DOCUMENT STANDARDS  7-4-2636 MCA

 All documents that are acknowledged as having been executed prior to 4-28-07 are accepted for recording as a standard document. The fee will be $7.00 per page.

 Unless accompanied by the fee required in 7-4-2637, all documents submitted for recording must meet the following requirements:

 1.  Margin requirements are:  3” at top of 1^st page, at least 1” at top of all subsequent pages, 1” at bottom of each page, at least ½” on sides of each page.  

 2.  Include the name and mailing address of the person to whom the document is to be returned in the margin in the upper left-hand corner of  the 1^st page of each document which may be legibly printed in ink or typed.  This must be within the 3” top margin and between the ½” side margins.

 3.  Except for page numbers or other designations all margins must be clear of all markings.  The document standards committee has determined that other designations may be:

a. form numbers

b. form names

c. last date form updated

d. fax transmittal information

e. tribal information

f.  Initials

The above listed items in a – f  do not have to be 10 point type

 4.  The document must be legibly printed or typed in blue or black ink in at least 10 point typeface on white paper of not less than 20 lb. Weight, on 8 ½ x  11” or 8 ½ x 14” paper.  The document standards committee decided on the following: 1a of the law provides for a document to be legibly printed or typed in black ink and 1d of the law allows for handwriting to be in blue or black ink.  This appears to be a conflict so we decided to allow legible printing in blue or black ink.   Addresses of grantees must be in blue or black ink when legibly printed in.   A whole document legibly printed in blue or black ink, meeting all other document standards, is a standard document.  A whole document that is written in cursive is non-standard.    If only the date is handwritten in cursive on a printed or typed form the document is standard.

 Documents that convey an interest in real property (this may includedeeds, contracts for deed, reconveyances, satisfactions, assignments, mortgages, deeds of trust and substitution of trustee documents) must meet the above requirements plus:

 1.  Provide the names of the parties to the conveyance on the 1^st or 2^nd page of any document with more than one page.

 2.  Provide a description of the property.  The document standards committee has determined that a legal description is required or the document may reference, as provided in 7-4-2613, any provision, statement, description, or other language or material that is contained in another properly recorded instrument and that is recorded in the same county as the instrument that is incorporating the language or material by reference is to be recorded.  

A street address is not a description of the property.

 3.  Have all signatures, initials, dates, handwriting, or notary stamps in blue or black ink.   

  An acknowledgment by a notary is exempt from the color, typeface, and font requirements of this section.

 An officially certified court or other government document, whether from an in-state or out-of-state office, is exempt from the provisions of this section.

 A document which includes highlighting is a non-standard document.  Be sure to put in the note field of your program that the document contained highlights which may not show up on the scanned image and microfilm.