Carroll County | National Standards

Carroll County, NH

Lisa Scott, Register
Pamela C. Berlind, Deputy
95 Water Village Road (Rte 171)
Ossipee, NH 03864
Tel. 603-539-4872 | Fax 603-539-5239
Office Hours – Monday through Friday 8:00 am – 4:00 pm
E-Recording 8:00 am – 3:00 pm
In-Office Recording 8:00 am – 3:30 pm

General Inquiries:
deeds@carrollcountynhdeeds.gov

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Carroll County National Recording Standards

UNIFORM STANDARDS FOR
DOCUMENTS PRESENTED FOR RECORDING IN ALL NEW HAMPSHIRE REGISTRIES OF DEEDS
EFFECTIVE December 1, 2001

I. Pursuant to RSA 478:4-a, II, these document standards have been adopted by the New Hampshire Registers of Deeds, to be effective as of December 1, 2001.

II. The Registers of Deeds may refuse to accept any document presented for recording that does not meet all of the following requirements:

a. The document must be legible and reproducible (as defined herein).
b. All signatures on the document must be original; provided that this requirement shall not apply to any copy of a document attached as an exhibit to the principal document.
c. The document shall be made up of one or more individual one-sided pages not permanently bound nor in a continuous form.
d. The document shall not have any attachment stapled, taped, or otherwise affixed to any page, except for a firmly attached label with a bar code or return address.
e. The writing, print or type shall be in dark blue or black ink.
f. The writing, print or type shall be of a size no smaller than the equivalent of ten-point Times New Roman, except that this requirement shall not apply to page numbering or to any of the following that are not part of the headings or text of the document: document or form name or number, name, address and/or telephone number of the printer or producer of the document; directions for placement of recording date or for filling in of blanks; or other non-textual notations.
g. The document shall be on white paper of not less then 20-pound weight, without watermarks or colored highlighting or other inclusions that make the document illegible or unreproducible, and with dimensions of no less than 8-1/2 inches in width and 11 inches in length and no more than 8-1/2 inches in width and 14 inches in length.
h. The typing or printing of any name or the applying of embossed or inked stamp shall not render any part of the document illegible or unreproducible.
i. The top margin on the right half of the first page shall be at least three inches, for exclusive use by the Register of Deeds. The left half may note administrative content or return to information. Otherwise all margins on the first and succeeding pages shall be at least one inch, provided that the bottom margin may contain non-textual material no closer than 1/2 inch to the bottom of the page, such as the following: page numbering; document or form name or number; name, address and/or telephone number of the printer or producer of the document; or other non-textual notations.
j. “Legible” as used in this section means: with respect to a document, legible to the naked eye, without use of magnification devices; and with respect to a recorded image of a document made and kept in the registry of deeds for viewing and copying by and for the public, legible when viewed with available registry viewing equipment.
k. “Reproducible” as used in this section means capable of reproduction by recording equipment currently available in the registry of deeds, with the resulting recorded image being itself legible and also capable of producing a legible paper copy by use of equipment currently available in the registry.

The following documents are exempt from the specified requirements of Paragraph II:

a. An official certificate or certified copy of a record from another governmental office, in either case bearing an original official seal or signature, is exempt from the requirements of paragraphs II(b) through (i).
b. Any document drafted before the effective date of this paragraph, or any copy of any such document that may be attached as an exhibit to the principal document, is exempt from the requirements of paragraphs II(c) through (i), except to the extent that any of such requirements were already in effect at any particular registry of deeds before such date.
c. Any document drafted on or after the effective date of this paragraph that does not conform to one or more of the requirements of paragraphs II(c) through (i), but cannot be redrafted, may be accepted by the registry for recording.
d. Any document presented for recording which is illegible or unreproducible, in whole or in part, and cannot be redrafted, may be accepted by the Register for recording. An affidavit should be attached to and recorded with the document stating the facts and if desired, reproducing portions of the text, to clarify the illegible and unreproducible parts of the document. The affidavit should ordinarily be signed by the person or party requesting recording. In addition, the registry may stamp the document or appropriate pages thereof with language similar to the following: “Original not suitable for proper reproduction”.

IV. In the event that the Register of Deeds declines to accept any document presented for recording, the Register shall give prompt notification of the rejection and the reasons therefore to the party requesting the recording, such notification to be given in person or transmitted by mail, fax, or other means.