Effective July 1, 2009, Ohio has added additional standards for documents presented for recording to a county recorder.  Under the changes enacted by HB 525, a document executed after July 1, 2009 must be prepared in accordance with the following standards:

• Print may be no smaller than a computer font size 10;
• Paper must be a minimum size of 8.5” x 11” (letter) and no larger than 8.5” x 14” (legal);
• Documents may only be signed in blue or black ink;
• The document may not contain any highlighting;
• The document must have a margin of 1” on either side;
• The document must have a 1” margin on the bottom; and
• The first page of any document must contain a 3” top margin, while all remaining pages must have a 1.5” top margin.

These requirements apply to all documents authorized to be recorded with the exception of plats, documents originating with any court or taxing agency, military discharge records, documents from any state or federal agency and any document executed prior to July 1, 2009.

If a document does not meet the standards set forth above and is not exempt, the county recorder will charge an additional $20 to record.

Although the statute has only been in effect for a week, we have seen strict adherence to the standards by county recorders.  Several of the Ohio counties are charging an additional fee for any print, seal or ink that falls within the designated margins.  This includes any signatures, notary stamps and ink or embossed seals (embossing seals are especially problematic as most seal embossers do not extend over an inch on the document, requiring that the paper be folded so as to place the embossed seal far enough into the document). 

When preparing and executing documents, the preparer should pay careful attention to the margin requirements and avoid including any information within these areas (including any file numbers or tracking codes).  One should also leave plenty of space to allow the parties executing and acknowledging a document to add their signature, notary commission stamps and seals.

As many documents are prepared and sent electronically, it is also important to be sure that once the document is printed that it still complies with the above standards.  Documents are often resized when scanned or faxed and may be printed on different size paper than for which it was originally formatted.  These changes will affect margins and font sizes. 

If you have any questions on this information, please contact Mr. Gregory A. Anglewicz, Esq. Greg is the supervising attorney focused on real estate title and closing services in the Cleveland office of Thoroughbred Title Agency, Inc., part of the Real Estate Default Group and a division of Weltman, Weinberg & Reis Co., L.P.A. He can be reached at (216) 685-1137 or via e-mail at ganglewicz@weltman.com.

Client Advisory is published by Weltman, Weinberg & Reis Co., L.P.A., an organization providing comprehensive creditor representation.  The information contained in this advisory is a summary of legal information and is not intended to constitute legal advice on specific matters or create an attorney-client relationship.  Contact any of our offices or visit our website at realestatedefaultgroup.com for more real estate related information, company facts and attorney profiles. (c)2009