MORRISVILLE, N.C. – A new milestone has been reached in the number of recording jurisdictions that are electronically recording documents. As of November 1, 2014, over 1,200 recording jurisdictions are eRecording enabled, which represents one-third of the nation’s 3,600 recording jurisdictions. Now more than 68 percent of the United States population resides in recording jurisdictions that offer electronic recording of documents.
Mark Ladd, Vice President of Regulatory and Industry Affairs at Simplifile, and President of the Property Records Industry Association (PRIA), was elated with this landmark accomplishment. Ladd declared, “PRIA is a standard setting body that promotes and monitors the adoption of eRecording throughout the United States. In the past two years, we have witnessed a significant boost in the number of recording jurisdictions enabling eRecording in an effort to streamline their office workflows and increase both efficiencies and turnaround times for their submitters.”
Electronic recording (eRecording) is the automated process in a land records office of receipt, examination, fee calculation and payment, endorsing of recording information and return of recorded electronic documents to the submitter. eRecording improves the quality of data, reduces turn-around times and provides significant cost savings for those who utilize it, when compared to a manual process.
“Between August 2013 and November 2014, the number of counties committing to the eRecording process increased by more than 20 percent,” said Washoe County (Nev.) Recorder and PRIA Technology Committee Co-Chair, Larry Burtness. “As the PRIA eRecording standards continue to mature, the number of counties leveraging this technology continues to expand.”
According to PRIA’s tracking system, it took from the late 1990s until August 2006 to reach the 200 eRecording counties mark. Since 2006, an additional 1,000 counties have stepped up to enable the electronic recordation of documents.
“Recording offices aren’t the only ones who benefit from eRecording,” said Diane Evans, Land Title Guarantee Co. in Denver, and American Land Title Association (ALTA) President. “An important part of improving the consumer experience at the closing table is to ensure documents are recorded efficiently and without delay. Electronic recording helps local title companies address ALTA’s Best Practice guidelines which call for timely recording of documents and tracking document rejections and resubmissions.”
PRIA, the leading resource for the property records industry, maintains a list of counties that have implemented eRecording technology and posts the list on the association’s Website (www.pria.us). The list includes counties whose implementations have been confirmed by PRIA.
The names of the eRecording counties are available to the public, while PRIA members have access to a more detailed list which includes contact information for the counties, as well as the individual county’s technology vendor(s). The list is continually updated by the PRIA administrative staff that works with key volunteer resources to find and report new eRecording-enabled counties.
“Working internally through its Technology Committee and eRecording eXcellence Work Group, PRIA has steadily and meticulously developed XML standards while promoting industry adoption of this essential technology,” said Technology Committee Co-Chair Kate Teal, Ernst Publishing. “eRecording is experiencing unprecedented success with recorders who have installed the technology, most of whom report significant savings in their office operations.”
The eRecording process also provides a competitive edge to the firms that submit documents to the recorders electronically, by decreasing turnaround time and speeding up the transaction process.
Specific questions on eRecording can be directed to the PRIA offices at info@pria.us.
ABOUT PRIA – PRIA develops and promotes national standards and best practices for the property recording industry by identifying appropriate opportunities for collaboration among industry stakeholders; developing recommendations for standards and best practices; encouraging and supporting the adoption of such standards and practices; providing a clearinghouse for property-records-related information; and educating members, stakeholders and the public about the property records industry.
For more information on PRIA, visit www.pria.us.