Effective July 1, 2002 (NCGS 161-14)
All instruments executed on or after July 1, 2002 shall meet the following requirements:
- Be presented on 8 1/2 x 11 inch or 8 1/2 x 14 inch paper.
- Have a 3 inch blank margin at the top of the first page and a 1/4 inch margin on the remaining sides of the first page and on all sides of subsequent pages. *Side margin changed from 1/4″ to 1/2″ effective 10/01/2019*
- Be typed or printed in black on white paper in a legible font that is not smaller than 9 points in size. Blanks in an instrument may be completed in pen and corrections to an instrument may be made in pen.
- Have text typed or printed on one side of a page only.
- State the type of instrument at the top of the first page. (below the margin)
Content Requirements
Every document presented must contain the following:
- Original document which contains original signature and proof of acknowledgement (Notarization).
- Name of the person who prepared the instrument (draftsman) on all deeds and deeds of trust.
- Address where instrument will be returned (If prepared by a local attorney, document will be returned to attorney’s box).
- Address of the Grantee for tax records.
- Original signature of each Grantor named in the document.
- Proper notary acknowledgement
- If the instrument is a conveyance of real property, it must reflect the amount of Excise Tax to be paid by the Grantor at a rate of $2.00 per $1,000.00 of purchase price – except when the transfer is:
- By operation of law
- By lease for a term of years
- By or pursuant to the provision of a will
- By intestacy
- By gift
- By merger or consolidation
- By instruments securing indebtedness (deeds of trust and mortgages)
- Where no consideration in property or money is due or paid by the transferee to the transferor please state “no consideration” or “Ø”
**All deeds must be approved by our Tax & Mapping office prior to recording:
- Tax – Please see our “Resolution requiring tax certification prior to recording deeds in Macon County” dated August 2, 2004 here: Tax Certification Resolution.
- Mapping – A transfer verification form is required for Mapping approval, please see our “Transfer Verification Notice” here: Transfer Verification Form
If an instrument does not meet these requirements, the Register of Deeds shall record the document after collecting the Non-Standard document fee of $25.00 along with the Recording fee. If the instrument is non-standard due to the font size being smaller than 10 points, the Register of Deeds has the discretion of considering it legible and to not charge the Non-Standard fee.
STANDARDS effective December 1, 2004
CHAPTER 140: LAND RECORDS
- 140.01 TITLE.
This chapter shall be known and cited as the Macon County Modernization of
Land Records Ordinance.
(Ord. adopted 11-1-2004)
- 140.02 PURPOSE AND STATUTORY AUTHORITY.
- The purpose of this chapter is to promote the modernization of the land records of Macon County in order that the public and private users of these records may maximize the efficient use of the GIS data base established by these records.
- This chapter is adopted pursuant to N.C.G.S. §161-30. (Ord. adopted 11-1-2004)
- 140.03 REQUIREMENTS FOR REGISTRATION.
- The register of deeds shall not accept for registration any deed, deed of trust, easement, boundary agreement, map or plat, or any other instrument affecting real property unless the following requirements are satisfiedThe register of deeds shall not accept for registration any deed, deed of trust, easement, boundary agreement, map or plat, or any other instrument affecting real property unless the parcel identifier numbers of all affected parcels have been assigned and affixed to the face of the map or instrument and verified by the county land records office, or affixed and verified by the county land records office as a part of the legal description contained in any instrument, in accordance with the procedures for creating and assigning parcel identifier numbers as established by the county land records office.
- The name and address of the person to whom the map or instrument is to be returned is affixed on the face thereof.
- The owner’s, in the case of a map or plat, or the grantee’s, in the case of all other instruments affecting real property, permanent mailing address is affixed on the face thereof.
- Presentation of any map, plat or instrument to the county land records office for compliance with the requirements of this ordinance shall not constitute filing for registration.
(Ord. adopted 11-1-2004)
- 140.04 ASSIGNMENT OF PARCEL INDENTIFIER NUMBERS.The county land records office shall have the exclusive authority to create and assign parcel identifier numbers and shall maintain appropriate procedures to ensure that no two parcels of property will be assigned the same parcel identifier number.
(Ord. adopted 11-1-2004)
- 140.05 PARCEL IDENTIFIER NUMBERS REQUIRED.
Every map or plat (including a map or plat incorporated by reference in a deed or other instrument of conveyance), subdivision plat or land survey plot that creates or more fully defines one or more parcels of land must have a parcel identifier number affixed to it and verified by the county land records office before it can be registered. This requirement shall not apply to floodplain maps, annexation and municipal boundary maps, and any other similar maps prepared by governmental agencies.(Ord. adopted 11-1-2004)
All maps, plats or instruments affecting the same parcel or related parcels shall be processed by the county land records office in the order in which they were presented. (Ord. adopted 11-1-2004)
- 140.07 DESCRIPTIONS OF PARCELS FOR WHICH IDENTIFIER NUMBER DO NOT EXIST.
- Any deed, deed of trust, easement, boundary agreement, map or plat, or any other instrument affecting real property that contains a description of a parcel not previously plotted on the county’s large-scale cadastral maps and for which a parcel identifier number has not been assigned must contain a description of the parcel of sufficient accuracy and detail that the county land records office is able to locate and plot the parcel on the county maps from the description standing alone, or with the aid of supporting maps or other documents furnished by the person presenting the instrument.
- The description contained in any map or plat that is to be registered and that creates or more fully defines a parcel not previously plotted on the county’s large-scale cadastral maps and for which a parcel identifier number has not been assigned must be sufficiently precise to create a consistent closed parcel boundary within a plotting accuracy of 1/40th inch.
(Ord. adopted 11-1-2004)
This ordinance shall be implemented and become effective December 1, 2004, and shall apply to any deed, deed of trust, easement, boundary agreement, map or plat, or any other instrument affecting real property presented for registration on or after that date. (Ord. adopted 11-1-2004)