The Connecticut General Assembly passed a bill that changes the fees town clerks may charge for copies of documents as well as a few other revisions.
The bill, HB 5539, was introduced by the House Planning and Development Committee.
Subsection (a) of section 7-34a of the general statutes now states “Town clerks shall receive, for recording any document, $10 for the first page and $5 dollars for each subsequent page or fractional part thereof, a page being not more than eight and one-half inches. Town clerks shall receive, for recording documents conforming to, or substantially similar to, section 47-36c, which are clearly entitled ‘statutory form’ in the heading of such documents, as follows: For the first page of a warranty deed, a quitclaim deed, a mortgage deed or an assignment of mortgage $10; for each additional page of such document, $5; and for each assignment of mortgage, subsequent to the first two assignments, $2. Town clerks shall receive, for recording any document with respect to which certain data must be submitted by each town clerk to the Secretary of the Office of Policy and Management in accordance with section 10-261b, $2 in addition to the regular recording fee. Any person who offers any written document for recording in the office of any town clerk, which document fails to have legibly typed, printed or stamped directly beneath the signatures the names of the persons who executed the document, the names of any witnesses thereto and the names of the officer before whom the same was acknowledged, shall pay $1 in addition to the regular recording fee.
“Town clerks shall receive, for recording any deed except a mortgage deed, conveying title to real estate, which deed does not contain the current mailing address of the grantee, $5 in addition to the regular recording fee. Town clerks shall receive for filing any document, $5; for receiving and keeping a survey or map, legally filed in the town clerk’s office, $5; and for indexing such survey or map, in accordance with section 7-32, $5, except with respect to indexing any such survey or map pertaining to a subdivision of land as defined in section 8-18, in which event town clerks shall receive $15 for each such indexing. Town clerks shall receive, for a copy, in any format, of any document either recorded or filed in their offices, $1 for each page or fraction part thereof, as the case may be; for certifying any copy of the same, $2; for making a copy of any survey or map, the actual cost thereof; and for certifying such copy of a survey or map, $1. Town clerks shall receive, for recording the commission and oath of a notary public, $10; and for certifying under seal to the official character of a notary, $2.”
Section 7-29 of the general statutes will be amended to read as follows:
“When any town clerk has recorded any instrument that the town clerk knows to be a release, partial release, or assignment of a mortgage or lien recorded on the records of such town, the two clerk shall make a notation on the first page where the mortgage or lien is recorded, stating the book and page where such release, partial release or assignment is recorded, except that a manual notation of such release, partial release or assignment shall not be required if the town clerk provides public access to an electronic indexing system that combines the grantor index and the grantee index of the town’s land records.
“On and after Oct. 1, any document being recorded shall contain not more than 20 assignments of a mortgage.”