Also known as: public recordations · recording · public recording
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
The filing or entry of deeds, mortgages, and other instruments affecting real property title in official county or government records to provide constructive notice and establish priority among competing claimants.
Pablo Perez pays the full balance on his mortgage to Pacific Bank. The bank executes a satisfaction document and records it in the county recorder's office. The recording removes the mortgage lien from the public records, allowing Perez to sell the property free of the encumbrance.
Pierre Poulin notices a deposition in a contract dispute and states in the notice that testimony will be recorded by stenographic means. The noticing party arranges and pays for the court reporter. Any other party may later arrange for an additional audiovisual recording at its own expense.
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Pierce Patterson testifies before a federal grand jury investigating fraud. A court reporter records the testimony while government attorneys and an interpreter are present. The recording is retained by the government attorney after the session ends.
Perry Pratt purchases land from a seller whose deed traces through a recorded chain. An easement recorded only in a stranger's deed from the same original grantor does not appear in Pratt's chain. Pratt takes the property without constructive notice of the easement.
Paul Peterson offers a photocopy of a recorded deed to prove its contents in a quiet title action. The opponent objects under the best evidence rule. The court requires the original recorded deed or a certified copy from the public records.
Pilar Pena leases property from a landlord who previously granted a recorded mortgage to Premier Manufacturing. The mortgage is not terminable at the landlord's will. The mortgage remains paramount to the tenant's lease interest under applicable recording law.
Recording provides constructive notice to subsequent purchasers and establishes priority among competing interests under race, notice, or race-notice statutes. It also preserves documents for evidentiary use and allows creditors or other parties to search title.
No. A mortgage remains valid and enforceable between the mortgagor and mortgagee even if unrecorded. Recording is required only to protect against subsequent bona fide purchasers or lien creditors who take without notice.
A purchaser is charged with notice only of instruments appearing in the recorded chain through which title is claimed. An interest recorded outside that chain, such as a deed to a stranger, does not provide constructive notice.
…the Secretary remains in office the President cannot take from his custody the seal of the United States nor prevent him from recording and affixing the seal to civil commissions of such officers as do not hold their offices at the will of the President after the President has signed them and delivered them to the Secretary…