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STANDARDIZATION REQUIREMENTS
New Law as of July 1, 2009

317.114 Standard format of instruments to be recorded.

(A) Except as otherwise provided in division (B) of this section, an instrument or document presented for recording to the county recorder shall have been prepared in accordance with all of the following requirements:

(1) Print size not smaller than a computer font size of ten;

(2) Minimum paper size of eight and one-half inches by eleven inches;

(3) Maximum paper size of eight and one-half inches by fourteen inches;

(4) Black or blue ink only;

(5) No use of highlighting;

(6) Margins of one-inch width on each side of each page of the instrument or document;

(7) A margin of one-inch width across the bottom of each page of the instrument or document;

(8) A three-inch margin of blank space across the top of the first page of each instrument or document to accommodate any certification or endorsement of the county engineer, county auditor, or county recorder, as may be required by law, with the right half of that margin being reserved for the endorsement of the county recorder required by section 317.12 of the Revised Code; and

(9) A one and one-half-inch margin across the top of each of the remaining pages of the instrument or document.

The county recorder shall accept for recording an instrument or document that does not conform to the foregoing requirements but shall charge and collect the following additional fees for each such instrument or document; an additional base fee for the recorder's services of ten dollars and a housing trust fund fee of ten dollars, which shall be collected pursuant to section 317.36 of the Revised Code.

(B) This section does not apply to any of the following:

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

(2) Any document authorized to be recorded under section 317.24 of the Revised Code;

(3) Any plat, as defined in section 711.001 of the Revised Code, that is required or authorized by the Revised Code to be recorded;

(4) Any document authorized to be recorded that originates from any state or federal agency;

(5) Any document executed before the effective date of this section.

Effective Date: 2008 HB525 07-01-2009

Effective January 1, 2008, due to deeds being submitted with errors, the Recorder’s Office will no longer accept any conveyance by mail. This includes all documents that require a stamp (including transfer not necessary) from the Auditor's office. This policy will eliminate errors and ensure compliance with our conveyance standards.

Effective Immediately

SB 124 requires that a designation of a beneficiary of a transfer on death of real property must be created by affidavit rather than a deed. This means that deeds may no longer be used.

The bill became effective immediately with the governor's signature on December 28, 2009, and does not affect existing transfer on death deeds filed prior to that date.

Effective Immediately

ORC 5302.221 became effective September 29, 2007. This new statue requires a transfer on death deed beneficiary or their representative to file a form with the Recorder’s Office to notify the administrator of the Medicaid Estate Recovery Program as to whether the property was part of the decedent’s estate subject to the Medicaid Estate Recovery Program.

This form was not released until February 20, 2008. Therefore, effective immediately we will require this form before we can accept the affidavit for recording.

Please note: Effective July 2014, this form has been revised.