MS Administrative Rules (2012)

Rule/Regulation

State: Mississippi

Effective: November 18, 2012

Summary

The final rules implementing House Bill 599 (Uniform Real Property Electronic Recording Act) permit Chancery Clerks to accept electronic documents for recordation in the land records. Entirely-electronic real property documents may be accepted provided the electronic notarizations have been performed by a Notary Public of a state that has enacted electronic notarization laws and published electronic notarization rules.

Affects

Amends Title 36, Part 201 of the Mississippi Administrative Code (MAC).

Changes

Permits Chancery Clerks to accept “Model 3” electronic real property documents with electronic notarizations for recordation provided that a state has enacted electronic notarization laws and promulgated electronic notarization rules.

Analysis

House Bill 599 of 2011 enacted the Uniform Real Property Electronic Recording Act (URPERA). Under the URPERA, technical standards for electronic recording must be published by an 11-member Electronic Recording Commission. The rules have now been finalized and are effective November 18, 2012. The part of the rules most applicable to Notaries is Rule 1.6, which describes the three models of electronic recording. Model 1 describes a process in which paper documents that are signed and notarized with pen and ink and physical Notary seals are scanned and submitted by a “trusted submitter” for recordation. Model 2 describes a similar process except indexing information for the Chancery Clerk’s records accompany the scanned images of the submitted documents. Models 1 and 2 do not utilize electronic notarizations. Model 3 describes an entirely electronic process in which no paper is used and electronic documents are signed and notarized electronically. Subsection (D) of Rule 1.6 clarifies that in order for a Model 3 electronic document to be submitted by a trusted submitter to the Chancery Clerk’s office, any electronic notarizations must have been performed by a Notary Public of a state that has enacted electronic notarization laws and promulgated electronic notarization rules. States that have enacted both electronic notarization laws and published electronic notarization rules at the time this rule was published include Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Kansas, North Carolina, New York, Pennsylvania and Virginia. States that have enacted electronic notarization laws but have not yet published electronic notarization rules include Alaska, Iowa, Minnesota, Oregon, North Dakota, Nevada, Texas and Utah. However, if the states that have enacted the URPERA and published final electronic recording rules meet the requirement of Rule 1.6 are included, then potentially Washington, Idaho, New Mexico, Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Alabama, Hawaii, Georgia, South Carolina, Connecticut, Michigan, Minnesota and Wisconsin would qualify.

Read the adopted administrative rule.