Effective 01 Jan 2002, see footnote

59.313. Recorder's fees (St. Louis City) — page, defined — size of type or print — signature requirements. — 1. The recorder of deeds in a city not within a county may refuse any document presented for recording that does not meet the following requirements:

(1) The document shall consist of one or more individual pages not permanently bound nor in a continuous form. The document shall not have any attachment stapled or otherwise affixed to any page except as necessary to comply with statutory requirements, provided that a document may be stapled together for presentation for recording; a label that is firmly attached with a bar code or return address may be accepted for recording;

(2) The size of print or type shall not be smaller than eight-point type and shall be in black or dark ink. Should any document presented for recording contain type smaller than eight-point type, such document shall be accompanied by an exact typewritten copy not smaller than eight-point type to be recorded contemporaneously as additional pages of the document;

(3) The document must be of sufficient legibility to produce a clear and legible reproduction thereof. Should any document not be of sufficient legibility to produce a clear and legible reproduction, such document shall be accompanied by an exact typewritten copy not smaller than eight-point type to be recorded contemporaneously as additional pages of the document;

(4) The document shall be on white or light-colored paper of not less than twenty-pound weight without watermarks or other visible inclusions, except for plats and surveys, which may be on materials such as Mylar or velum. All text within the document shall be of sufficient color and clarity to ensure that when the text is reproduced from record, it shall be readable;

(5) All signatures on a document shall be in black or dark ink, such that such signatures shall be of sufficient color and clarity to ensure that when the text is reproduced from record, it shall be readable, and shall have the corresponding name typed, printed or stamped underneath said signature. The typing or printing of any name or the applying of an embossed or inked stamp shall not cover or otherwise materially interfere with any part of the document, except where provided for by law;

(6) Every document, except plats and surveys, shall have a top margin of at least three inches of vertical space from left to right, to be reserved for the recorder of deeds' certification and use. All other margins on the document shall be a minimum of three-fourths of one inch on all sides. Nonessential information such as form numbers, page numbers or customer notations may be placed in the margin. A document may be recorded if a minor portion of a seal or incidental writing extends beyond the margins. The recorder of deeds will not incur any liability for not showing any seal or information that extends beyond the margins of the permanent archival record.

2. Every document containing any of the items listed in this subsection that is presented for recording, except plats and surveys, shall have such information on the first page below the three-inch horizontal line:

(1) The title of the document;

(2) The date of the document;

(3) All grantors' names;

(4) All grantees' names;

(5) Any statutory addresses;

(6) The legal description or descriptions of the property; and

(7) Reference book and page for statutory requirements, if applicable.

­­If there is not sufficient room on the first page for all the required information, the page reference within the document where the information is set out shall be placed on the first page.

3. From January 1, 2002, documents which do not meet the requirements set forth in this section may be recorded for an additional fee of twenty-five dollars, which shall be deposited in the recorders' fund established pursuant to subsection 1 of section 59.319.

4. Documents which are exempt from format requirements and which the recorder of deeds may record include the following:

(1) Documents which were signed prior to January 1, 2002;

(2) Military separation papers;

(3) Documents executed outside the United States;

(4) Certified copies of documents, including birth and death certificates;

(5) Any document where one of the original parties is deceased or otherwise incapacitated; and

(6) Judgments or other documents formatted to meet court requirements.

5. Any document rejected by a recorder of deeds shall be returned to the preparer or presenter accompanied by an explanation of the reason it could not be recorded.

6. Recorders of deeds shall be allowed fees for their services as follows:

(1) For recording every deed or instrument: ten dollars for the first page and five dollars for each page thereafter;

(2) For copying or reproducing any recorded instrument, except surveys and plats: three dollars for the first page and two dollars for each page thereafter;

(3) For every certificate and seal, except when recording an instrument: two dollars;

(4) For recording a plat or survey of a subdivision, outlots or condominiums: forty-four dollars for each sheet of drawings and calculations based on a size of not to exceed twenty-four inches in width by eighteen inches in height, plus ten dollars for each page of other materials;

(5) For recording a survey of one tract of land, in the form of one sheet not to exceed twenty-four inches in width by eighteen inches in height: eight dollars;

(6) For copying a plat or survey: eight dollars for each page;

(7) For every certified copy of a marriage license or application for a marriage license: five dollars;

(8) For releasing on the margin: eight dollars for each item released;

(9) For a document which releases or assigns more than one item: seven dollars and fifty cents for each item beyond one released or assigned in addition to any other charges which may apply; and

(10) For duplicate reels of microfilm: thirty dollars each.

­­For all other use of equipment, personnel services and office space the recorder of deeds shall set attendant fees.

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(L. 1959 S.B. 26 § 1, A.L. 1984 S.B. 446, A.L. 1990 H.B. 1716, A.L. 1994 S.B. 567, A.L. 2001 H.B. 606 merged with S.B. 515)

Effective 1-01-02