Oklahoma County Clerks Office Goes Live With Electronic Document Recording of Real Estate Documents

Oklahoma City – Oklahoma County Clerk Carolynn Caudill today announced her office has successfully implemented electronic recording in the Register of Deeds Office. Caudill becomes the first Oklahoma County Clerk to put into service this new era of cutting edge technology on such a large scale.

“This makes the entire process of recording a deed extremely efficient,” said Caudill. “Not only are we able to provide better and faster service to the banks, abstract, and title companies, we’ll also be able to save everyone the time and costs associated with filing these documents in person. We are eliminating the paper from the paperwork.”

Oklahoma County's first successful electronic recording of a deed took place between Capitol Abstract and the Oklahoma County Clerk's Office a few weeks ago. Using electronic recording software developed by Recording Solutions, Inc., an Oklahoma City company, Capitol Abstract was able to electronically create and submit a deed to the County Clerk's Office.

Cliff Cox of Capit0l Abstract said “we are excited about this new opportunity to join forces with Carolynn Caudill’s Office in becoming the first abstract company in Oklahoma to file deeds electronically. We look forward to working with Carolynn and her great staff.”

All six Oklahoma County abstract companies have signed agreements with the County Clerk’s Office to file real estate documents electronically. This past fiscal year the abstract companies were responsible for filing more than half of the 203,000 real estate documents in the Clerk’s Office.

Randy Dittmann of American Eagle Title Insurance in Tulsa, said “this new system is outstanding and we are glad to be a part of ushering in this new era of technology into Oklahoma.”

Once submitted by the abstract and title companies, the deed is electronically received in the County Recorder's office using Oklahoma County's self-developed software. The County's software uses an open platform technology, providing flexibility for integration by multiple submitters, and allows the Register of Deeds staff to examine and validate the documents before recording, insuring that all State and County recording requirements are met. Mortgages are sent electronically to County Treasurer Butch Freeman’s Office and then returned with the appropriate mortgage tax stamp affixed.

“The integrity of these documents is safe. We’re simply using today’s cutting edge computer technology to improve the process and we reduce it down to a push of a button on a computer,” said Caudill.

There will be a high cost savings to the submitters of real estate documents to our office. In the long run the cost savings should be passed on to the consumer in the form of lower closing costs on real estate purchases,” said Caudill.

“We will still accept paper documents for those who prefer to use that method. Electronic records sent over the Internet need to be accompanied by a digital signature. The digital signature ensures the integrity of the data in transit from the filer to the County Clerk’s Office and then back to the filer with the filing information,” Caudill added.

Caudill was responsible for getting the law changed to allow for electronic filing of land records. In 2004 members of the Legislative Electronic Commerce Task Force appointed Caudill to Chair a special subcommittee to propose legislation for the electronic filing of land records. The legislation became effective November 1, 2004. Caudill said, “We have spent the past year and a half working with the abstract companies, title attorneys and others to ensure our system for filing documents electronically is sound and meets all of the legal requirements not only for Oklahoma, but that it also meets the standards being developed at the national level.”

“I want to thank all the title companies and abstract companies for agreeing to participate in this historic endeavor. Brett Maughan from the County Clerk’s Office put in hundreds of hours on the project and he is to be commended for all his hard work in seeing this venture through,” Caudill closed.

Editor’s note: Electronic filing of documents is not new to the Oklahoma County Clerk’s Office, which has allowed electronic filing of Uniform Commercial Code documents since 2001. The Oklahoma County Clerk’s Office, which keeps records of UCC filings for the entire state, receives approximately 30% of UCC filings electronically. Because of the high-tech system, the Clerk’s UCC department has been able to handle the workload with fewer employees.

Those wishing to file electronic documents have to sign an agreement with the Oklahoma County Clerk’s Office. The agreement will provide that the submission of an electronic record transmitted over the Internet using a digital signature will express the filer’s guarantee that the documents submitted are true and correct representations of the original document in their possession.

The Oklahoma County Clerk will have two methods for submitting documents over the Internet. Initially agreements will be made with Document Service Providers for bulk filers such as abstract companies and banks. All document types will be accepted through a Document Service Provider. The County Clerk’s Office will then develop and maintain a website for individuals who occasionally file documents with the Clerk’s Office. A limited number of document types will be accepted using this method.

Currently no rules have been promulgated by the Secretary of State for the filing of electronic real estate transactions requiring the use of a Registered Certification Authority. Therefore, the Oklahoma County Clerk will not accept for filing pure electronic real estate transactions where no paper document exists.

Entities wishing to use the new system must sign a Document Services Provider Electronic Filing Agreement (DSP-EFA) form with the Oklahoma County Clerk’s Office. Oklahoma County Commissioners must sign the DSP-EFA agreement before the agreement becomes effective. The DSP-EFA application and Requirements can be picked up at the Oklahoma County Clerk’s Office, located at 320 Robert S. Kerr, in downtown Oklahoma City.