More than 700 county recorders around the country are electronically recording real estate-related documents, according to the Property Records Industry Association. That represents a 40 percent increase since April 2010.
eRecording is the process by which property records are received and stored in digital rather than paper form, and it is seen as a crucial technology to foster the growth of electronic notarization. In an eNotarization, a Notary applies an electronic signature and seal to an electronic document, enabling real estate sales and loan closings to be completely paperless. It makes the process faster and more efficient, and it increases transaction security.
Rapid expansion of eRecording has been steady for years, increasing from just 200 counties in 2006 to the current mark of 702, according to PRIA. But there is considerable room to grow. The current tally represents only 22 percent of all counties and similar jurisdictions in the U.S., and 12 states have no counties able to eRecord documents.
But PRIA officials expect the rapid growth in eRecording to continue because it has proven to be more efficient, accurate and cost-effective than manually recording property records. New York last month approved a new law authorizing its counties to begin electronically recording documents in September, 2012.