1     
REAL PROPERTY RECORDING AMENDMENTS

2     
2021 GENERAL SESSION

3     
STATE OF UTAH

4     
Chief Sponsor: Ronald M. Winterton

5     
House Sponsor: ____________

6     

7     LONG TITLE
8     General Description:
9          This bill addresses the recording of documents concerning real property.
10     Highlighted Provisions:
11          This bill:
12          ▸     provides the requirements for a legal description of real property in a document to
13     be recorded with a county recorder; and
14          ▸     makes technical and conforming changes.
15     Money Appropriated in this Bill:
16          None
17     Other Special Clauses:
18          None
19     Utah Code Sections Affected:
20     AMENDS:
21          17-21-20, as last amended by Laws of Utah 2019, Chapter 302
22          57-3-105, as last amended by Laws of Utah 2011, Chapter 88
23     

24     Be it enacted by the Legislature of the state of Utah:
25          Section 1. Section 17-21-20 is amended to read:
26          17-21-20. Recording required -- Recorder may impose requirements on
27     documents to be recorded -- Prerequisites -- Additional fee for noncomplying documents

28     -- Recorder may require tax serial number -- Exceptions -- Requirements for recording
29     final local entity plat.
30          (1) Subject to Subsections (2), (3), and (4), a county recorder shall record each paper,
31     notice, and instrument required by law to be recorded in the office of the county recorder unless
32     otherwise provided.
33          (2) Subject to Chapter 21a, Uniform Real Property Electronic Recording Act, each
34     document that is submitted for recording to a county recorder's office shall:
35          (a) unless otherwise provided by law, be an original or certified copy of the document;
36          (b) be in English or be accompanied by an accurate English translation of the
37     document;
38          (c) contain a brief title, heading, or caption on the first page stating the nature of the
39     document;
40          (d) except as otherwise provided by statute, contain the legal description of the
41     property that is the subject of the document in accordance with Subsection 57-3-105(6);
42          (e) comply with the requirements of Section 17-21-25 and Subsections 57-3-105(1)
43     and (2);
44          (f) except as otherwise provided by statute, be notarized with the notary stamp with the
45     seal legible; and
46          (g) have original signatures.
47          (3) (a) Subject to Chapter 21a, Uniform Real Property Electronic Recording Act, a
48     county recorder may require that each paper, notice, and instrument submitted for recording in
49     the county recorder's office:
50          (i) be on white paper that is 8-1/2 inches by 11 inches in size;
51          (ii) have a margin of one inch on the left and right sides and at the bottom of each
52     page;
53          (iii) have a space of 2-1/2 inches down and 4-1/2 inches across the upper right corner
54     of the first page and a margin of one inch at the top of each succeeding page;
55          (iv) not be on sheets of paper that are continuously bound together at the side, top, or
56     bottom;
57          (v) not contain printed material on more than one side of each page;
58          (vi) be printed in black ink and not have text smaller than seven lines of text per

59     vertical inch; and
60          (vii) be sufficiently legible to make certified copies.
61          (b) A county recorder who intends to establish requirements under Subsection (3)(a)
62     shall first:
63          (i) provide formal notice of the requirements; and
64          (ii) establish and publish an effective date for the requirements that is at least three
65     months after the formal notice under Subsection (3)(b)(i).
66          (4) (a) To facilitate the abstracting of an instrument, a county recorder may require that
67     the applicable tax identification number of each parcel described in the instrument be noted on
68     the instrument before the county recorder may accept the instrument for recording.
69          (b) If a county recorder requires the applicable tax identification number to be on an
70     instrument before [it] the instrument may be recorded:
71          (i) the county recorder shall post a notice of that requirement in a conspicuous place at
72     the recorder's office;
73          (ii) the tax identification number may not be considered to be part of the legal
74     description and may be indicated on the margin of the instrument; and
75          (iii) an error in the tax identification number does not affect the validity of the
76     instrument or effectiveness of the recording.
77          (5) Subsections (2), (3), and (4) do not apply to:
78          (a) a map or plat;
79          (b) a certificate or affidavit of death that a government agency issues;
80          (c) a military discharge or other record that a branch of the United States military
81     service issues;
82          (d) a document regarding taxes that is issued by the Internal Revenue Service of the
83     United States Department of the Treasury;
84          (e) a document submitted for recording that has been filed with a court and conforms to
85     the formatting requirements established by the court; or
86          (f) a document submitted for recording that is in a form required by law.
87          (6) (a) As used in this Subsection (6):
88          (i) "Boundary action" has the same meaning as defined in Section 17-23-20.
89          (ii) "Local entity" has the same meaning as defined in Section 67-1a-6.5.

90          (b) A person may not submit to a county recorder for recording a plat depicting the
91     boundary of a local entity as the boundary exists as a result of a boundary action, unless:
92          (i) the plat has been approved under Section 17-23-20 by the county surveyor as a final
93     local entity plat, as defined in Section 17-23-20; and
94          (ii) the person also submits for recording:
95          (A) the original notice of an impending boundary action, as defined in Section
96     67-1a-6.5, for the boundary action for which the plat is submitted for recording;
97          (B) the original applicable certificate, as defined in Section 67-1a-6.5, issued by the
98     lieutenant governor under Section 67-1a-6.5 for the boundary action for which the plat is
99     submitted for recording; and
100          (C) each other document required by statute to be submitted for recording with the
101     notice of an impending boundary action and applicable certificate.
102          (c) Promptly after recording the documents described in Subsection (6)(b) relating to a
103     boundary action, but no later than 10 days after recording, the county recorder shall send a copy
104     of all those documents to the State Tax Commission.
105          Section 2. Section 57-3-105 is amended to read:
106          57-3-105. Legal description of real property and names and addresses required in
107     documents.
108          (1) Except as otherwise provided by statute, a person may not present a document for
109     recording unless the document complies with this section.
110          (2) A document executed after July 1, 1983, is entitled to be recorded in the office of
111     the recorder of the county in which the property described in the document is located only if the
112     document contains a legal description of the real property in accordance with Subsection (6).
113          (3) (a) A document conveying title to real property presented for recording after July 1,
114     1981, is entitled to be recorded in the office of the recorder of the county in which the property
115     described in the document is located only if:
116          (i) the document names the grantees and recites a mailing address to be used for
117     assessment and taxation [in addition to the legal description required under Subsection (2).];
118     and
119          (ii) the document includes a legal description of the real property in accordance with
120     Subsection (6).

121          (b) The address of the management committee may be used as the mailing address of a
122     grantee as required in Subsection (3)(a) if the interest conveyed is a timeshare interest as
123     defined by Section 57-19-2.
124          [(4) A person may not present and a county recorder may refuse to accept a document
125     for recording if the document does not conform to this section.]
126          (4) If a document for recording does not conform to this section:
127          (a) a person may not present the document to the office of the recorder of the county
128     for recording; and
129          (b) the office of the recorder of the county may refuse to accept the document for
130     recording.
131          (5) Notwithstanding Subsections (2), (3), and (4), a master form, as defined in Section
132     57-3-201, that does not meet the requirements of Subsections (2) and (3) is entitled to be
133     recorded in the office of the recorder of the county in which the property described in the
134     master form is located if it complies with Part 2, Master Mortgage and Trust Deeds.
135          (6) A legal description required under this section and Subsection 17-21-20(2)(d) must
136     include a description of:
137          (a) the location and boundaries of the real property by:
138          (i) metes and bounds;
139          (ii) a government survey; or
140          (iii) a lot, block, or track number within a previously recorded plat or map; and
141          (b) any easement, right-of-way, or reservation on the real property.