MS House Bill 599

After a number of failed attempts in the past several legislative sessions, Mississippi has enacted the Uniform Real Property Electronic Recording Act, the twenty-sixth state to have done so since the Act was adopted by the National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws in 2004. The Act contains the stock notarization provision, permitting a Notary to use an electronic signature in notarizing any electronic real property document submitted for recording electronically with a county chancery clerk. In performing an electronic notarial act, a Notary is not required to place an image of a Notary seal on the electronic document as long as the information within the seal is placed on the document. The Act establishes an electronic recording commission to publish technical standards for implementing the Act. According to the bill, the Secretary of State can appoint three persons to the commission. Let’s hope that one of these is a Notary or notarial officer, or someone who is familiar with the duties of a Notary. The NNA is pleased that Mississippi chose to enact the so-called “security provision,” requiring the electronic recording commission to promulgate standards for electronic recording that render electronic documents resistant to tampering.

Read House Bill 599.