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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 This bill provides a special effective date.
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
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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(4);
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 to which a tax identification
67 number is assigned, a county recorder may require that the applicable tax identification number
68 of each parcel described in the instrument be noted on the instrument before the county
69 recorder [
70 (b) If a county recorder requires the applicable tax identification number to be on an
71 instrument before [
72 (i) the county recorder shall post a notice of that requirement in a conspicuous place at
73 the recorder's office;
74 (ii) the tax identification number may not be considered to be part of the legal
75 description and may be indicated on the margin of the instrument; and
76 (iii) an error in the tax identification number does not affect the validity of the
77 instrument or effectiveness of the recording.
78 (5) Subsections (2), (3), and (4) do not apply to:
79 (a) a map or plat;
80 (b) a certificate or affidavit of death that a government agency issues;
81 (c) a military discharge or other record that a branch of the United States military
82 service issues;
83 (d) a document regarding taxes that is issued by the Internal Revenue Service of the
84 United States Department of the Treasury;
85 (e) a document submitted for recording that has been filed with a court and conforms to
86 the formatting requirements established by the court; or
87 (f) a document submitted for recording that is in a form required by law.
88 (6) (a) As used in this Subsection (6):
89 (i) "Boundary action" has the same meaning as defined in Section 17-23-20.
90 (ii) "Local entity" has the same meaning as defined in Section 67-1a-6.5.
91 (b) A person may not submit to a county recorder for recording a plat depicting the
92 boundary of a local entity as the boundary exists as a result of a boundary action, unless:
93 (i) the plat has been approved under Section 17-23-20 by the county surveyor as a final
94 local entity plat, as defined in Section 17-23-20; and
95 (ii) the person also submits for recording:
96 (A) the original notice of an impending boundary action, as defined in Section
97 67-1a-6.5, for the boundary action for which the plat is submitted for recording;
98 (B) the original applicable certificate, as defined in Section 67-1a-6.5, issued by the
99 lieutenant governor under Section 67-1a-6.5 for the boundary action for which the plat is
100 submitted for recording; and
101 (C) each other document required by statute to be submitted for recording with the
102 notice of an impending boundary action and applicable certificate.
103 (c) Promptly after recording the documents described in Subsection (6)(b) relating to a
104 boundary action, but no later than 10 days after recording, the county recorder shall send a copy
105 of all those documents to the State Tax Commission.
106 Section 2. Section 57-3-105 is amended to read:
107 57-3-105. Legal description of real property and names and addresses required in
108 documents.
109 (1) Except as otherwise provided by statute, if a document for recording does not
110 conform to this section, a person may not present [
111 of the county for recording [
112 (2) A document executed after July 1, [
113 office of the recorder of the county in which the property described in the document is located
114 only if the document contains a legal description of the real property in accordance with
115 Subsection (4).
116 (3) (a) A document conveying title to real property presented for recording after July 1,
117 [
118 property described in the document is located only if the document:
119 (i) names the grantees and recites a mailing address to be used for assessment and
120 taxation [
121 (ii) includes a legal description of the real property in accordance with Subsection (4).
122 (b) The address of the management committee may be used as the mailing address of a
123 grantee as required in Subsection (3)(a) if the interest conveyed is a timeshare interest as
124 defined by Section 57-19-2.
125 [
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127 (4) A legal description required under this Section and Subsection 17-21-20(2)(d) shall
128 include a description of the real property by:
129 (a) metes and bounds;
130 (b) a government survey that:
131 (i) references the Public Land Survey System; and
132 (ii) specifies the township, range, base and meridian, and section, with aliquot part or
133 government lot, if applicable, of the real property;
134 (c) if the real property consists of a mining claim:
135 (i) the claim name; and
136 (ii) if available, a state or federal agency serial number; or
137 (d) (i) a lot, block, tract, parcel, or unit within a previously recorded plat or map;
138 (ii) station and offset with reference to centerline;
139 (iii) a centerline described using:
140 (A) a bearing and distance; or
141 (B) at least three elements of curve data;
142 (iv) a point referenced to a corner of the Public Land Survey System or other
143 controlling corner; or
144 (v) a type of legal description not described in Subsections (4)(d)(i) through (iv) that
145 meets the requirements described in Section 57-10-4 for a legal and satisfactory description of
146 a land boundary.
147 (5) Notwithstanding Subsections (2), (3), and (4), a master form, as defined in Section
148 57-3-201, that does not meet the requirements of Subsections (2) and (3) is entitled to be
149 recorded in the office of the recorder of the county in which the property described in the
150 master form is located if [
151 Deeds.
152 Section 3. Effective date.
153 This bill takes effect on July 1, 2022.