Indiana Recording Requirements and Title Insurance Enforcement Fund (P.L. 171-2006)

Bill Number: HEA 1114; Bill added Indiana Code Section 27-7-3.6; Bill amended Indiana Code Sections: 36-2-7; 36-2-7.5-5; 36-2-11-15; Effective Date: July 1, 2006.

This legislation requires the county recorder to charge a two-dollar ($2) county identification security protection fee for recording or filing a document.

The legislation also requires an individual preparing a document for recording or filing to make an affirmation and statement. An instrument, which conveys, creates, encumbers, or assigns an interest in a property, may only be recorded if all Social Security numbers within the document are redacted. All instruments to be recorded must contain a statement in the following form: "This instrument was prepared by (name)." An instrument must also contain a statement at or near the notary information in the following form: "I affirm, under the penalties for perjury, that I have taken reasonable care to redact each Social Security number in this document, unless required by law (name)." As such, this legislation repeals the duty of an individual preparing a document for recording to submit a separate affidavit affirming under perjury that the individual has reviewed the document and redacted each Social Security number in the document. Documents that are executed or acknowledged outside the state of Indiana do not have to contain the affirmation.

Significantly, the legislation creates the "title insurance enforcement fund." This fund is to provide support for Department of Insurance operations relating to title insurance and to help employ staff to enforce title insurance law. A person who purchases a title insurance policy must pay to the title insurer that issues the policy a fee of five dollars ($5) at the time of payment for the policy. A title insurer must pay a three-dollar ($3) of the fee to the Department of Insurance and retain two dollars ($2) as an administrative fee. As of date, the specific details of the remittance procedure have not been determined. However, the Indiana Land Title Association reports that "title insurance agents need to remit this fee to the underwriters along with the policy premium" (Indiana Land Title Association, Title Insurance Enforcement Fund, http://www.indianalandtitle.org/insurance_enforcement.cfm). This fee must be documented in the 1100 block of the HUD-1 Settlement Statement.
 

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