Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, most local and state governments have initiated "Shelter in Place" orders. As a result, there's been an increase in recording office closures across the country. In an effort to allow the housing market to continue closing transactions, the number of counties accepting e-recordings is growing daily. You can access a full list of recording office closures, along with a list of all counties accepting e-recordings on ALTA's County Status Report page.

Electronic Document Recording (e-recording) is the process of electronically submitting real property documents for recording. Once submitted, the documents are reviewed, recorded and then electronically sent back to the submitter. E-recording automates document examination, fee collection, image retention and data processing. This allows counties to reduce the manual processing effort from days and weeks to just minutes.

What are the main benefits of e-recording?

Fast turnaround time

• The electronic submission of documents means you don't have to spend time mailing or delivering recordable documents. 

• Recording authorities can review documents for recording and statutory requirements and immediately return information and corrective instructions when needed, shortening the recording gap.

Saves time and money

• E-recording allows you to save on the cost of mailing and transit time. You can pay electronically, which also saves you the cost of sending checks.
• Save time by avoiding re-keying data such as grantor and grantee information and consideration amount when recording via an integrated service.

Increases security

• Many e-recording providers have tools to verify the recordable nature of the document, avoiding rejections from the recording jurisdiction.

Offers the convenience of working from home

• Since you can submit your documents electronically from your computer, there's no need to visit a physical recording office.

What companies provide e-recording services?

We have several e-recording partners that are integrated with SoftPro 360. If you're a SoftPro customer, the benefit to using one of these integrated providers is that recorded documents and data can be written directly to a SoftPro file, which preserves the documents in SoftPro while eliminating re-keying errors.

The following e-recording partners are available through SoftPro 360:

• CSC
• eRecording Partners Network (ePN)
• Simplifile
• Synrgo - coming soon

We suggest that you conduct research on all available e-recording providers before choosing to work with one, to find whose products and services work best for your company. See our list of questions below that we recommend you ask a provider prior to deciding to use their services.

What questions should you ask an e-recording provider?

• Is their service supported in the counties/jurisdictions you do business in?
• What tools are available to review and modify documents prior to sending for e-recording?
• What fees do they charge for their services?
• How do they accept payment for recordings? (Do they do a sweep daily, hourly, etc.?)
• What is the average turnaround time for their service? (Please keep in mind that due to the COVID-19 pandemic this may vary from a vendor’s normal turnaround time)
• Are there setup/implementation costs for using the vendor’s service?
• What hardware or technology is required for title agents to utilize the vendor’s service?
• Does the vendor provide training and if so, is this an additional expense?

If you have any questions about e-recording or how to get started with e-recording
in SoftPro 360, please don't hesitate to contact us.