If safety squints don’t fly on the jobsite. They definitely won’t when it comes to the county recorder looking at your lien or preliminary notice. Submitting a document for recording with specks, smudges, lines, contrast issues, or other imperfections that make it hard to read is one of the fastest ways to wind up with a rejection. Here, we’ll discuss a few steps you can take to make sure your next submission has the best shot of being recorded on the first try!
The “Legibility Requirement” for Recorded Documents
So, just what exactly is “legible” when it comes to recording? The answer is, like many things, it depends. Typically, states have their own recording requirements outlined in statute, which mention readability in one way or another. Further, individual counties may have different systems for recording and storing documents that produce a variety of results. What one county with a high-resolution scanner may accept, another using microfilm may turn away.
At the end of the day, however, it is often up to the judgment of the recording official to determine what they will accept. It’s easy to get frustrated with a rejection. However, remember it’s the county’s responsibility to uphold the integrity of the public record and recording requirements enshrined in state law.
Examples of legibility requirements:
- Tennessee Code Ann. § 66-24-101
- The county register may refuse to register any writing eligible for registration in accordance with this title, if such writing, in the opinion of the county register, is illegible or cannot be legibly recorded or reproduced…
- Texas Local Government Code § 191.007(b)(3)
- …be printed in type not smaller than eight-point type and be suitable otherwise for reproducing from it a readable record by a photocopy, photostatic, or microphotographic process used in the office of the county clerk.
- Arizona Revised Statutes § 11-480(2)
- Each instrument shall be an original and shall be sufficiently legible for the recorder to make certified copies from the photographic or micrographic record.
- Nebraska Revised Statutes § 23-1503.01(3)
- The instrument shall be sufficiently legible to allow for a readable copy to be reproduced using the method of reproduction used by the register of deeds.
- Massachusetts General Law Ch. 36 § 12A
- A register of deeds may refuse to accept an instrument for recording if it cannot be properly duplicated or a proper record cannot be made thereof.
- Minnesota Statutes § 507.093(7)
- A document presented for recording must be sufficiently legible to reproduce a readable copy using the county recorder’s or registrar of title’s current method of reproduction.
Despite some variation, a good general rule is that a document submitted for recording should be clear enough for any member of the public to read and understand it once recorded. Additionally, any copy of a document produced from the official record should result in a readable reproduction. After all, one purpose of recording a document is to establish a permanent record of transactions concerning property for reference by third parties.
Learn More: Common Reasons Mechanics Liens Are Rejected – Issues with the County Recorder
Things to Look Out For
Beginning with a clean, sharp original is the best way to ensure you’re set up for success at the recording counter. Below are some tips and tricks for getting the best possible document to present for recording.
Print and Scan Quality
It’s no secret that the best finished product means starting with quality. When copying, scanning, or printing your document, using a minimum resolution of 300dpi (Dots Per Inch) is a widely recognized baseline for achieving a recordable image. Many county recording offices and the Property Records Industry Association reference this threshold in their published formatting standards.
While 300dpi is a good starting point, that doesn’t mean you can’t go higher. Just be careful of file size limits, especially when submitting your document through an eRecording platform. The good news is that 300dpi is a readily achievable resolution for office equipment and home scanners alike!
Wrinkles, Creases, and Smudges, Oh My!
Scanning at 300dpi is a great first step, but it’s all for naught if what you’re scanning isn’t worth . . . well, the paper it’s printed on. Making sure that you’re scanning or copying a version of a document that is free of markups, creases, folds, etc., will do wonders for increasing your document’s quality. Creases and crumples can cause shadows, smudges, or gray areas on scanned documents, and markups can interfere with margins, or, worse, obscure text.
Printing single-sided is another best practice to remember. Not all county offices can accommodate two-sided copies, and even if they can, ink bleedthrough from the opposite side may present issues.
Also worth noting, take care to confirm that you’ve scanned or copied the entire document. Cutting off text or even the smallest piece of information can lead to a rejection if the county feels those missing pieces amount to material omissions.
Not All Scans Are Created Equal
With smartphone cameras and apps promising high-resolution image capture, it’s easy to reach for convenience when digitizing a paper document. These methods may be fine for casual sharing or light business use, but relying on them when you’re up against a lien deadline is not a good idea.
Cameras are sensitive to angles, shadows, and light, and scanner apps often lack the ability to provide the clear, dark text recording officials are looking for. What’s more, both cameras and scanner apps struggle to effectively crop the image and eliminate portions beyond the document in question. Here, the background behind the document can bleed through and often create dark black blotches or lines along the edges of the document, especially when using electronic recording platforms.
Outside of the obvious issues created by these dark edges, squeezing a document into tight margins with these blotches and lines creates additional problems, as it often reduces text size, further compromising clarity. Don’t forget, many of the same statutes addressing readability also require a minimum font size!
Sticking to dedicated scanners with a flat bed or feeder tray can help deliver the best results.
Supporting Documents and Attachments
Lien claimants are often required, or are provided the option, to attach supporting documents, like contracts, invoices, and the like, to their claims. But don’t let these supporting documents be the reason you need to make another trip to the courthouse! Supporting documents and attachments are subject to the same recording requirements as the document itself. For a comprehensive look at what states require or allow attachments to lien claims, see Levelset’s Ultimate Guide to Mechanics Lien Attachments.
When attaching additional documentation, rotating pages so they display in portrait orientation when printed can help avoid issues at the recording counter. Many recording jurisdictions will refuse pages in landscape. Further, a landscape document printed in portrait may yield text too small to be considered clear enough for recording.
When sourcing a legal description from another recorded document, it’s also important to remember that some descriptions may be from much older documents and/or have been copied many times. It may be necessary to retype a description. If it’s short enough, or locate the original document that the description came from, to get a clear copy to use.
It’s also wise to keep an eye out for graphics, dark backgrounds, light/stylized text, headers/footers, etc. These can all fade or blur together when printing, scanning, or copying, quickly pushing your document towards illegibility.
When all else fails, double-check your state’s lien law to be sure those attachments are really necessary to file your lien. If not, consider leaving them off and keeping them organized and ready, should enforcing your claim become necessary at a later date.
Notary Seals and Signatures
You’ve got your clear, crease-free document hot off the printer and ready to take to your local recording office. Before you head out, check whether your document requires notarization. Not all documents do, but most mechanics liens and many other recorded instruments will need a notary’s endorsement to be accepted.
Just like with recording standards, each state is going to have its own requirements for what must be included in a notarization to be sufficient for recording. That said, most states can agree on one thing: clarity is key! Whether your state mandates a seal, a stamp, a signature, or a combination thereof, make sure that the notary’s endorsement is crisp, complete, dark, and likely to photocopy well.
Dive Deeper: Tips to Ensure That Your Document is Notarized Properly to Avoid Rejections
A stamp with pink, green, purple, or other colors of ink may look nice, but it’s often best to stick to black or blue to be sure that the stamp reproduces well for recording. Moreover, like any tool, a notary stamp requires regular maintenance. Don’t forget to add ink and be sure to clean your stamp regularly! Generally speaking. The name of the notary, their commissioning state, commission number, and expiry are all crucial details that recording offices closely scrutinize.
For notaries using embossed seals, an ink pad, graphite, or carbon paper may help yield an impression that a scanning device can pick up with enough detail.
Bottom Line
With all the deadlines, prerequisites, and other hurdles lien claimants need to clear, it’s understandable that document clarity might not be top of mind. That being said, presenting a document that’s ready to be recorded is just as important as meeting your deadline. After all, a rejection doesn’t just delay the process. It can put your lien rights at risk if your filing deadline passes before the issue is corrected. Fixing and resubmitting a rejected document takes time, and depending on your state’s requirements, you may need to update supporting paperwork and resend copies to other parties as well.
Document quality is one aspect of the recording process that is within your control. So taking some time and care when preparing your lien for recording is an easy step to help make sure everything goes smoothly!