Arizona

State Coordinator

Joan McCall
County Recorder
Mohave County
P.O. Box 70
Kingman, AZ 86402
Phone: 520-753-0701
Fax: 928.753.0727
Email: joan.mccall@co.mohave.az.us

State Conference

Arizona Association of Counties
November 16-19, 2004
Scottsdale, AZ

Equipment Replacement/Technology Fund

11-475.01. Document storage and retrieval conversion and maintenance fund; purpose
A. A document storage and retrieval conversion and maintenance fund is established in each county consisting of monies recieved pursuant to subsection C.

B. The board of supervisors shall administer the fund and, in cooperation with the county recorder, expend monies in the fund in order to defray the cost of converting the county recorder's document storage and retrieval system to micrographics or computer automation. Monies in the fund may only beused for purchasing hardware and software, training employees to operate the system, maintaining the system, purchasing equipment maintenance agreements and updating the system hardware or software for the county recorder's office. Monies in the fund shall not be expended for expenses other than for the support of the county recorder's automation system. If the expenditures are determined by the auditor general to be improper and inconsistent with this section, the county general fund shall reimburse the document storage and retrieval conversion and maintenance fund for all improper and inconsistent expenditures.

C. In addition to any other fee charged pursuant to this article, the board of supervisors may assess a special recording surcharge of not to exceed four dollars for each instrument, paper or notice filed with the county recorder. All monies received pursuant to this subsection shall be transmitted to the county treasurer and placed in the document storage and retrieval conversion and maintenance fund.

D. The county recorder shall annually submit to the board of supervisors the amount of projected revenues to be raised for the document storage and retrieval conversion and maintenance fund pursuant to this section. If projected revenues of the fund are deemed insufficient to pay for conversion costs, fund monies may accumulate until sufficient monies are available in the fund.

Document Standards

11-480. Requirements for form of instruments
A. Only an instrument which upon presentation to a county recorder for recordation fails to meet any of the following conditions may be rejected for recordation at the time of presentation for recordation
1. Each instrument shall have a caption briefly stating the nature of the instrument, such as warranty deed, release of mortgage, notice of bulk sale and like captions. The county recorder shall have no obligation to index any instrument under any subject index category maintained by the county recorder unless that category is included in the caption to the instrument.
2. Each instrument shall be an original or a copy of the original and shall be sufficiently legible for the recorder to make certified copies from the photographs or micrographic record.
3. Each instrument shall have original signatures or carbon copies of such signature except when otherwise provided by law.
4. Each instrument dated and executed on or after January 1, 1991, shall be no larger than eight and one-half inches in width and no longer than fourteen inches and shall have a print size no smaller than ten point type.

B. Each instrument dated and executed on or after January 1, 1991, shall have at least a one-half inch margin across the top, bottom and the left and right sides from the top to the bottom. Any markings, entries or text which are within the one-half inch margin shall be deemed not to impart the notice otherwise imparted by recordation unless such markings, entries or text appear in the reproduction produced under the direction and control of the county recorder. Failure to meet the one-half inch margin requirement of this subsection may affect notice imparted by the document but shall not constitute grounds for rejection for recordation pursuant to subsection A.

C. The first page shall have a top margin of at least two inches which shall be reserved for recording information. The left three and one-half inches of the top margin of the first page or sheet may be used by the public to show the name of the person requesting recording and the name and address to which the document is to be returned following recording. If the first page of the instrument does not comply with the top margin requirements, a separate sheet that meets the requirement and that reflects the title of the document as required by subsection A, paragraph 1 shall be attached to the front of the document by the party requesting recording.

D. Any instrument presented to a county recorder for recordation which modifies in any way the provisions of a previously recorded document must state the date of recordation and the docket and page of the document being modified.

E. Any instrument accepted for recordation is not subject to a later claim of invalidity for failure to comply with the requirements of this section.