Morrisville, N.C. – The number of recording jurisdictions that are electronically recording documents reached the 900 mark on April 11 according to Kay Wrucke, recorder, Martin County, (Minn.), and president of the Property Records Industry Association (PRIA). 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.
“This milestone is particularly meaningful because ‘900’ represents approximately 25 percent of the total number of recording jurisdictions in the country,” according to Wrucke.
“Between June 2012 and April 2013, the number of counties committing to the eRecording process increased by 9 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. Over 1,000 counties are expected to be electronically recording documents by the end of 2013.
PRIA, the national standard-setting body for the land 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.
“We are confident the actual number of eRecording counties is higher than what we publish, but the list is limited to those counties that have been accurately verified,” said eRecording eXcellence Work Group Co-Chair, Chris Walker, clerk in Jackson County, Ore.
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 resources to find and report new eRecording-enabled counties.
“Working internally through its Technology Committee and eRecording eXcellence Work Group, PRIA has steadily and conscientiously 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 opportunities for collaboration among industry participants; developing standards and best practices; encouraging and supporting the adoption of such standards and practices; being a resource for property-records-related information; and educating members and the public about the property records industry. For more information on PRIA, visit www.pria.us.