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Congratulations! You’ve just accessed “The Beginner’s Guide to Document eRecording,” the definitive guide to the process of electronically recording real estate documents.
This free online publication from CSC examines the document recording process and how electronic document recording (eRecording) has transformed the real estate document industry. We’ll discuss the legislative authority for and benefits of eRecording and tell you how to get started eRecording today.
Once you start, you’ll be amazed by how much paper you save! In the guide illustrations we’ll give you some hints for what you can do with all of that extra paper once you’ve made the switch. And, at the very end, you’ll receive instructions to make one of your very own origami figures.
But first, let’s start at the beginning
What is document recording
Recording refers to the act of receiving, processing and safekeeping official public information in accordance with local, state and federal law. Most recorded documents deal with the ownership and transfer of personal and real property. The act of recording is important because it establishes an archive of property records that ensures the rights and entitlements of property owners.
Once a document is recorded, attorneys, land title examiners, businesses, historians, and members of the general public can use the information to verify or determine property ownership. From a real estate perspective, virtually any transaction involving real property involves the county recorder’s office. Recorded information makes it possible to establish a history of property ownership that informs property owners of any debts or encumbrances against a property. Without the work of county recorders, it would be almost impossible to purchase real estate and be assured of a clear title to the land.
In other words,
Document recording is an important process and a critical part of real estate law.
The act of recording documents is among the oldest governing functions in the United States. But the process and tools involved changed very little for hundreds of years until eRecording came along.
What is eRecording?
Electronic document recording is the process of digitally creating, submitting and recording legally binding land ownership records. The eRecording process involves more than just converting a paper document to an electronic image for storage. The electronic document recording process encompasses the use of several technologies that allow those involved to create, sign, transmit, record, index, archive, and return the original property record’sometimes without ever touching a piece of paper.
Electronic recording of real estate documents began in the late 1990s and has transformed the process of recording property documents in the United States. More counties adopt eRecording processes every week. As more offices embrace electronic document recording, paper document recordings will become a thing of the past.
In this free publication, we will examine the recording process in both paper and electronic formats and discuss how both submitters of land records (like title companies, law firms and lenders) and recorders of real estate documents (like county recorders, clerks and registers of deeds) can benefit from adopting electronic document recording processes.
Plus, we’ll tell you how you can start eRecording today.
Can I just start eRecording right now?
If you’d like, you can skip the publication and go straight to contacting one of our consultants to start the eRecording process right now. But if you’re still looking for more information, please read on to find out how the document recording process has historically worked.
Continue to Chapter 1: Paper Document Recording & Submitters