, but not limited to, requiring daily backups of records stored on computer to reflect daily changes made to those records;

(f) Specify the manner in which the recorder will sign an original certificate of title or other registered land record that is entered, indexed, or filed by nonpaper means;

(g) Provide for any other policies, procedures, or practices necessary for the maintenance of registered land records by nonpaper means.

(2) All registered land functions of a county recorder and all registered land records maintained by nonpaper means under division (A) of this section shall comply with the otherwise applicable requirements of this chapter and Chapter 5310. of the Revised Code.

(3) Any rules adopted under division (C)(1) of this section dealing with secure storage and computer or other security processes for nonpaper records may be approved in an executive session of a board of county commissioners.

(D) As used in this section and sections 5309.24, 5309.25, 5309.95, 5309.96, and 5309.98 of the Revised Code, “nonpaper means” means at least one process from each of the following categories, which process provides a medium of copying, recording, or reproducing applicable registered land records, including, but not limited to, memoranda, certificates, affidavits, or decrees:

(1) Any photostatic, photographic, miniature photographic, film, microfilm, or microphotographic process;

(2) Perforated tape, magnetic tape, or other magnetic means, electronic data processing or other electronic means, machine readable means, or graphic or video display.

Effective Date: 10-29-2003

The court of common pleas in each county shall appoint, subject to removal at any time by said court, one or more examiners of titles, who shall be officers of the court and competent attorneys at law with skill and experience in the examination of titles to real estate. Each examiner, before entering on the discharge of his duties, shall give a bond payable to this state for the use of whom it may concern, in an amount and with such sureties as are approved by a judge of said court, but in no case less than one thousand nor more than ten thousand dollars, conditioned for the honest and faithful performance of his duties and the faithful accounting for and turning over all papers, documents, money, or property which may come into his possession by virtue of his appointment. Such bond shall be filed with the clerk of the court of common pleas and recorded and shall then be deposited with the county treasurer who shall receipt to the clerk therefor by indorsement on the record of such bond. Said examiners may administer oaths, take testimony and other evidence, and generally exercise all powers and perform and duties of masters of chancery. No examiner of titles shall in any way represent any party in interest in any matters in any way relating to proceedings to register title to land, or any interest therein, or lien or charge thereon, or in any suit or proceeding relating to registered land.

Effective Date: 10-01-1953

The persons who, singly or collectively, claim to own and to be seized of, or to have the power of appointing or disposing of, the legal or equitable estate in fee in and to the whole of any parcel of land, may personally or through an attorney in fact, authorized by an instrument signed, acknowledged, and recorded as a deed, have their title to that estate in that land, or the whole title to that land, registered in the county where the land is situated. A corporation may apply by its agent or attorney, authorized by vote of its board of directors, and any person under disability may apply by the person’s legal guardian or trustee. All persons in whose behalf the application is made shall be named as the applicants or plaintiffs, except in cases mentioned in section 5309.66 of the Revised Code.

Effective Date: 02-01-2002

No estate less than a fee simple and no mortgage, lien, or charge of any kind shall be registered unless the fee in possession, remainder, or reversion or other character of fee in and to the land has been registered first or is registered at the same time. If the estate of the applicant is subject to any outstanding lesser estate, including life estates, estates for years, conditional limitations, executory devises or uses, springing or shifting uses, or other future estate, interest, or limitation, whether vested or contingent, is subject to any private easement or other estate or interest of any kind, or is subject to any mortgage, lien, or charge, each lesser estate, private easement, other estate or interest, mortgage, lien, or charge shall be noted on the certificate of title and duplicate of the certificate of title, except taxes not due, leases for less than three years, and restrictive covenants described in division (B) of section 5309.24 of the Revised Code. The title to the estate so registered and certified shall be subject only to the lesser estates, private easements, other estates or interests, mortgages, liens, and charges so noted, except as provided in section 5309.28 of the Revised Code. A perpetual leasehold, for purposes of this chapter and Chapter 5310. of the Revised Code, shall be treated as an estate in fee, and the possible reversion or remainder in fee under the leasehold shall be treated as the lesser estate.

No parcel of land that lies partly in two or more counties shall be registered if one or more of the counties in which the parcel lies have abolished their land registration systems.

Effective Date: 03-30-1999

No title derived from any tax sale or tax deed may be registered unless it appears that title under said tax sale or tax deed has been established and confirmed, or acquired, by a valid judgment or decree of a court of competent jurisdiction, or that the applicant and those from whom the applicant claims title have been in the actual, undisputed, and adverse possession of the land under such title for at least twenty-one years and have paid all taxes and assessments legally levied thereon for at least ten successive years next preceding the filing of the application.

Effective Date: 10-01-1953

Application to register the title to land or to any interest therein shall be made by petition, as in the commencement of a civil action, filed in the probate court or court of common pleas of the county in which the land is situated. When the application is filed, the clerk of the probate court or the clerk of the court of common pleas shall forthwith file in the office of the county recorder of said county and in the office of the recorder of each county in which any part of the land lies a memorandum stating that application for registration has been filed, the date and place of filing, and a copy of the description of the land contained in the application. Such memorandum shall be recorded and indexed by the recorder.

The applicant may include in his application all lands in the county owned by him in fee, but when more than one distinct parcel of land is included, each separate parcel shall be separately described and numbered and the allegations and statements of fact made in reference to it as provided in section 5309.09 of the Revised Code. A public or private way, when the applicant owns the fee subject thereto, shall not be regarded as separating land into parcels.

If more than one person joins in the application, each person must have a common and like interest in all the property included therein.

If any separate parcel of land lies partly in two or more counties, the application may be filed in the probate court or the court of common pleas of any of such counties and the title registered in each county in which any part of such parcel of land lies, under the decree obtained in the court in which such application is filed.

Effective Date: 10-01-1953

When an interest in title to registered land is vested in two or more persons as a survivorship tenancy and one of the survivorship tenants dies, the interest of the decedent shall be transferred by presenting to the county auditor and filing with the county recorder either a certificate of transfer as provided in section 2113.61 of the Revised Code, or an affidavit accompanied by a certified copy of a death certificate and by an owner’s duplicate of the relevant certificate of title. The affidavit shall certify that the owner of a survivorship tenancy interest in the title to a parcel or parcels of registered land has died and recite the names of the surviving tenants, the current residence address of each surviving tenant, the date of death of the decedent, a description of the land, and the number of the certificate of title where the land is registered. The county recorder shall register the title in the surviving tenants, upon a new folium in the register of titles; enter all memorials, notations, and memoranda to which the land is subject at the time of transfer; and issue a new certificate of title to the surviving tenants setting forth all of the information as to each required to be shown pursuant to section 5309.40 of the Revised Code.

Effective Date: 08-19-1992

(A) As used in this section:

“Estate” has the same meaning as in section 5111.11 of the Revised Code.

“Medicaid estate recovery program” means the program instituted under section 5111.11 of the Revised Code.

(B) The administrator of the medicaid estate recovery program shall prescribe a form on which a surviving tenant under a survivorship tenancy or such a surviving tenant’s representative is to indicate both of the following:

(1) Whether the deceased survivorship tenant was either of the following:

(a) A decedent subject to the medicaid estate recovery program;

(b) The spouse of a decedent subject to the medicaid estate recovery program.

(2) Whether the registered land under a survivorship tenancy was part of the estate of a decedent subject to the medicaid estate recovery program.

(C) A county recorder shall obtain a properly completed form prescribed under division (B) of this section from the surviving tenant under a survivorship tenancy or the surviving tenant’s representative and send a copy of the form to the administrator of the medicaid estate recovery program before registering the title in the surviving tenants under section 5309.081 of the Revised Code.

Effective Date: 2007 HB119 09-29-2007

The application to register the title to land or to any interest in land shall be signed and sworn to by each applicant or by an authorized person for each applicant. In addition to any other appropriate, relevant, and material matter, the application shall set forth substantially all of the following:

(A) The full name, age, place of residence, and post-office address of the applicant or owner, the full name, place of residence, and post-office address of any person acting on behalf of the applicant or owner, the name of the applicant or owner as it appears in the muniments of title, whether the applicant or owner is now married or single and, if married, the full name of the applicant’s or owner’s spouse, whether the applicant or owner has been previously married and, if so, when and by what means the marriage relation was terminated and, if by divorce, dissolution of marriage, or annulment, when, where, and by what court the divorce, dissolution of marriage, or annulment was granted, and what interest in or lien upon the land described in the application a former spouse has; if the application is by a guardian or trustee, the name of the guardian or trustee, how, when, where, and by what court the guardian or trustee was appointed, the full name, nature of disability, and post-office address of the ward, and with whom the ward resides; or if made by a corporation, the names and addresses of its president, secretary, and managing officers, when and where it was incorporated, and its principal place of doing business;

(B) An accurate and full description of the land as it appears in the muniments of title of the applicant or owner, if it is there so described, or otherwise a pertinent description from which the land can be definitely and accurately located; and, in all cases, an accurate plat of the land that is drawn to a scale and shows the lines, corners, monuments, courses and distances, streets, public ways or places, highways, private ways, and adjoining lands with names of owners, streams, and other important objects connected with those lands;

(C) A description of the buildings and improvements on the land;

(D) The applicant’s or owner’s interest in the land, buildings, and improvements and the source of the applicant’s or owner’s title;

(E) For what purpose the land, buildings, or improvements are occupied or used and, if occupied or used by any person other than the applicant or owner, the name, place of residence, and post-office address of each occupant or user and what interest each occupant or user has or claims in the land, buildings, or improvements;

(F) The nature, amount, date, maturity, and volume and page of record of all apparent or real liens, charges, and encumbrances of any kind on the land, buildings, or improvements or any part of the land, buildings, or improvements, including, but not limited to, mortgages, deeds of trust as security, mechanics’ liens, judgments, decrees, and executions, home and foreign, the name, place of residence, and post-office address of each holder of the liens, charges, and encumbrances and of each person shown by the records or known to at any time have had an interest in any of the liens, charges, or encumbrances, and which of the apparent liens, charges, and encumbrances are clouds upon the applicant’s or owner’s title; and the style, docket number, and character of all suits pending by or against the applicant or owner or any of the applicant’s or owner’s predecessors in title in any court of record, the judgments in which might affect in any way the title of the applicant or owner to, or might become liens upon, the lands described in the application. On and after the effective date of this amendment, an application shall not set forth pursuant to this division any restrictive covenant that appears to apply to the land, buildings, or improvements or any part of the land, buildings, or improvements, 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.

(G) Whether any other person to the knowledge or information of the applicant or owner or as shown by the records has or claims any interest in the lands, buildings, or improvements, either in law or equity, apparent or real, or in possession, remainder, reversion, expectancy, or otherwise; the name, place of residence, and post-office address of each person of that nature and the nature of the apparent or real interest so held or claimed; and which of those apparent interests are clouds upon the applicant’s or owner’s title. On and after the effective date of this amendment, an application shall not set forth pursuant to this division any restrictive covenant that appears to apply to the land, buildings, or improvements or any part of the land, buildings, or improvements, 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.

(H) The name, place of residence, and post-office address of each owner and of each occupant of the adjoining lands so far as shown by the records and so far as the applicant or owner, upon diligent inquiry and research, is able to ascertain, and the extent and character of those adjoining lands;

(I) If this state, any political subdivision of the state, any public authority, or any public body corporate will in any way be affected by a decree of the probate court determining or ordering the title of the applicant or owner to be registered, the state, political subdivision, public authority, or public body corporate shall be made a defendant to the application, and proper allegations shall be made as to its interest in the case.

(J) If the applicant or owner desires to have the boundaries of any street, public way, private way, or highway adjacent to or located within the land determined, a statement to that effect, describing the street, public way, private way, or highway, the proper public authority having charge and control of that street, public way, or highway, and the persons interested in that private way. The proper public authorities and interested persons shall be made defendants to the application and, as applicable, their places of residence and post-office addresses shall be given.

(K) Any further statements and allegations that are required by this chapter or Chapter 5310. of the Revised Code or that may be required by general or special rule or order of the court in which the application is filed;

(L) Any other material facts within the knowledge or information of the applicant or owner relating to the title or possession of the lands, buildings, or improvements, to any estate in the lands, buildings, or improvements, or to any lien, charge, or encumbrance on the land, buildings, or improvements. On and after the effective date of this amendment, an application shall not set forth pursuant to this division any restrictive covenant that appears to apply to the land, buildings, or improvements, 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.

(M) A prayer that all persons mentioned in the application, whether by name or other designation, and all other persons may be made and treated as defendants to the application and properly brought before the court, that the title of the applicant or owner may be settled and determined, that all clouds may be removed from the title, that the title may be ordered to be registered as set out in the application, and that all lesser or other estates and interests in and all liens, charges, and encumbrances upon the land or any part of the land may be settled and determined by the court and, subject to division (B) of section 5309.24 of the Revised Code, may be ordered to be registered.

Effective Date: 03-30-1999

If the application to register the title to land or to any interest in land is made by a married person, the spouse of that person shall signify the spouse’s assent to the registration as prayed for by endorsement on the application acknowledged as a deed, or by a separate instrument so acknowledged and filed with the application. If the spouses are separated and living apart, or either one refuses to consent to the application of the other, the assent of the nonapplicant spouse is not necessary, and in that case the nonapplicant spouse shall be treated and named as a party defendant to the application.

Effective Date: 02-01-2002

If the application to register the title to land or to any interest therein is made by a nonresident of the state, he shall, in his petition, or in a separate paper to be filed in the case, give the name, residence, and post-office address of someone residing in the state, upon whom, as his agent, service of notice can be made in relation to any matter arising under or in connection with said application, and agree that such service on such agent shall have the same effect as if made on the applicant or owner personally within the state. Upon the death, removal, or incapacity of such agent for service, such nonresident shall appoint another in his stead and in default thereof the application may be dismissed.

Effective Date: 10-01-1953

The applicant desiring to register the title to land or to any interest therein shall be regarded as plaintiff and all other persons named in the application and to be affected by the decree shall by name be entered in the caption of the petition and treated as defendants, and all persons not so named, whether mentioned in the application or not, shall be included and considered as defendants under the designation, which shall appear in the caption of the petition, “all other persons, if any, having any right or interest in or lien upon the lands, or any part thereof, described herein.”

When the names of any persons or heirs or devisees of a deceased person, necessary or proper to be made parties defendant to an application, are unknown to the applicant after diligent inquiry and research, the character and extent of which shall be stated, or if the applicant is unable to ascertain whether a person who is a necessary party is living or dead, or if dead whether he died testate or intestate, the applicant shall so state and allege in his application or any amendment thereof and such persons and their heirs or devisees shall thereupon be included and considered as defendants to such application under the term and designation, “all other persons, if any, having any right or interest in or lien upon land or any part thereof described herein,” or under the designation, “unknown heirs, and devisees of . . . . . . . . . .” as the case may require, and notified by publication as provided in section 5309.15 of the Revised Code. When the place of residence or post-office address of any person, whose residence or post-office address is required to be given, is unknown, it shall be so stated and alleged, if the applicant also alleges that upon diligent inquiry and research, stating of what such inquiry and research consisted, he has been unable to ascertain such residence or address. Thereupon such person shall be notified by publication as provided in such section, as one whose residence and post-office address are unknown.

If any person named as a defendant is known by the plaintiff to be under disability of any kind, that fact and the nature thereof, and the name, place of residence, and post-office address of the guardian or trustee of such person shall be stated in the application or an amendment thereof, or reason given for the omission of such information.

The probate court or the court of common pleas may order an application to be amended in any particular, not inconsistent with sections 5309.02 to 5310.21, inclusive, of the Revised Code, but all amendments shall be in writing signed and sworn to the same as the original.

Effective Date: 10-01-1953

After the filing of the application to register the title to land or to any interest therein and before registration, the land described in such application may be dealt with and instruments relating thereto may be recorded and indexed, in the same manner as if no such application had been filed. As soon as an application is disposed of, the clerk of the probate court or the clerk of the court of common pleas shall make a memorandum stating the disposition of the case and shall send it to the county recorder, who shall record and index it with the records of deeds.

Effective Date: 10-01-1953

Immediately after the filing of the application to register the title to land or to any interest therein, the probate court or the court of common pleas shall enter an order referring it to one of the examiners of titles, who shall search the records and investigate all facts stated and all allegations made in the petition, or otherwise brought to his notice. Such examiner shall investigate particularly whether the land or any part thereof is occupied by, or is in the possession, actual or constructive, of any person other than the applicant and if so, by whom, the nature of the occupation or possession, and by what right; and whether the boundaries and monuments or objects called for marking such land, as shown by the record title, appear to be reasonably certain and definite. Such examiner shall file in the case a report on his investigation, concluding with a certificate of his opinion upon the title and the necessity for a resurvey of the land and giving the names, residences, and post-office addresses, if known or ascertainable by reasonable diligence, of any persons in addition to those named in the petition which in the opinion of the examiner are necessary or proper parties to a complete determination of the case and to the settling and determination by the court of all apparent or real interests in or liens or charges upon the lands described in the application or any part thereof. Such persons shall be made additional parties defendant to the application by amendment or by order of the court before the publication of the notice provided for in section 5309.15 of the Revised Code. The examiner may require the applicant to file with him affidavits or other evidence relating to the title. Every report of an examiner shall be based upon a personal inspection and examination of the record or of a certified copy of the record of every instrument or proceeding affecting the title to said land for a period of at least seventy-five years prior to the filing of the application if the record title extends back that far. The clerk of the probate court or the clerk of the court of common pleas shall give notice to the applicant or his attorney of the filing of such report. If the opinion of the examiner is adverse to the applicant, such applicant shall, except in cases provided for in section 5309.66 of the Revised Code, be allowed a reasonable time by the court in which to elect to proceed further or to withdraw his application. The election shall be made in writing and filed with the clerk.

Effective Date: 10-01-1953

After the investigation authorized by section 5309.14 of the Revised Code, if, in the opinion of the examiner of titles, the applicant has a good title as alleged, and proper for registration, or if the applicant after an adverse opinion of the examiner elects to proceed further, the clerk of the probate court or the clerk of the court of common pleas shall, upon the filing of the examiner’s report or the applicant’s election, cause notice of the filing, substance, and prayer of the application to be published once a week for three consecutive weeks in a newspaper, which may be designated by the applicant, published and of general circulation in each county where any portion of the land lies, or if no newspaper is published in any of such counties, then in a newspaper so designated, published, and of general circulation in an adjoining county. The expense of such publication shall be paid by the applicant and taxed as costs in the case. The notice shall be issued by order of the court, attested by the clerk, and shall be in form substantially as follows:

”. . . . . . . . Court of . . . . . . . County, Ohio.

A. B., plaintiff,

vs.

C. D. et al, defendants

APPLICATION TO REGISTER TITLE TO LAND.

To (here insert the names, residences, and addresses of all the defendants so far as known), and to all persons having any interest in or lien or charge upon the lands or any part thereof described herein. You are hereby notified that an application has been filed in said court by ….............. to settle, determine, and remove all clouds from and register such person’s (or such persons’) title in and to, and to settle, determine, and register all lesser or other estates and interests in, and all liens and charges upon, the following described land (insert description).

You are hereby required to answer said application on or before the ….... day of …...., .......... and show cause, if any you have, why the prayer of said application should not be granted. And unless you appear at said court on or before the time aforesaid and make answer or other plea to said application, your default will be recorded, the said application will be taken as confessed, and you will be forever barred from contesting said application or any decree entered thereon.

WITNESS…............. Judge of said Court, this …..... day of …...................., .........

Attest:”

The form of said notice in cases mentioned in section 5309.66 of the Revised Code may be varied as the facts require.

Effective Date: 05-09-2000

The answer day of the notice set forth in section 5309.15 of the Revised Code shall be the third Saturday after the publication is completed. The probate court or the court of common pleas shall, within seven days after the first publication of said notice in a newspaper, cause a copy of such published notice to be served on the defendants by registered letter, mailed by the clerk of the probate court or the clerk of the court of common pleas, with a five day return card thereon, to every defendant named in said notice whose address is given or known.

The court shall cause a copy of the notice attested by the clerk to be posted by the sheriff in a conspicuous place on each parcel of land included in the application, at least fourteen days before the answer day of such notice. Such sheriff’s return shall be proof of such posting. The court may cause additional notice of the application to be given or additional persons to be made parties and served as provided by law in civil actions. The court shall, so far as it considers it possible, require proof of actual notice to all adjoining owners and to all persons resident of the state who appear to be in possession or occupancy of, or to have any interest in or claim to, or lien or charge upon the land, or any part thereof, included in the application. If any registered letter containing such published notice, mailed by the clerk to a defendant named as a resident of the state, is returned undelivered, such notice shall be remailed by the clerk to any other address of such party of which the plaintiff is able to learn and which he shall designate by amendment of his application filed in the case. If there is no other address, or if said letter is again returned undelivered, the clerk shall thereupon, on the praecipe of the plaintiff, issue summons for such defendant as in other cases. Such summons shall be directed to the sheriff of each of the counties in which the plaintiff, in his application or any amendment thereof, states that such defendant resides. Such summons shall have attached thereto an attested copy of said published notice. If said summons and notice are returned unserved because the defendant cannot be found, then such defendant may be regarded as having been served by such published notice as a person whose place of residence and post-office address are unknown. In all cases, whether of original registration or subsequently arising in any way in reference to registered land or any interest in or lien or charge upon it, in which notice is required or may be ordered by the court to be given to parties by the clerk by publishing or mailing, or both, the certificate of the clerk, stating that he has served the notices as required or as directed by the court and stating which of the letters mailed by him containing said notices have been returned to him undelivered, shall be filed in the case before any order or decree is taken or made and shall be proof of such service.

When proof of service of all orders of notice issued and when the probate court or the court of common pleas is satisfied that all necessary defendants are properly before the court, the court shall appoint a disinterested person, other than the examiner of titles by whom the title was examined and reported upon, to act as guardian ad litem for persons under any disability, and for all persons not in being, unascertained, unknown, or out of the state, who may have an interest, which is vested, contingent, in expectancy, or otherwise. The compensation of the guardian under the schedule of fees set forth in section 5310.15 of the Revised Code shall be determined by the court and paid as part of the costs in the case. Such guardian shall file an answer in the case and actively ascertain and protect, so far as is reasonably possible, the interests of all persons for whom he was appointed guardian for the suit and particularly represent, act for, and protect the interests and rights of all persons not in being.

Effective Date: 10-01-1953

Any person who claims an interest in, or who may be affected by the judgment in a land registration case, whether or not named in the notice required by section 5309.15 of the Revised Code, may appear and file an answer or other pleas on or before the answer day, or within such further time as the probate court or the court of common pleas allows. Such answer shall state all objections to the application, shall set forth the interest claimed by the person who files it, and shall be signed and sworn to by him or by a person in his behalf. Any person claiming an interest in the land may by answer or other plea oppose the application for registration of the land as belonging to the plaintiff, or may by cross-petition set up a demand to have the title claimed by the plaintiff registered in the name of the cross-petitioner. If a person answering claims an interest in, or lien upon the property separate from that claimed by the plaintiff, such person may ask to have his title to such interest or lien registered.

Effective Date: 10-01-1953

If no person appears and answers or files other plea to an application in a land registration case within the time allowed, after the appointment of a guardian ad litem and the filing of an answer by him as required in section 5309.17 of the Revised Code, the probate court or the court of common pleas may upon motion of the applicant, no reason to the contrary appearing, order a general default to be recorded and the application to be taken for confessed and a decree to be entered confirming the title of the applicant and ordering registration of such title. The court shall in no case, either upon default or after a hearing, make a final order directing the registration of title to land until there is filed in the case the certificate of an examiner of titles to whom the matter shall be referred for that purpose, stating that all necessary and proper persons to a complete determination of the case have been made parties and properly brought before the court, and that the entry of such order would be correct. The court shall not be bound by the report of such examiner but may require further proof. By the description in the application and published notice, “all persons having any interest in or lien upon the land or any part thereof,” all the world, except defendants personally served, shall be regarded as having been made parties defendant and properly served.

Effective Date: 10-01-1953

If, in any land registration case, an answer is filed raising an issue, the cause shall be set down for hearing on the motion of either party. The probate court or the court of common pleas may refer the cause or any part thereof to one of the examiners of titles as master, to hear the parties and their evidence, and make report of such evidence and his findings on it to the court. Such examiner’s report shall have the same effect as that of a master appointed by the court in other cases and he shall proceed according to the rules of said court applicable to masters, except as such rules are modified by sections 5309.02 to 5310.21, inclusive, of the Revised Code, or by special or general orders of the court. The court may before decree, require a survey to be made by the county engineer for the purpose of determining boundaries and a more accurate and definite description of the land to be prepared and may order durable monuments to be set by said engineer and referred to in such description.

The expense of the survey and monuments shall be taxed in the costs of the case and may be apportioned among the parties as justice requires. If no persons appear to oppose the application to register, such expense shall be borne by the applicant. If a survey is ordered, the clerk of the probate court or the clerk of the court of common pleas shall, at least five days prior to the time such survey is to be made, mail a notice thereof to each owner and occupant of adjoining lands at the addresses given in the application or any amendments thereof. Said engineer may call witnesses at the time and place of making such survey or at such other time and place as he may appoint, administer oaths, and take and report to the court evidence pertinent to said survey and boundaries, and may adjourn the making of said survey and the taking of said evidence from time to time until such survey is completed. Said engineer’s report shall state whether any of the boundary lines are in dispute.

Effective Date: 10-01-1953

In a land registration case, if the probate court or the court of common pleas finds that the applicant does not have a title proper for registration, a decree shall be entered dismissing the application. Such decree may be ordered to be without prejudice, in whole or in part; but unless it is so ordered it shall bind the parties, their privies, and the land in respect to any issue of fact or law which has been tried and determined. The dismissal of the application of the plaintiff shall in no way affect any cross-petition filed in the case, but the issues raised by such cross-petition may be tried and determined by the court notwithstanding such dismissal, and all parties, their privies, and the land shall be bound by such determination. All statutes of limitation relating to the recovery of possession or title to any interest in land, or the enforcement of any lien or charge on such land, shall apply and be given effect only in favor of and against the applicant or plaintiff, in all actions or proceedings under sections 5309.02 to 5310.21, inclusive, of the Revised Code.

Effective Date: 10-01-1953

If the applicant in a land registration case dies between the filing of the application and the final decree thereon, the proceedings shall not abate, but shall be completed in the name of the widow or widower and heirs and devisees of the applicant. If the probate court or the court of common pleas orders the land registered, such court shall order that the certificate issue to such widow or widower and heirs and devisees of the applicant, according to their respective rights and interests, but subject to the right of the creditors of the deceased to have said land sold to pay his debts and subject to the right to contest any will of such deceased applicant. The personal representative of the deceased, the relict, or any of said heirs or devisees may by supplemental petition set up the facts relating to the transmission of the title to said land by reason of the death of the original applicant and cause all necessary new persons to be made parties and properly brought before the court as upon the filing of an application, or by summons or other process as provided by law in civil actions as the court directs.

Effective Date: 10-01-1953

If the probate court or the court of common pleas after a hearing in a land registration case finds that the applicant has title in whole or in part as stated in his application, and proper for registration, then to the extent of the title so found a decree of confirmation and registration shall be entered, which shall have the effect of a decree in rem and, subject only to the exceptions stated in section 5309.28 of the Revised Code, shall bind the land and all interests and rights therein and liens and charges thereon. After the expiration of the time for appeal and except as otherwise provided in sections 5309.02 to 5310.21, inclusive, of the Revised Code, such decree of confirmation and registration shall be absolutely conclusive against all persons, including the state or any political subdivision thereof, whether mentioned by name in the application, notice, or other papers in the case, or as unknown heirs and devisees, or included in the general description “all other persons, if any, having any right or interest in or lien upon the lands or any part thereof,” and whether under disability, not in being, unknown, or unascertained. After the expiration of the time for appeal, except as otherwise provided in such sections, no such person shall in any of the courts of this state assert by suit or otherwise any claim to an interest in or lien or charge upon registered land in derogation of or contrary to the purport of such decree. Such decree shall not, after the expiration of the time for appeal, be opened because of the absence, infancy, or other disability of any person affected thereby, or by any suit or proceeding at law or in equity for opening up judgments or decrees because a party has not had actual notice of the suit or proceedings. Any person deprived of land or of any interest therein or lien or charge thereon by a decree of registration obtained by fraud may file a petition in the case to open up and review such case within one year after the entry of the decree, provided no innocent purchaser for value, mortgagee, or other lien holder has acquired an interest. If there is any such purchaser, mortgagee, or other lien holder, the decree of registration shall not as to them or any person holding under them be opened, but shall remain in effect forever, subject only to the right of appeal. Any person who is aggrieved by such decree may pursue his remedy by action of tort against the applicant or against any other person for fraud in procuring the decree.

Effective Date: 10-01-1953

(A) Every decree of registration in land registration cases shall bear the year, month, day, hour, and minute of its entry and shall be signed by the clerk of the probate court. It shall give the place of residence and post-office address of the owner of the land registered, state whether the owner is married or unmarried, and, if the owner is married, state the name of the owner’s spouse. If the owner is under disability, the decree shall state the nature of the disability and, if the owner is a minor, shall state the minor’s age. The decree shall contain an accurate description and plat of each separate parcel of the land as finally determined and adopted by the probate court, shall set forth the estate of the owner, and, in a manner that shows their relative priority, but subject to division (B) of this section, shall set forth all particular estates, mortgages, easements, liens, attachments, and other encumbrances, including rights of spouses, to which the land or the owner’s estate is subject, all suits pending by or against the owner or any of the owner’s predecessors in title in any court of record in the county the judgments in which might affect the land or the owner’s title to the land, and all suits of that nature elsewhere pending if they were brought to the attention of the probate court by the pleadings or evidence in the case. The decree may contain any other matter properly to be determined by the court under this chapter and Chapter 5310. of the Revised Code. The decree shall be stated in a form convenient for physical transcription upon, transcription by any of the applicable nonpaper means referred to in division (D) of section 5309.031 of the Revised Code upon, or binding in the register of titles described in section 5309.25 of the Revised Code, shall be in a form suitable to constitute the decree as a certificate of title, and shall give insofar as possible the full name, place of residence, and post-office address of each owner and holder of any interest in or lien, charge, or encumbrance upon the lands or any part of the lands, except as provided in division (B) of this section. The clerk, under the direction of the court, shall make and keep indexes of all applications and of all decrees of registration.

(B) On and after March 30, 1999, a decree of registration in a land registration case shall not set forth pursuant to division (A) of this section any restrictive covenant that appears to apply to the land or any part of the 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: 10-29-2003

(A) Immediately upon the entry of the decree of registration as provided in sections 5309.23 and 5309.24 of the Revised Code, the clerk of the probate court or the clerk of the court of common pleas shall send a certified copy of the decree, under the seal of the court, to the county recorder for the county in which the land or any part of the land lies. The recorder shall transcribe or bind the decree in a book to be called the register of titles, in which leaves in consecutive order shall be devoted exclusively to each title, with appropriate blanks for the entry of memorials and notations. The recorder shall note in the register the day, hour, and minute when the decree is filed with the recorder.

The entry made by the recorder in the register in each case shall be the original certificate of title and shall be signed by the recorder. Each certificate of title with its blanks for memorials and notations shall constitute a separate folium of the register. All memorials and notations that may be entered upon the register under this chapter or Chapter 5310. of the Revised Code shall be entered upon the folium constituted by the last certificate of title of the land to which they relate.

All certificates of title shall be numbered consecutively, beginning with number one. The recorder shall in each case make an exact physical duplicate of the original certificate, put on the duplicate “Owner’s duplicate certificate,” and deliver it to the owner or to the owner’s authorized attorney. In case of a variance between the owner’s duplicate certificate and the original certificate, the original shall prevail.

The certified copy of the decree of registration shall, in case it is transcribed into the register, be filed and numbered by the recorder, with a reference noted on it to the place of record of the original certificate of title. The recorder may rebind or retranscribe the certificates in new volumes of the register containing respectively canceled and uncanceled certificates and prepare new indexes for the uncanceled certificates.

If an application includes land lying in more than one county, the court shall cause the part lying in each county to be platted and described separately by metes and bounds or other definite description in the decree of registration; the clerk shall send to the recorder for each county a copy of the decree containing a plat and description of the land within that county; and the recorder shall register it and issue an owner’s duplicate certificate of title; thereafter, for all matters pertaining to registration, the portion in each county shall be treated as a separate parcel of land. If more than one entire and distinct parcel of land lying wholly in the county is included in the application and decree, the clerk shall, if required by the applicant, send the recorder certified copies of the decree insofar as it relates to each of the separate and distinct parcels, giving plat and description of each parcel; separate registration of each parcel shall be made accordingly by the recorder.

The clerk shall, at once in every cause, make a final record of the cause and immediately thereafter deliver to the recorder all papers in the case, taking the recorder’s receipt for those papers the recorder’s office those papers may be found.

(B) If the county recorder maintains registered land records by nonpaper means under section 5309.031 of the Revised Code, the record that the recorder designates under division (C)(1)(c) of that section shall be deemed the original certificate of title for the registered land.

Effective Date: 10-29-2003

The certificate of title first registered in pursuance of a decree of registration in regard to any parcel of land shall, in the register of titles, be entitled “Original certificate of title, entered pursuant to decree of the . . . . . . court, dated at . . . . . (stating time and place of entry of decree and the number of the case).” Such certificate shall relate back to and take effect from the date of the order or decree directing registration, and all dealings with the land, and all statutory or other liens upon it subsequent to the filing of the application, shall be subject to and shown by such order or decree of the probate court or the court of common pleas. Subsequent certificates relating to the same land shall be in like form, but shall be entitled “Transfer from No. . . . . . . .” (the number of the last previous certificate relating to the same land), and also “Originally registered” (date, volume, and page of registration) and shall take effect from and be dated the exact time of filing and noting in the county recorder’s office of the instrument of transfer pursuant to which the certificate is issued. The recorder shall make out and deliver to the proper parties duplicates of all subsequent certificates.

Duplicate certificates may be issued to each person holding a lesser estate but the recorder shall note in the register of titles and on each duplicate to whom such duplicate was issued. All certificates of title shall contain an accurate plat and description of the lands covered thereby.

Effective Date: 10-01-1953

If two or more persons are registered owners as tenants in common, or otherwise, of undivided interests in land, one owner’s duplicate certificate of title may be issued for the whole land, or the owner of a separate or undivided interest may, upon the return and cancellation or proper notation upon the outstanding certificate, have a separate registration of his interest and a duplicate certificate of title issued to him.

A registered owner who holds one duplicate certificate for several distinct parcels of land may surrender such certificate and have separate registration and duplicate certificates for portions thereof, or if he holds separate duplicate certificates for several distinct parcels he may surrender them and have registration made of and take out a single duplicate certificate for the whole land, or several registration and duplicate certificates for different portions thereof. If a new or different plat and description is to be given in any new certificate so issued, such plat and description must be definite and certain and in conformity with the previously registered plat and descriptions and must be subject to the approval of the county recorder, who may in any case require the same to be approved by the court.

An owner who subdivides a tract of registered land into lots shall file with the clerk of the probate court or the clerk of the court of common pleas a plan thereof, when applying for a new certificate, and the probate court or the court of common pleas, before ordering such certificate to be issued, shall cause the plan to be certified and filed with the recorder and recorded, and require that all boundaries, streets, and passageways shall be distinctly and accurately delineated thereon.

Effective Date: 10-01-1953

(A) Every applicant in a land registration case who, without fraud on the applicant’s part, receives a certificate of title in pursuance of a decree of registration and every subsequent purchaser of registered land who takes a certificate of title for value and in good faith shall hold the registered land free from all estates, encumbrances, and rights except those noted on the certificate and except any of the following estates, encumbrances, and rights that may exist:

(1) Liens, claims, or rights arising or existing under the laws or constitution of the United States that the statutes of this state cannot require to appear of record in the county recorder’s office;

(2) Taxes and assessments levied by the United States, this state, or any taxing district of this state;

(3) Any highway, public way, or private way laid out or acquired by law or otherwise, unless the certificate of title states that the nonexistence of the way or the boundaries of the way, if any boundaries exist, have been determined by the court;

(4) Any lease for a term not exceeding three years, when there is actual possession under the lease;

(5) Right of appeal within thirty days after decree of registration;

(6) If there are easements or other rights appurtenant to a parcel of registered land that are not subject to section 5309.281 of the Revised Code and that for any reason have not been registered, those easements or rights shall remain appurtenant notwithstanding the failure to register them and shall be held to pass with the land.

(B) This section shall be printed or written on all duplicate certificates of title before delivery by the county recorder.

Effective Date: 03-30-1999

On and after the effective date of this section, no county recorder shall do any of the following:

(A) Transcribe or bind in the register of titles and, if applicable, file a certified copy of a decree of registration sent by the clerk of a probate court pursuant to section 5309.25 of the Revised Code, if the decree sets forth any restrictive covenant that appears to apply to the land involved and 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;

(B) Make and deliver to the owner of land or that owner’s authorized attorney an owner’s duplicate certificate pursuant to section 5309.25 of the Revised Code, if division (A) of this section prohibits the transcribing or binding of the certified copy of the decree of registration in the register of titles;

(C) Issue any duplicate certificate of title to registered land, any certified copy of a lost or destroyed duplicate certificate of title to registered land, or any new certificate of title to registered land under any provision of this chapter and Chapter 5310. of the Revised Code and under circumstances not described in division (B) of this section, without first deleting in the duplicate certificate of title, certified copy of the lost or destroyed duplicate certificate of title, or new certificate of title any reference to any restrictive covenant described in division (A) of this section;

(D) Initially enter any memorial, notation, or memorandum to the extent that it refers to any restrictive covenant described in division (A) of this section;

(E) Notwithstanding any contrary provision of this chapter or Chapter 5310. of the Revised Code, carry forward in connection with the registration of a transfer of registered land any memorial, notation, or memorandum to the extent that it refers to any restrictive covenant described in division (A) of this section;

(F) Notwithstanding any contrary provision of this chapter, file any instrument or paper that relates to registered land and that refers to any restrictive covenant described in division (A) of this section;

(G) Notwithstanding any contrary provision of this chapter, enter and index any instrument or paper with a reference to a certificate of title, if the instrument or paper refers to any restrictive covenant described in division (A) of this section.

Effective Date: 03-30-1999

The obtaining of a decree of registration and receiving a certificate of title is an agreement running with the land that the land shall, unless the owner complies with the provisions of section 5309.68 of the Revised Code or unless a resolution of abolition is implemented under section 5310.38 of the Revised Code, remain registered land and be subject to sections 5309.02 to 5310.21 of the Revised Code. Such agreement is binding on the applicant and the successors in title. All dealings with the land or any interest therein, after such land has been brought under such sections, and all liens, encumbrances, and charges upon such land shall be made only subject to such sections.

If any involuntary interest in registered land has come into existence by executory devise, executory limitation, or otherwise since the issuing of any certificate of title, the registered owner or the person claiming such interest may apply to the court by petition, to which all persons in interest shall be made parties and brought before the probate court or the court of common pleas, as provided in original registration or as in other civil actions, to have such interest registered. The court upon a hearing shall make such order as the case requires and direct the county recorder to make registration accordingly.

Effective Date: 02-28-1991

The county recorder shall take from the owner of any registered property, right, interest, lien, or charge, in every case in which it is practicable to do so, the owner’s receipt or signature card, giving the residence and post-office address, for the certificate of title, or whatever paper is issued or delivered to or filed by the owner, signed by the owner in person and witnessed. If the receipt or signature card is signed in the recorder’s office, it may be witnessed by the recorder or a deputy. If signed elsewhere, the receipt or signature card shall be acknowledged before an officer authorized to take acknowledgment of deeds. When signed, witnessed or acknowledged, and filed with the recorder, the receipt shall be regarded as containing the genuine signature of that person.

Effective Date: 02-01-2002

If a duplicate certificate of title is lost or destroyed, the owner, together with other persons having knowledge of the circumstances, may make affidavit before the county recorder, stating the facts of the case, the names and residences of the registered owners, and such other matters that the recorder requires. If the recorder is satisfied as to the truth of such affidavit, and the bona fides of the transaction, he shall issue to the owner a certified copy of the original certificate, with the memorials and notations appearing upon the register, and shall note upon the register the fact, cause, and date of such issue, and shall also mark upon such certified copy “owner’s certified copy issued in the place of lost (or destroyed, as the case may be) duplicate certificate.” Such certified copy shall stand in the place of and have like effect as the missing certificate.

Effective Date: 10-01-1953

The county recorder shall keep books to be known as “records of surveys of registered land,” in which the recorder shall accurately copy each survey ordered by the probate court or the court of common pleas in the original or any subsequent registration. The volume and page of such book where such survey is recorded shall be entered on the register of land titles on each certificate of title to said land thereafter issued.

Effective Date: 10-01-1953

(A) The county recorder shall keep tract indexes if the board of county commissioners orders the recorder to do so and provides the proper records for those indexes. In those indexes, the recorder shall enter the lands registered in the numerical order of the townships, ranges, and sections, or original surveys, and, in the case of subdivisions, the blocks and lots in the subdivisions; the name of the owners; and a reference to the volume and folium of the register in which the lands are registered. The recorder shall keep alphabetical indexes in which shall be entered in alphabetical order the names of all registered owners and all other persons interested in, or holding charges upon, registered land, a short description of the land, the nature of the dealing, and a reference to the volume and folium of the register in which the land is registered.

(B) In connection with any transfer of registered land that occurs on and after the effective date of this amendment in accordance with this chapter and Chapter 5310. of the Revised Code, the county recorder shall delete from the 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

Except in case of fraud, and except as provided in sections 5309.02 to 5310.21, inclusive, of the Revised Code, no person taking a transfer of registered land, or any interest therein, or of any charge upon such land, from the registered owner, need inquire into the circumstances under which, or the consideration for which such owner or any previous registered owner was registered. Such transferee shall not be affected with notice, actual or constructive, of any unregistered trust, lien, claim, demand, or interest. The knowledge that any unregistered trust, lien, claim, demand, or interest is in existence shall not of itself be imputed to such transferee as fraud. No unregistered estate, interest, power, right, claim, contract, or trust shall prevail against the title of a registered owner taken bona fide for valuable consideration or of any person bona fide claiming through or under him.

Effective Date: 10-01-1953

Deeds and other instruments relating to registered land, which create or declare trusts, or contain unusual or exceptional covenants, restrictions, or conditions, or create unusual or exceptional interests, may, upon the demand of a party in interest and the payment of the proper fees, be recorded by the county recorder in books to be kept for that purpose in his office and known as the “record of trusts and exceptional estates in registered land.” The number of the page of the record shall be noted on the folium of the register of land titles in which the land affected is entered, and such reference shall be made to such number in the certificate of title or memorial.

Effective Date: 10-01-1953

Subject to division (E) of section 5309.281 of the Revised Code, if a memorial or notation has been entered as permitted by this chapter and Chapter 5310. of the Revised Code, the county recorder shall carry the memorial or notation forward upon all certificates of title until those certificates are canceled in some manner authorized by this chapter or Chapter 5310. of the Revised Code.

Effective Date: 03-30-1999

Transfers of registered land shall be made or entered in the office of the county auditor, subject to the same requirements and on payment of the same fees as provided by law for unregistered land.

Upon demand and upon payment of the fee provided in section 5310.15 of the Revised Code, at the time of issuing any certificate of title to registered land, or of making any transfer of registered land, or of entry upon the register of titles of any memorial of a mortgage or other lien on registered land, the county recorder shall examine the county treasurer’s tax duplicates and issue a certificate as to the taxes and special assessments shown thereon to be a lien upon the premises registered in said certificate of title.

Such certificate as to taxes and special assessment shall show in whose name the premises are listed for taxation, the total sum due for taxes and special assessments, and what general taxes are a lien, as such items appear by the last treasurer’s tax duplicate.

Such certificate as to taxes and special assessments shall be issued subject to special assessments which are not yet entered upon the last treasurer’s tax duplicate, and subject to any additional sum which the treasurer is authorized to collect.

Effective Date: 10-01-1953

Each county recorder shall keep an entry book in which the recorder shall enter and number in the order of their reception all deeds and other voluntary instruments, all involuntary instruments, and copies of writs or other papers that are filed with the recorder and that relate to registered land. Except as provided in section 5309.281 of the Revised Code, the recorder shall note in the entry book the year, month, day, hour, and minute of reception of all instruments or papers in the order in which they are received and shall enter at the same time the number of an instrument or paper in the appropriate blank space on the registered certificate of title for the land to which it relates. Except as provided in section 5309.281 of the Revised Code, the instruments and papers shall be regarded as registered and become effective for the purposes intended from the time they are so filed and noted, and certificates of title and the memorial of each instrument or paper when made on the registered certificate of title or duplicate certificate of title to which it relates shall bear the same date, except as provided in this chapter and Chapter 5310. of the Revised Code.

Every deed or other voluntary or involuntary instrument and every paper that is filed with the recorder shall be numbered and endorsed over the official signature of the recorder with the time of filing and, subject to section 5309.281 of the Revised Code, shall be entered and indexed with a reference to the proper certificate of title. All records, instruments, and papers relative to registered land in the office of the recorder shall be open to the public in the same manner as other public records, subject to reasonable regulations that the recorder makes under the direction of the probate court.

Effective Date: 03-30-1999

All duplicate certificates of title and all instruments and memorandums in any way affecting the title to registered land, surrendered to the county recorder for cancellation, and all other instruments, notices, and papers required or permitted under sections 5309.02 to 5310.21, inclusive, of the Revised Code, to be filed with the recorder, shall be filed under their proper file numbers or other designation and carefully preserved.

Effective Date: 10-01-1953

A registered owner in fee of real property, in order to transfer the owner’s whole interest in the property or in any part of the property or to transfer any undivided interest in the property shall execute to the intended transferee a deed or instrument of conveyance that, in case of transfer of the whole of the property, may be on the duplicate certificate of title. The deed or instrument of conveyance may be in any form authorized by law. When the transferee presents the deed or instrument of conveyance to the county recorder of the county in which the property is situated, the recorder shall file the deed or instrument of conveyance, and, if the recorder finds that the transferor is entitled to make the transfer under this chapter and Chapter 5310. of the Revised Code, the recorder shall register the title, in accordance with the deed or instrument of conveyance, in the name of the transferee upon a new folium in the register of titles, shall enter on the new folium in a manner consistent with section 5309.281 of the Revised Code all memorials, notations, and memoranda to which the property is subject at the time of the transfer, and shall issue a new certificate of title to the transferee that states the transferee’s full name, place of residence, and post-office address, whether the transferee is married, and, if the transferee is married, the name of the transferee’s spouse. If the transferee is a minor, the transferee’s exact age must be given on the new certificate of title, or, if the transferee is under another disability, the nature and character of that disability must be stated on the new certificate of title. Before a transfer can be registered, the transferor or the transferee shall deliver to the recorder the duplicate certificate of title of the transferor, and the recorder shall enter upon the folium of the register in which the title of the transferor is registered and upon the duplicate certificate of title a memorial or memorandum canceling it, in whole or in part, as the interest of the transferee may appear from the deed or other instrument of conveyance, with the particulars of the transfer that may be necessary for identification, the date of transfer, the name, place of residence, and post-office address of the transferee, and the volume and folium of the register in which the transferee’s title is registered.

Effective Date: 03-30-1999

In all cases in which a certificate of title, or any other instrument or memorandum affecting registered land, is wholly canceled, it shall be retained by the county recorder and filed in his office under its proper file number and carefully preserved.

In all cases where the land described in a certificate of title is only partially transferred, the recorder shall issue a new certificate of title to the registered owner, for the part of the land not transferred, and shall indorse on the registered certificate and on the duplicate certificate surrendered, a memorial canceling the same, and the reasons therefor, giving the volume and folium of the register where the new title is registered, and the number of the new certificate. The recorder may cancel the property or estate transferred on the registered and duplicate certificates of the transferor without the issue of a new certificate to the transferor for the residue.

Effective Date: 10-01-1953

No new certificate of title shall be entered or issued upon any transfer of registered land which does not divest the title in fee from the registered owner or some one of the registered owners. When a registered owner desires to transfer to another a lesser estate than the fee, as an estate for life, for years, or other term, or any other kind of lesser estate than a fee, he may do so by executing to the transferee a deed, lease, or other proper instrument of conveyance or transfer of such estate, in any form authorized by law, giving the number of his certificate and other requirements of identification. When such transferee presents such deed, lease, or other instrument of transfer to the county recorder of the county where the land is situated, together with the owner’s duplicate certificate of title, the recorder shall file such instrument and indorse thereon the exact time of such filing. If upon examination it appears to the recorder that the transferor is entitled to make such conveyance, the recorder shall register the same by indorsing upon the folium of the register where such title is registered and upon the duplicate certificate of title, a memorial of such transfer, giving the exact time of filing, name, residence, and post-office address of the transferee, nature and kind of estate transferred, and such other material matter as is contained in said instrument of transfer, and shall indorse on the instrument of transfer the volume and folium of the register where registered.

Effective Date: 10-01-1953

If the county recorder is in doubt upon any question, or if any person in interest does not agree as to the proper memorandum to be made in pursuance of any deed, mortgage, or other voluntary instrument presented for registration, the question may, on the certificate of the recorder stating the question upon which the recorder is in doubt or upon which the person in interest does not agree, be referred to the court of common pleas for decision. The court, after notice to all parties and a hearing, shall enter an order directing the action of and prescribing the form of memorandum to be made by the recorder, who shall make registration or otherwise act in accordance therewith, and such order shall be final.

The recorder may refer such question to an examiner of titles, and upon receipt of his report thereon the recorder shall notify the parties interested and fix a time for hearing. The recorder shall on such hearing make such disposition of said question as to him seems just and proper and in accordance with law.

Effective Date: 10-01-1953

No new certificate of title shall be entered, and no memorandum shall be made upon the register of any certificate of title by the county recorder in pursuance of any deed or other voluntary instrument, unless the owner’s duplicate certificate is presented with such instrument, except in cases expressly provided for in sections 5309.02 to 5310.21, inclusive, of the Revised Code, or upon the order of the probate court or the court of common pleas, for cause shown. Whenever such order is made, a memorandum thereof shall be entered on the new certificate of title and on the owner’s duplicate. The production of the owner’s duplicate, whenever a voluntary instrument is presented for registration, is authority from the registered owner to the recorder to enter a new certificate or to make a memorial of registration in accordance with such instrument, and the new certificate or memorial shall be binding upon the registered owner and upon all persons claiming under him, in favor of every purchaser and holder for value and in good faith and in favor of all persons holding under such purchaser and holder. In all cases of registration which are procured by fraud, the owner may pursue all his legal and equitable remedies against the parties to such fraud, without prejudice to the rights of any innocent holder for value of a certificate of title or any person holding under such innocent holder.

After the entering and issuing of a certificate of title by the recorder on the decree of registration under the original application, any subsequent registration which is procured by the presentation of a forged duplicate certificate, or of a forged deed or other instrument, shall be void. In case of the loss or theft of an owner’s duplicate certificate, notice shall be sent by the owner, or by a person in his behalf, to the recorder of the county in which the land lies, as soon as the loss or theft is discovered.

Effective Date: 10-01-1953

Upon the death of a registered owner of land, one or more of his heirs or devisees, or the assignee for the benefit of creditors, or administrators or executors, or holder of an involuntary lien or charge against the interest of any such heir or devisee or their heirs or devisees, or an heir, devisee, administrator, or executor of a deceased heir or devisee of such heir or devisee of a deceased registered owner, may at any time after the expiration of thirty days from such owner’s death, if he died intestate, or from the probate of such owner’s will and the election of the relict thereunder, if he died testate, make application to the probate court or the court of common pleas for registration of the title of the deceased in such heirs and devisees according to their respective rights and interests. The application shall be sworn to and shall set forth the lands of which such registered owner died seized, giving reference to the certificate therefor, whether he left a will, and if so a copy of such will, shall state the name in full, residence, and post-office address of the relict, and of each devisee and heir, and of each relict, heir, or devisee of any deceased heir or devisee, and of each person then holding any interest, present or future, vested or contingent, in said lands derived by devise or inheritance from such deceased owner or by descent or devise from any person subsequent to his death, so far as the applicants after diligent research and inquiry, have been able to ascertain the same, and that to the knowledge, information, and belief of the applicants, no other persons, whether in being or unborn, have any interest or estate, present or future, vested or contingent, in said premises, except as stated. If any persons in interest are under disability of any kind, the nature thereof shall be stated and the name, residence, and post-office address of their guardians or trustees given, and if minors, their ages stated. All persons in interest not joining in the application shall be made defendants thereto and may be notified and brought before the court, either in the manner provided for in original registration or by summons or other process as in civil actions, as the court directs. If there appears, from the application or otherwise, to be any doubt as to persons then holding interests in such land, or if the name or residence of any such person is unknown, then by name if known, and if not, under the designation of “all persons having an interest in the land herein described,” all persons whomsoever shall be made parties to the application and served by publication of notice as provided for in sections 5309.14 and 5309.15 of the Revised Code, or as provided in civil actions, as the court directs. A guardian ad litem shall be appointed by the court as provided in section 5309.17 of the Revised Code with like duties as in cases of initial registration. The decree of registration and certificates issued under such decree shall be in like form and number and have like effect as in original registration, except that such decree and certificates, in case they are issued before the estate of the deceased owner is finally settled, or before the time for contesting his will has expired, or before the final determination of any suit to contest or set aside his will, shall expressly state that they are entered and issued by transfer from the last registered owner, by descent or devise, subject to final settlement of the estate and right to contest the will of such deceased owner. After the final settlement of the estate in the probate court, and the expiration of the time for contest of the will or the final determination of suit to contest the will, the heirs at law, or devisees, or other persons in interest may petition the probate court or the court of common pleas for an order to cancel the memorandum upon such certificate, stating that the same is subject to final settlement of the estate and right to contest the will. The court, after notice and a hearing, may grant the petition; but the liability of heirs of registered land for claims against the estate of the deceased shall not in any way be diminished or changed. No voluntary instrument or deed of an administrator, executor, assignee for the benefit of creditors, sheriff, master commissioner, or other officer purporting to transfer or create a lien or charge upon any interest of such devisee or heir in such registered land or to authorize the same to be done, shall have any effect in law or equity to accomplish such purpose until the title of such heir or devisee is registered as provided in this section. An involuntary lien, charge, or lis pendens against the interest of a relict, heir, or devisee in the lands of a deceased registered owner can, prior to the registration of the title of such relict, heir, or devisee, only be obtained by filing the proper papers with the county recorder as in other cases and the recorder making entry thereof as a memorial on the registered certificate of title of such deceased owner giving the name, residence, and post-office address of the relict, heir, or devisee against whom said lien, charge, or lis pendens is to operate.

This section does not in any way affect or impair the jurisdiction of the probate court to authorize an executor or administrator to sell or convey registered land for any purpose for which authority may be granted in the case of unregistered land. The transferee who takes a deed which is executed in pursuance of such authority to sell or convey shall be entitled to a new certificate of title, or memorandum of registration.

Effective Date: 10-01-1953

When the will of a deceased registered owner of real property, or any right or interest therein, empowers the executor to sell, encumber or otherwise deal with such property, right, or interest, such executor need not be registered as the owner thereof; but any person who acquires title by virtue of the execution of such power may have such title registered, by application to and order of the probate court or the court of common pleas made after notice to all persons in interest to be given by the clerk of said court by registered mail or otherwise as the court directs.

Effective Date: 10-01-1953

Whenever any registered land or interest therein is intended to be charged or made security in favor of any mortgagee, the mortgagor shall execute a mortgage deed. Whenever any such land is intended to be charged with, or made security for the payment of an annuity, rent charge, sum of money, or any other charge or lien, in favor of any encumbrancer or lien holder, the encumberer shall execute an instrument of encumbrance. Every mortgage deed and instrument of encumbrance shall contain a pertinent description of the land and an accurate statement of the interest intended to be mortgaged, charged, or encumbered, and when registered shall operate as a lien or charge upon and bind the land covered thereby for the period ending twenty-one years after the maturity of the last secured debt or obligation. Thereafter, as to subsequent bona fide purchasers, mortgagees, and other persons dealing with such land for value, the lien of such mortgage shall expire. The mortgage creditor, may, at any time within one year next preceding the expiration of such period of twenty-one years, refile in the county recorder’s office the mortgage or a sworn copy thereof, together with an affidavit thereon, stating the amount remaining due and the due date, as extended if it is extended, and thereupon such refiling after registration has been made upon the certificate of title, shall operate as a lien or charge upon and bind the land then covered thereby only for a period of twenty-one years after the expiration of such prior period of twenty-one years.

Effective Date: 10-01-1953

When a mortgage, encumbrance, or other instrument intended to create a lien upon or charge against registered land, as provided in section 5309.47 of the Revised Code, is filed in the county recorder’s office, and the owner’s duplicate certificate of title is produced, and it appears to the recorder that the person intending to create the lien or charge set forth in such instrument, has such right, and that the person in whose favor the same is sought to be created is entitled under sections 5309.02 to 5310.21, inclusive, of the Revised Code, to have such instrument entered as a memorial upon the register, the recorder shall enter upon the proper folium of the register, where such title is registered, and upon the owner’s duplicate certificate of title, a memorial accurately stating the purport and nature of the lien or charge created, the date of filing the instrument, and its file number. The recorder shall note upon the instrument filed with him the volume and folium of the register in which the memorial is entered. The recorder shall at any time after registration of a mortgage, upon the request of the mortgagee and the tender of the proper fee therefor, make and deliver to the mortgagee a duplicate of the owner’s registered certificate of title but having indorsed, stamped, or printed thereon in large letters “Mortgagee’s Duplicate Certificate” instead of “Owner’s Duplicate Certificate.” The recorder shall note on the registered certificate of title the fact and date of making and delivering such duplicate and to whom delivered. In case of the loss or destruction of such mortgagee’s duplicate certificate, another may be issued to him as provided in section 5309.31 of the Revised Code in reference to the loss or destruction of an owner’s duplicate certificate.

Effective Date: 10-01-1953

When any mortgage, lease, or other instrument affecting registered land, or any interest therein, is in duplicate, triplicate, or more parts, only one of the parts need be filed and kept in the county recorder’s office, but the recorder shall note upon the register whether such instrument is in duplicate, triplicate, or more parts, and shall mark upon such other parts “mortgagee’s duplicate,” “lessor’s duplicate,” “lessee’s duplicate,” “encumberer’s duplicate,” or as the case may be, and shall note upon such other parts the date of filing and the volume and folium of the register where the memorial is entered, and deliver such other parts to the persons entitled thereto.

Certified copies of all instruments which are filed and registered may be obtained at any time, upon the payment of the recorder’s fees. A mortgagee may obtain a certified copy of the mortgage which shall have stamped or printed in large letters across its face “Mortgagee’s Certified Copy of Mortgage.” The issuance of such certified copy shall be noted on the registered memorial of the mortgage, which certified copy may be used by such mortgagee for all purposes of assignment and release for which the original mortgage could have been used if retained by him.

Effective Date: 10-01-1953

The county recorder, upon the written request of a lessee, mortgagee, or encumbrancer, and payment of the proper fees, shall record the instrument filed in his office in volumes to be known respectively as “records of liens on registered land” and “record of leases on registered land,” and shall note on such instrument and on the volume and folium of the register containing the certificate of title the fact of such record and the volume and page where recorded, with the exact time of such recording. The recorder shall deliver such instrument after such record and notation to the party named as mortgagee, lessee, or encumbrancer, and take his receipt therefor, with his residence and post-office address, which receipt shall either be written in or pasted or bound in a book kept for that purpose and properly indexed.

Effective Date: 10-01-1953

The holder of any mortgage, encumbrance, lease, charge, or lien upon registered land may execute to a transferee an assignment for the whole or any part of the mortgage, encumbrance, lease, charge, or lien, by endorsement of the assignment on the original instrument of encumbrance, the holder’s duplicate, the mortgagee’s certified copy of a mortgage, or by a separate instrument acknowledged as required by section 5301.01 of the Revised Code. The assignment of only a part of the mortgage, encumbrance, lease, charge, or lien shall state whether the part transferred is to be given priority, be deferred, or rank equally with the remaining part. When that assignment is filed with the county recorder and the assignor produces the instrument of encumbrance that the assignor holds, if that instrument is the original instrument or one of the original duplicates of the instrument, and in the case of a mortgage when the assignor produces the “mortgagee’s certified copy,” if that copy was issued and delivered, the recorder, being satisfied that the assignment is properly made and should be registered, shall register the assignment by entering a memorial of the part transferred, the date of transfer, the name, residence, and post-office address of the transferee, how the part transferred is to rank with the remaining part, and the file number upon the register in which the instrument creating the charge is registered, and in case of assignment by separate instrument, upon the original instrument. The recorder shall endorse on the instrument of assignment the exact time of filing and the volume and folium of the register in which the assignment is registered. If the original instrument of encumbrance, or one of the duplicates of the instrument, is recorded, the assignee, on payment of the recorder’s fees, may have that assignment copied on the margin of the record of the instrument assigned, or copied in a separate volume and noted on the margin of the record of the instrument assigned, if the recorder keeps any such separate volume for the record of assignments and transfers. The record of that assignment shall be noted on the indexes of the instrument assigned. If the original instrument of encumbrance or one of the original duplicates of the instrument, endorsed by the recorder, or a mortgagee’s certified copy of the mortgage, is outstanding in the hands of the encumbrancer, lessee, or their assigns, no entry or memorial of an assignment or transfer of that instrument or security of any part of the instrument shall be made by the recorder without the production of the original instrument, or the endorsed original duplicate of the instrument, or the mortgagee’s certified copy.

Waivers of the priority of lien of mortgages may be registered subject to the requirements of this section as to assignments.

Effective Date: 02-01-2002

When any registered mortgage, encumbrance, lien, charge, or lesser estate, vested, contingent, expectant, or inchoate, is satisfied, released, extinguished, or terminated, in any manner in whole or in part, the mortgagee, encumbrancer, assignee, owner of lesser estate, or his legal representative, holder of lien, or other person authorized to discharge or release such encumbrance, shall forthwith file with the county recorder or deliver to the encumberer or owner such satisfaction, release, or discharge, in whole or in part. The recorder shall enter such satisfaction, release, or discharge upon the registered certificate of title, upon the original instrument on file or the margin of the record thereof, if recorded, and properly note such cancellation in all the indexes of such mortgage, encumbrance, lien, or charge. If an original instrument, or one of the original duplicates thereof, or a mortgagee’s certified copy, indorsed by the recorder, is outstanding in the hands of the encumbrancer or his assigns, no entry or memorial of satisfaction of such instrument shall, except upon notice and a hearing, be made by the recorder without the production of said original instrument or original duplicate or mortgagee’s certified copy. If the encumbrancer, owner of a lesser estate or his legal representative, or other person, fails to file such satisfaction or release with the recorder or deliver it to the encumberer, or if such satisfaction or release has been delivered to the encumberer or transferor and become lost or destroyed or from any other cause cannot be produced, then the encumberer, transferor, or other person entitled to such discharge or release may present proof of the same before the recorder, ten days’ notice having been given to the person holding the security or lesser estate or to his personal and legal representatives and all persons in interest as shown by the records, or as known. When the recorder is convinced that such mortgage, encumbrance, or other charge has been satisfied, or that said lesser estate has been extinguished or terminated as claimed, he shall enter such satisfaction, release, extinguishment, or termination on the instrument on file with him or the record thereof, if recorded, and indorse the same upon the registered and also on the owner’s duplicate certificate of title; application in such cases may be made to the probate court or the court of common pleas by petition and the court upon notice and hearing shall make such order as is appropriate and the recorder shall act in accordance therewith, and the entry of such discharge, satisfaction, release, extinguishment, or termination by the recorder pursuant to his finding or the order of the court, subject to proceedings on appeal, is conclusive evidence thereof.

Effective Date: 10-01-1953

No judgment or decree or order of a court shall be a lien upon or affect registered land, or any interest therein, until a certificate under the hand and official seal of the clerk of the court in which the case is entered, or of record, stating the date and purport of the judgment, decree, or order, or other action taken by the court, giving the number of the case, the full names of the parties, plaintiff and defendant, and the volume and page of the journal or record in which it is entered, or certified copy of such judgment, decree, order, or action of the court, stating the facts required by this section, is filed and noted in the office of the county recorder. When such filing is completed, a memorial of such filing shall be entered by the recorder upon the folium of the register in which the title to the land to be affected is last registered.

Effective Date: 10-01-1953

Whenever any transcript from the docket of a judge of a county court or mayor, or other officer or tribunal which may render judgments, is filed in the office of the clerk of the court of common pleas for a lien, the party, or his agent or attorney, filing such transcript shall notify the clerk whether the land upon which the lien is sought is registered. If such land is registered, in addition to the fee required for such filing, such party shall pay such clerk’s fee for a certificate which the clerk shall thereupon issue to such party under such clerk’s hand and the seal of the court of common pleas stating the number of the case, parties, date of the judgment, amount of judgment, and costs, and the exact time when filed in his office, and the volume and page where entered. The party receiving such certificate shall file it with the county recorder, who shall make notation of the filing and enter a memorial thereof on the last registered certificate of title for such land. No lien shall attach to any registered land under such transcript until such certificate is filed with the recorder and noted by him.

Effective Date: 01-01-1958

When any registered land is levied upon or seized by virtue of any writ of attachment, execution, or other process, the officer making such levy or seizure shall forthwith file with the county recorder a certificate of the fact of such levy or seizure, stating the court from which it was issued, the number of the case, parties to the suit, amount of the claim, the precise date of the attachment, levy, seizure, or other action taken, with a pertinent description of the land, a memorial of which shall forthwith be entered by the recorder upon the registered certificate of title for such land. No lien shall attach to or be created upon any registered land by reason of such attachment, levy, or seizure, or other action taken, until the filing of such certificate with the recorder and his notation thereof on the last registered certificate of title, any notice thereof, actual or constructive, to the contrary notwithstanding.

Effective Date: 10-01-1953

Whenever a sheriff or other officer seizes or levies upon any registered land by virtue of an execution, order of attachment, or other writ issued to him from a county other than the county in which the land is situated, such sheriff shall forthwith file with the county recorder a certified copy of the writ, and the things such sheriff has done under such writ, and the return made by him as such sheriff thereon, which return shall show the exact time when the seizure or levy was made. The sheriff shall indorse on said writ, and as a part of his return, “land seized (levied upon or attached) is registered land,” and that he filed such copy with the recorder, giving the exact time of filing. Upon the receipt of the copy of such writ and return, the recorder shall forthwith file and make notation of the same and enter a memorial thereof upon the appropriate folium of the register containing the last registered certificate of title for such land, with the exact time of filing. Until such required certified copy of the writ and return is filed with the recorder and noted by him on the last registered certificate of title for such land, the land is not bound by such seizure or levy or any lien obtained thereby.

Effective Date: 10-01-1953

Whenever any attested account to obtain a mechanic’s, material supplier’s, or laborer’s lien is filed in the office of the county recorder by which a lien is sought to be obtained upon any registered land, the county recorder shall forthwith make notation and enter a memorial thereof upon the folium of the register where the last certificate of title to the land is registered, stating the name of the claimant, amount claimed, volume and folium of the record where recorded, and the exact time when said memorial was entered. No lien shall attach to said land until such notation is entered by the recorder.

The recorder may, upon written application of the registered owner, cancel from any certificate of title, a mechanic’s lien which has remained uncanceled for six years and one day from the date of registration of said lien, provided that no notice of any suit affecting said lien has been noted upon the register.

Effective Date: 10-01-1953; 03-30-2007

No suit, action, or proceeding, pending in any court, affecting registered land or any interest therein or charge upon such land is lis pendens, or notice to any person dealing with such land, until a certificate of the pendency of such suit, bill, or proceeding, under the hand and official seal of the clerk of the court in which it is pending, is filed with the county recorder, and a memorial thereof entered by him upon the last registered certificate of title to the land to be affected. This section does not apply to attachment or other proceedings, in which the officer making the attachment or levy, under sections 5309.02 to 5310.21, inclusive, of the Revised Code, is required to file and has filed with the recorder a certificate of the things such officer has done under the writ in his hands.

When any suit, bill, or proceeding has been dismissed or otherwise disposed of, or any judgment, decree, or order has been satisfied, released, reversed, or modified, or any levy of execution, attachment, or other process has been released, discharged, or otherwise disposed of, the sheriff, or the clerk of the court in which such proceedings were pending or had, shall forthwith under his hand, and if the clerk, under the seal of the court, certify to and file with the recorder an instrument showing such discharge, release, dismissal, or final disposition. When such instrument is filed with him, the recorder shall enter a memorial thereof on the last registered certificate of title opposite or under the memorial registering such suit, bill, proceeding, or charge. The costs of such certificate and memorial shall be taxed as other costs in the case.

Effective Date: 10-01-1953

The holder of any certificate of sale of registered land, or any interest therein, for any tax, assessment, or imposition, shall forthwith present such certificate to the county recorder, who shall thereupon enter upon the registered certificate of title of the land a memorial thereof, stating the amount and day of sale, the date of presentation, and shall enter upon the certificate of sale the date of presentation and book and folium of the register where the memorial is entered.

Effective Date: 10-01-1953

A tax deed of registered land, or an interest therein, issued in pursuance of any sale for a tax, assessment, or other imposition, shall have only the effect of an agreement for the transfer of the title upon the register. Before any person dealing with such land is affected by such tax deed such deed must be filed in the county recorder’s office and a memorial of such filing be made by the recorder on the registered certificate of title for such land. No registration of title under such tax deed shall be made, or certificate of title issued thereon, unless the tax deed is filed within sixty days after its date, or in any case except upon the order of the probate court or the court of common pleas, on application therefor by petition to which all persons in interest shall be made parties and brought before the court. Any person interested in the land may show, as cause why such certificate shall not issue, any fact that might be shown at law or in equity on his behalf to set aside such tax deed. The party named in the tax deed must show affirmatively that the law entitling him to a deed has been strictly complied with. In such suit the court may decree such deed and tax sale under which the same was issued to be invalid for the purposes of entitling the purchaser or grantee to a transfer of the title to said land and order the same to be canceled upon the payment by any party in interest to said purchaser or grantee of the amount paid by him on such tax sale and subsequently as taxes on the property, together with interest on all such sums.

Effective Date: 10-01-1953

In any suit or proceeding in any of the courts of record in this state in which registered land may be partitioned or sold, or the title to any part thereof, or to any interest in, or lien or charge upon such land may be transferred or affected by the orders or judgment of the court, no confirmation of such partition, sale, or transfer shall be made by the court, or decree settling or affecting title entered, until there is first filed in the case the report of an examiner of titles to whom the matter shall be referred by the court for that purpose, showing that all persons necessary to such suit or proceeding have been made parties and properly brought before the court and that the proceedings and sale have in all respects been regular and pursuant to law and the orders of the court. The court shall not be bound by the report of such examiner but may inquire into its correctness.

Effective Date: 10-01-1953

On the confirmation of the report of commissioners setting off registered lands in proceedings for partition, the parties to whom the lands are allotted shall cause a certified copy of the judgment or decree to be filed with the county recorder. Thereupon the recorder shall transfer such lands upon the register and issue new certificates of title to the respective allottees. Title in severalty shall not vest until such registration.

Effective Date: 10-01-1953

When any lien or interest exists upon or in an undivided interest in land, and such interest is set off in severalty in proceedings for partition, such lien or interest shall attach only to the lands so set off, and the county recorder shall note the same upon the register of the new certificates of title, and shall indorse a memorandum of the partition upon the instrument creating such lien or other interest before a new certificate of title shall issue to the allottee.

Effective Date: 10-01-1953

Whenever registered land is sold to satisfy any judgment, decree, or order of a court, or the title is transferred or affected by a decree or judgment of a court, the purchaser, or the person in whose favor such decree was rendered, on filing with the county recorder a certificate that the terms of sale have been complied with and a certified copy of the order of sale and return thereof and confirmation, or a certified copy of the decree of the court transferring or affecting the title, as the case may be, is entitled to have the property transferred to him and his title registered accordingly and a new certificate of title issued therefor.

Effective Date: 10-01-1953

Before an assignee or trustee for the benefit of creditors, receiver, master commissioner, special master commissioner, executor, or other person appointed by a court, shall deal with or transfer registered land, or any interest therein, such person shall file in the county recorder’s office a certified copy of the deed, order of the court, will, or other authority showing the such person is authorized to deal with or transfer such land or interest, and shall present to the recorder the duplicate certificate of title for such land. The recorder shall enter upon the registered certificate and on the duplicate certificate of title, a memorial thereof, with a reference to such deed, order of the court, will, or other authority by its file number. In case of a deed of the land in fee simple to the assignee, receiver, or other officer, the recorder shall register the title in the name of such tra