Sec. 7-24. *(See end of section for amended version and effective date.) Recording of instruments; safekeeping of records; recording of illegible instruments.
(a) Each town clerk who is charged with the custody of any public record shall provide
suitable books, files or systems, acceptable to the Public Records Administrator, for the
keeping of such records and may purchase such stationery and other office supplies as
are necessary for the proper maintenance of his office. Such books, files or systems,
and such stationery and supplies shall be paid for by the town, and the selectmen of the
town, on presentation of the bill for such books and supplies properly certified to by the
town clerk, shall draw their order on the treasurer in payment for the same. Every person
who has the custody of any public record books of any town, city, borough or probate
district shall, at the expense of such town, city, borough or probate district, cause them
to be properly and substantially bound. He shall have any such records which have been
left incomplete made up and completed from the usual files and memoranda, so far as
practicable. He shall cause fair and legible copies to be seasonably made of any records
which are worn, mutilated or becoming illegible, and shall cause the originals to be
repaired, rebound or renovated, or he may cause any such records to be placed in the
custody of the Public Records Administrator, who may have them repaired, renovated
or rebound at the expense of the town, city, borough or probate district to which they
belong. Any custodian of public records who so causes such records to be completed
or copied shall attest them and shall certify, under the seal of his office, that they have
been made from such files and memoranda or are copies of the original records. Such
records and all copies of records made and certified to as provided for in this section
and on file in the office of the legal custodian of such records shall have the force of
the original records. All work done under the authority of this section shall be paid for
by the town, city, borough or probate district responsible for the safekeeping of such
records, but in no case shall expenditures exceeding three hundred dollars be made for
repairs or copying records in any one year in any town or any probate district comprising
one town only, unless the same are authorized by a vote of the town, nor in any probate
district composed of two or more towns, unless the same are authorized by the first
selectmen of all the towns included in such district.
(b) There shall be kept in each town proper books, or in lieu thereof a recording
system approved by the Public Records Administrator, in which all instruments required
by law to be recorded shall be recorded at length by the town clerk within thirty days
from the time they are left for record.
(c) The town clerk shall, on receipt of any instrument for record, write thereon the
day, month, year and time of day when he received it, and the record shall bear the same
date and time of day; but he shall not be required to receive any instrument for record
unless the fee for recording it is paid to him in advance except instruments received
from the state or any political subdivision thereof, and, when he has received it for
record, he shall not deliver it up to the parties or either of them until it has been recorded.
When any town clerk has, upon receiving any instrument for record, written thereon
the time of day when he received it as well as the day and year of such receipt, and when
any town clerk has noted with the record of any instrument the time of day when he
received the record, such entries of the time of day shall have the same effect as other
entries that are required by law to be made.
(d) Each town clerk shall also, within twenty-four hours of the receipt for record
of any such instrument, enter in chronological order according to the time of its receipt
as endorsed thereon, (1) the names of sufficient parties thereto to enable reasonable
identification of the instrument, (2) the nature of the instrument and (3) the time of its
receipt.
(e) If the town clerk receives an instrument for record which in his opinion he deems
to be illegible, he shall record such instrument, write thereon that it is being recorded
as an illegible instrument and, if there is a return address appearing on such illegible
instrument, give notice to the return addressee that a legible instrument should be submitted for rerecording forthwith. The fact that the town clerk records the instrument as an
illegible instrument shall not affect its priority or validity.
(1949 Rev., S. 550; 1955, S. 223d; 1967, P.A. 389, S. 1; 655, S. 2; P.A. 93-389, S. 1, 7; May 25 Sp. Sess. P.A. 94-1,
S. 5, 130.)
*Note: On and after October 1, 2008, this section, as amended by section 52 of public
act 07-252, is to read as follows:
"Sec. 7-24. Recording of instruments; safekeeping of records; recording of
illegible instruments; form of instruments. (a) Each town clerk who is charged with
the custody of any public record shall provide suitable books, files or systems, acceptable
to the Public Records Administrator, for the keeping of such records and may purchase
such stationery and other office supplies as are necessary for the proper maintenance
of the town clerk's office. Such books, files or systems, and such stationery and supplies
shall be paid for by the town, and the selectmen of the town, on presentation of the bill
for such books and supplies properly certified to by the town clerk, shall draw their
order on the treasurer in payment for the same. Each person who has the custody of any
public record books of any town, city, borough or probate district shall, at the expense of
such town, city, borough or probate district, cause them to be properly and substantially
bound. Such person shall have any such records which have been left incomplete made
up and completed from the usual files and memoranda, so far as practicable. Such person
shall cause fair and legible copies to be seasonably made of any records which are worn,
mutilated or becoming illegible, and shall cause the originals to be repaired, rebound
or renovated, or such person may cause any such records to be placed in the custody of
the Public Records Administrator, who may have them repaired, renovated or rebound
at the expense of the town, city, borough or probate district to which they belong. Any
custodian of public records who so causes such records to be completed or copied shall
attest them and shall certify, under the seal of such custodian's office, that they have
been made from such files and memoranda or are copies of the original records. Such
records and all copies of records made and certified to as provided in this section and
on file in the office of the legal custodian of such records shall have the force of the
original records. All work done under the authority of this section shall be paid for by
the town, city, borough or probate district responsible for the safekeeping of such records, but in no case shall expenditures exceeding three hundred dollars be made for
repairs or copying records in any one year in any town or any probate district comprising
one town only, unless the same are authorized by a vote of the town, or in any probate
district comprising two or more towns, unless the same are authorized by the first selectmen of all the towns included in such district.
(b) There shall be kept in each town proper books, or in lieu thereof a recording
system approved by the Public Records Administrator, in which all instruments required
by law to be recorded shall be recorded at length by the town clerk within thirty days
from the time they are left for record.
(c) The town clerk shall, on receipt of any instrument for record, write thereon the
day, month, year and time of day when the town clerk received it, and the record shall
bear the same date and time of day; but the town clerk shall not be required to receive
any instrument for record unless the fee for recording it is paid to the town clerk in
advance, except instruments received from the state or any political subdivision thereof.
When the town clerk has received any instrument for record, the town clerk shall not
deliver it up to the parties or either of them until it has been recorded. When any town
clerk has, upon receiving any instrument for record, written thereon the time of day
when the town clerk received it and the day and year of such receipt, and when any
town clerk has noted with the record of any instrument the time of day when the town
clerk received the record, such entries of the time of day shall have the same effect as
other entries that are required by law to be made.
(d) Each town clerk shall also, within twenty-four hours of the receipt for record
of any such instrument, enter in chronological order according to the time of its receipt
as endorsed thereon, (1) the names of sufficient parties thereto to enable reasonable
identification of the instrument, (2) the nature of the instrument, and (3) the time of its
receipt.
(e) If the town clerk receives an instrument for record which the town clerk deems
to be illegible, the town clerk shall record such instrument, write thereon that it is being
recorded as an illegible instrument and, if there is a return address appearing on such
illegible instrument, give notice to the return addressee that a legible instrument should
be submitted for rerecording forthwith. The fact that the town clerk records the instrument as an illegible instrument shall not affect its priority or validity.
(f) Each instrument for record shall have a blank margin, that shall be not less than
three-fourths of an inch in width, surrounding each page of the instrument. Each such
instrument that is to be recorded in the land records shall have a return address and
addressee appearing at the top of the front side of the first page of the instrument. The
town clerk shall not refuse to receive an instrument for record that does not conform to
any requirement set forth in this subsection, and the fact that the town clerk records an
instrument that does not conform to any requirement set forth in this subsection shall
not affect its priority or validity."
(1949 Rev., S. 550; 1955, S. 223d; 1967, P.A. 389, S. 1; 655, S. 2; P.A. 93-389, S. 1, 7; May 25 Sp. Sess. P.A. 94-1,
S. 5, 130; P.A. 07-252, S. 52.)
History: 1967 acts divided section into Subsecs. (a), (b) and (c) and added Subsec. (d) re daily index record book,
replaced references to "books" and "record books" with "records", added to Subsec. (b) allowance for alternate recording
system approved by examiner of public records and removed from Subsec. (d) specific reference to daily index record
book; P.A. 93-389 added Subsec. (e) specifying the responsibilities of a town clerk upon receiving an illegible instrument
for record and providing that the fact that the clerk records the instrument as illegible does not affect its priority or validity,
effective July 1, 1993; May 25 Sp. Sess. P.A. 94-1 made technical change in Subsec. (e), effective July 1, 1994; P.A. 07-252 made technical changes in Subsecs. (a) to (e) and added Subsec. (f) re form requirements for instruments, effective
October 1, 2008.
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Sec. 7-25a. Electronic indexing system. Not later than January 1, 2009, each town
shall provide public access to an electronic indexing system that combines the grantor
index and the grantee index of the town's land records.
(P.A. 07-252, S. 56.)
History: P.A. 07-252 effective July 1, 2007.
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Sec. 7-29. Release or assignment of mortgage or lien. When any town clerk has
recorded any instrument that the town clerk knows to be a release, partial release or
assignment of a mortgage or lien recorded on the records of such town, the town clerk
shall make a notation on the first page where such mortgage or lien is recorded, stating
the book and page where such release, partial release or assignment is recorded, except
that a manual notation of such release, partial release or assignment shall not be required
if such town clerk provides public access to an electronic indexing system that combines
the grantor index and the grantee index of the town's land records.
(1949 Rev., S. 555; P.A. 00-92, S. 1; P.A. 07-252, S. 53.)
History: P.A. 00-92 made provisions applicable to a partial release or assignment, required a notation on first page
where mortgage or lien is recorded and deleted requirement for a memorandum, added requirement that if land records
are not maintained in paper form, clerk shall make the notation on the digitized image of the first page, and made technical
changes for the purpose of gender neutrality; P.A. 07-252 added exception to requirement for manual notation of release
or assignment for town clerk who provides public access to electronic indexing system that combines grantor and grantee
indices of town's land records and deleted requirement that if land records are not maintained in paper form, clerk shall
make notation on the digitized image of the first page, effective July 1, 2007.
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Sec. 7-32k. Property upon which hunting or shooting sports regularly take
place. Placement of property location on list maintained by town clerk. Notice.
Liability not imposed by section. (a) Any owner of real property upon which hunting
or shooting sports regularly take place may enter the location of such property on a list
maintained by the town clerk of any town within which such property is located. Each
entry shall include the name of the owner, the address of the subject property, the corresponding map, block and lot number, and the owner's signature and date of entry.
(b) Each town clerk shall maintain a list of properties disclosed pursuant to subsection (a) of this section and shall make such list available to the public for inspection. A
notice of the availability of the list shall be posted in the office of the town clerk in the
area where the municipal land records are kept.
(c) Nothing in this section shall be construed to impose liability on the owner of
property upon which hunting or shooting sports take place for failing to enter the property
on such list.
(P.A. 07-214, S. 5.)
History: P.A. 07-214 effective July 1, 2007.
See Sec. 20-327g re disclosure to potential buyers of residential property of list of local properties where hunting and
shooting sports take place.
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Sec. 7-34a. Fees. (a) Town clerks shall receive, for recording any document, ten
dollars for the first page and five dollars for each subsequent page or fractional part
thereof, a page being not more than eight and one-half by fourteen inches. Town clerks
shall receive, for recording the information contained in a certificate of registration for
the practice of any of the healing arts, five dollars. Town clerks shall receive, for recording documents conforming to, or substantially similar to, section 47-36c, which are
clearly entitled "statutory form" in the heading of such documents, as follows: For the
first page of a warranty deed, a quitclaim deed, a mortgage deed, or an assignment of
mortgage, ten dollars; for each additional page of such documents, five dollars; and
for each marginal notation of an assignment of mortgage, subsequent to the first two
assignments, one dollar. Town clerks shall receive, for recording any document with
respect to which certain data must be submitted by each town clerk to the Secretary of
the Office of Policy and Management in accordance with section 10-261b, two dollars
in addition to the regular recording fee. Any person who offers any written document
for recording in the office of any town clerk, which document fails to have legibly typed,
printed or stamped directly beneath the signatures the names of the persons who executed
such document, the names of any witnesses thereto and the name of the officer before
whom the same was acknowledged, shall pay one dollar in addition to the regular recording fee. Town clerks shall receive, for recording any deed, except a mortgage deed,
conveying title to real estate, which deed does not contain the current mailing address
of the grantee, five dollars in addition to the regular recording fee. Town clerks shall
receive, for filing any document, five dollars; for receiving and keeping a survey or
map, legally filed in the town clerk's office, five dollars; and for indexing such survey
or map, in accordance with section 7-32, five dollars, except with respect to indexing
any such survey or map pertaining to a subdivision of land as defined in section 8-18,
in which event town clerks shall receive fifteen dollars for each such indexing. Town
clerks shall receive, for a copy of any document either recorded or filed in their offices,
one dollar for each page or fractional part thereof, as the case may be; for certifying any
copy of the same, two dollars; for making a copy of any survey or map, the actual cost
thereof; and for certifying such copy of a survey or map, two dollars. Town clerks shall
receive, for recording the commission and oath of a notary public, ten dollars; and for
certifying under seal to the official character of a notary, two dollars.
(b) The fees set forth in subsection (a) of this section received by town clerks for
recording documents include therein payment for the return of each document which
shall be made by the town clerk to the designated addressee.
(c) Compensation for all services other than those enumerated in subsection (a) of
this section which town clerks are required by the general statutes to perform and for
which compensation is not fixed by statute shall be fixed and paid by the selectmen or
other governing body of the town or city in which such services are performed.
(d) In addition to the fees for recording a document under subsection (a) of this
section, town clerks shall receive a fee of three dollars for each document recorded in
the land records of the municipality. Not later than the fifteenth day of each month, town
clerks shall remit two-thirds of the fees paid pursuant to this subsection during the
previous calendar month to the State Librarian for deposit in a bank account of the State
Treasurer and crediting to the historic documents preservation account established under
section 11-8i. One-third of the amount paid for fees pursuant to this subsection shall
be retained by town clerks and used for the preservation and management of historic
documents. The provisions of this subsection shall not apply to any document recorded
on the land records by an employee of the state or of a municipality in conjunction with
said employee's official duties. As used in this section "municipality" includes each
town, consolidated town and city, city, consolidated town and borough, borough, district, as defined in chapter 105 or chapter 105a, and each municipal board, commission
and taxing district not previously mentioned.
(e) In addition to the fees for recording a document under subsection (a) of this
section, town clerks shall receive a fee of thirty dollars for each document recorded in
the land records of the municipality. The town clerk shall retain one dollar of any fee
paid pursuant to this subsection and three dollars of such fee shall become part of the
general revenue of the municipality and be used to pay for local capital improvement
projects, as defined in section 7-536. Not later than the fifteenth day of each month,
town clerks shall remit twenty-six dollars of the fees paid pursuant to this subsection
during the previous calendar month to the State Treasurer. Upon deposit in the General
Fund, such amount shall be credited to the land protection, affordable housing and
historic preservation account established pursuant to section 4-66aa. The provisions of
this subsection shall not apply to any document recorded on the land records by an
employee of the state or of a municipality in conjunction with such employee's official
duties. As used in this subsection, "municipality" includes each town, consolidated town
and city, city, consolidated town and borough, borough, and district, as defined in chapter
105 or 105a, any municipal corporation or department thereof created by a special act
of the General Assembly, and each municipal board, commission and taxing district not
previously mentioned.
(1963, P.A. 528, S. 1, 2; 1971, P.A. 286; 1972, P.A. 150; P.A. 74-56; P.A. 75-154; P.A. 76-271, S. 1; P.A. 77-478, S.
4, 5; 77-614, S. 139, 587, 610; P.A. 78-303, S. 85, 136; P.A. 81-34, S. 8, 9; P.A. 82-323, S. 1; P.A. 85-60; 85-257; 85-385,
S. 1; P.A. 89-217, S. 1, 6; P.A. 90-175, S. 1, 2; P.A. 93-389, S. 2, 7; P.A. 00-92, S. 2; 00-146, S. 1, 8; June Sp. Sess. P.A.
00-1, S. 25, 46; P.A. 01-79, S. 2; P.A. 05-228, S. 5; 05-288, S. 37; June Sp. Sess. P.A. 05-3, S. 113; P.A. 06-163, S. 1;
P.A. 07-133, S. 1; 07-217, S. 13; 07-252, S. 54.)
History: 1971 act provided for $10 payment to index surveys or maps in Subsec. (a); 1972 act changed fee for indexing
surveys or maps to $5, except where subdivisions concerned fee became $15; P.A. 74-56 revised fees for recording documents using page basis rather than word basis and deleted provision re additional fees for pages exceeding 10 by 16 inches;
P.A. 75-154 deleted provisions covering character size and set flat fee for certifying copies rather than fee per page; P.A.
76-271 added fees for recording warranty and quitclaim deeds and assignments of mortgages; P.A. 77-478 added fee for
recording documents re tax commissioner; P.A. 77-614 and P.A. 78-303 substituted commissioner of revenue services for
tax commissioner, effective January 1, 1979; P.A. 81-34 amended Subsec. (a) by adding a fee of $10 for recording the
commission and oath of a notary public and a fee of $2 for certification of a notary, effective July 1, 1982; P.A. 82-323
increased various fees; P.A. 85-60 changed required address of grantee from last-known mailing address to current mailing
address; P.A. 85-257 inserted a new Subsec. (b) providing that the fees for recording documents include payment for the
return of each document to the designated addressee by the town clerk and redesignated former Subsec. (b) as Subsec. (c);
P.A. 85-385 amended section to require $0.55 fee for each marginal notation of an assignment of mortgage subsequent to
the first two assignments; P.A. 89-217 changed the fee for recording the first page of any document from $5 to $10 and
for mortgage assignments after the first two, from $0.50 to $1; P.A. 90-175 increased recording fee for documents from
$7.50 to $10 and specified that such documents be clearly titled "statutory form"; P.A. 93-389 amended Subsec. (a) to
change the fee for making a copy of any document from "one dollar for the first page or two hundred words or fractional
part thereof, as the case may be, and $0.50 for each additional page or two hundred words or fractional part thereof, as the
case may be" to "one dollar for each page or fractional part thereof, as the case may be", effective July 1, 1993; P.A. 00-92 amended Subsec. (a) to substitute "for a copy of any document" for "for making a copy of any document"; P.A. 00-146 added new Subsec. (d) providing for an additional fee of $3 to be used for historic preservation, effective July 1, 2000;
June Sp. Sess. P.A. 00-1 amended Subsec. (d) to specify its inapplicability to document recorded on land records by a state
or municipal employee in conjunction with employee's official duties and to define "municipality", effective July 1, 2000;
P.A. 01-79 amended Subsec. (d) to require remittance of fees "to the State Librarian for deposit in a bank account of the
State Treasurer and crediting to" historic documents preservation account rather than remittance "to the State Treasurer
for deposit in" said account; P.A. 05-228 added new Subsec. (e) providing for an additional fee of $30 to be used for local
capital improvement projects, land protection, affordable housing and historic preservation, effective July 1, 2005; P.A.
05-288 made technical changes in Subsec. (a), effective July 13, 2005; June Sp. Sess. P.A. 05-3 changed effective date of
P.A. 05-228 to October 1, 2005, effective June 30, 2005; P.A. 06-163 amended Subsec. (e) to include municipal corporation
or department thereof in definition of "municipality", effective June 6, 2006; P.A. 07-133 amended Subsec. (a) by increasing
the fee for certifying a copy of a document or a survey or map from $1.00 to $2.00, effective July 1, 2007; P.A. 07-217
made technical changes in Subsec. (e), effective July 12, 2007; P.A. 07-252 amended Subsec. (a) to make technical changes
and substitute "regular recording fee" for "recording fee", effective July 1, 2007.
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