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1 STATE OF OKLAHOMA
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2 1st Session of the 60th Legislature (2025)
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3 SENATE BILL 961 By: Bullard
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7 AS INTRODUCED
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8 An Act relating to county clerks; amending 19 O.S.
8 2021, Section 298, as amended by Section 1, Chapter
9 250, O.S.L. 2024 (19 O.S. Supp. 2024, Section 298),
9 which relates to the duty of register of deeds;
10 requiring certain notification by county clerk;
10 providing for certain fee; providing for certain
11 optional confirmation; clarifying certain liability;
11 updating statutory language; and providing an
12 effective date.
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15 BE IT ENACTED BY THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF OKLAHOMA:
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16 SECTION 1. AMENDATORY 19 O.S. 2021, Section 298, as
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17 amended by Section 1, Chapter 250, O.S.L. 2024 (19 O.S. Supp. 2024,
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18 Section 298), is amended to read as follows:
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19 Section 298. A. Every county clerk in this state shall require
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20 that the mandates of the Legislature be complied with, as expressed
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21 in Sections 287 and 291 of this title, and for that purpose, every
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22 instrument offered which may be accepted by the county clerk for
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23 recording, affecting specific real property whether of conveyance,
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24 encumbrance, assignment, or release of encumbrance, lease,
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Req. No. 943 Page 1
1 assignment of lease, or release of lease, shall be an original or
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2 certified copy of an original instrument and clearly legible in
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3 accordance with the provisions of subsection B of this section, and
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4 shall by its own terms describe the property by its specific legal
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5 description, and provide such information as is necessary for
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6 indexing as required in Sections 287 and 291 of this title, and on
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7 each such instrument shall be listed the mailing address of the
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8 grantee, mortgagee, assignee, or other designated party to which the
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9 instrument is to be delivered after recording. If an instrument
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10 offered to a county clerk for recording contains more than twenty-
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11 five legal descriptions requiring separate entries in the indexes
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12 required by Sections 287 and 291 of this title, the descriptions
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13 shall be sorted by addition, block, and lot if platted property, or
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14 by township, range, and section if described by governmental survey
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15 description. Any instrument offered to a county clerk for recording
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16 containing more than twenty-five legal descriptions per page,
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17 counted as each description which could require a separate line
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18 entry in the numerical index, shall be accompanied by an additional
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19 filing fee of One Dollar ($1.00) per legal description in excess of
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20 twenty-five legal descriptions per page to be paid to the county
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21 clerk. Unless the person offering a nonconforming instrument for
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22 filing is willing to reform the instrument to conform to statutory
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23 requirements, for which purpose it may be withdrawn and refiled
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24 during the same business day, the county clerk may refuse to record
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1 the same in the records of deeds, leases, or mortgages or to index
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2 the same upon the index records referred to in Section 287 or 291 of
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3 this title, or to file or record the same in the office of the
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4 county clerk.
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5 B. All documents filed of record in the office of the county
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6 clerk pursuant to subsection A of this section or pursuant to any
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7 other law shall be an original or a certified copy of an original
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8 document. Such documents shall be clearly legible, in the English
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9 language, using xerographically reproducible dark ink, on paper of a
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10 color that is xerographically reproducible by the copying equipment
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11 in use by the county clerk. Unless otherwise provided by law, such
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12 documents shall measure no larger than eight and one-half (8 1/2)
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13 inches by fourteen (14) inches. All documents shall provide an area
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14 free of printed information sufficient in size to accommodate
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15 affixation of the documentary stamps required by Section 3201 of
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16 Title 68 of the Oklahoma Statutes, any certification of the payment
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17 of mortgage taxes required by Section 1901 et seq. of Title 68 of
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18 the Oklahoma Statutes, and the recording information affixed by the
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19 county clerk upon acceptance of a document for recordation. Any
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20 part of a signature or any stray markings within the margin shall
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21 not void the requirements for accepting and filing any document by
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22 any county within the state, provided there remains sufficient space
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23 for the affixation of stamps and recording information without
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24 covering language contained in the instrument. If an instrument
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1 submitted to the county clerk for recording does not contain
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2 sufficient space for the affixation of such stamps and recording
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3 information without covering language contained in the instrument,
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4 the county clerk shall attach an additional page to the document to
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5 provide for the affixation of such stamps and recording information.
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6 A county clerk shall not charge any additional fee or fine for stray
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7 markings within the margin of a document. The top margin of all
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8 documents shall be at least two (2) inches and all other margins
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9 shall be at least one (1) inch.
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10 C. Despite any provision in this section to the contrary, the
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11 county clerk shall accept for filing any document that fails to meet
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12 the requirements of subsection B of this section if:
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13 1. The document is an original or a certified copy of an
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14 original;
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15 2. The document is legible without the aid of magnification or
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16 other enhancement of the text;
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17 3. The document is xerographically reproducible by the copying
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18 equipment in use by the county clerk;
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19 4. The document meets all other statutory requirements for
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20 recordation; and
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21 5. The person offering the instrument for recording pays the
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22 additional fee provided in Section 32 of Title 28 of the Oklahoma
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23 Statutes for nonconforming documents.
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1 D. Despite any provision in this section to the contrary, a
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2 digitized image or electronic copy of an original or certified copy
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3 of an original instrument or document shall satisfy the requirement
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4 that the document be an original or certified copy of an original
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5 instrument or document, provided that the digitized image or
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6 electronic copy is submitted for recording electronically pursuant
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7 to the Uniform Real Property Electronic Recording Act in Title 16 of
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8 the Oklahoma Statutes and all other rules promulgated pursuant to
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9 that act.
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10 E. This section shall not apply to plats, filings under the
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11 Uniform Commercial Code, or any other instruments that may be filed
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12 pursuant to any other law.
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13 F. All documents accepted for filing, including all documents
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14 filed before February 18, 1997, shall be deemed to comply with the
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15 requirements of this section and, except as otherwise provided by
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16 law, impart constructive notice of the contents of such document to
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17 third parties unless a person claiming adversely to any such
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18 document files an affidavit setting forth the basis of such claim in
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19 the office of the county clerk of the county where the property is
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20 located within six (6) months from February 18, 1997.
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21 G. Upon the filing of a deed, the county clerk shall notify or
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22 attempt to notify the previous deed holder of the filing. The
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23 county clerk may determine the most effective way to notify the
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24 previous deed holder and may use third-party vendors, provided the
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1 method used is effective in sending a timely notification to the
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2 previous deed owner. Such notification shall inform the previous
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3 deed holder of the new filing. The county clerk may charge a one-
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4 dollar notification fee to the filer of the deed for each deed filed
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5 with the county clerk to effectuate the purposes of this subsection.
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6 H. The county clerk shall provide an immediate option for a
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7 deed holder to, at any time, place a trigger within their deed,
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8 which shall require the county clerk to contact such deed holder at
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9 the time of any subsequent filings to immediately notify and verify
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10 that they are or are not the person or entity transferring the deed.
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11 If the deed holder, once contact is established, contests the
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12 validity of the proposed deed filing, the county clerk shall cease
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13 completion of the filing and submit a formal and immediate inquiry
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14 to the local district attorney to investigate and make a
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15 determination as to whether the awaiting filing of a deed is
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16 fraudulent or is a legitimate deed conveyance. The district
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17 attorney shall verify with the original deed holder if they want to
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18 allow the new deed to be filed or if they want to halt the filing.
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19 If the deed holder does not respond within five (5) business days
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20 and every reasonable attempt has been made to contact such deed
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21 holder, then the county clerk shall complete the proposed filing.
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22 I. The county clerk shall not be liable to a deed holder for
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23 any damages pursuant to this section when the notification processes
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24 of this section are followed.
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1 SECTION 2. This act shall become effective November 1, 2025.
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3 60-1-943 MSBB 1/19/2025 5:46:47 AM
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Req. No. 943 Page 7Every fact on this page links to its source, starting with the official bill record.