Sec. 3-99a. Fees for filing, recording and copying documents. Expedited services. Filing by electronic means. Unique identification numbers. Remittance by credit account. - Connecticut Statutes

      Sec. 3-99a. Fees for filing, recording and copying documents. Expedited services. Filing by electronic means. Unique identification numbers. Remittance by credit account. (a) Except as provided in subsection (b) of this section, the Secretary of the State shall receive, for filing or recording any document, instrument or paper required to be filed or recorded regardless of the number of pages, when fees are not otherwise specially provided for, twenty-five dollars. The Secretary shall receive, for preparing and furnishing a copy of any document, instrument or paper filed or recorded: For each copy of each such document, regardless of the number of pages, twenty dollars, for affixing the Secretary's certificate and the state seal thereto, five dollars; for the Secretary's certificate with the state seal imprinted or affixed, twenty-five dollars; for a certificate, with the seal of the state imprinted or affixed thereon, of any fact or record for which no special provision is made, twenty-five dollars; for certifying the incumbency of a judge of probate, notary public or other official, twenty dollars, except that for certifying the incumbency of an official in connection with an adoption of a child, such fee shall be five dollars.

      (b) No fee shall be charged for filing any document required to be filed pursuant to the provisions of titles 4, 7 and 9, and the fee for furnishing copies of such documents shall be such as will, in the judgment of said Secretary, cover the costs of such copies, except that the fee for furnishing copies of documents filed pursuant to title 9 shall not exceed twenty-five cents per page. No fee shall be charged for filing resolutions relating to payment from the Treasury and statements of receipts and expenditures of judges of probate.

      (c) No fee shall be charged for any copy required by any state officer, department, board or commission, the fee for which would be payable from the State Treasury. For other services for which fees are not provided by the general statutes, the Secretary may charge such fees as will in his judgment cover the cost of the services provided. The tax imposed under chapter 219 shall not be imposed upon any transaction for which a fee may be charged under the provisions of this section. Overpayments made to the Records and Legislative Services Division or to the Commercial Recording Division of the office of the Secretary of the State, whether for documents or for fees, in an amount not to exceed five dollars shall not be refunded but shall be placed in the General Fund. No overpayment claim shall be presented under this section but within one year after it accrues.

      (d) In the performance of their functions, the Commercial Recording Division and the Records and Legislative Services Division of the office of the Secretary of the State may, in the discretion of the Secretary, provide expedited services. The Secretary shall provide for the establishment and administration of a system of payment for such expedited services and may include in such system prepaid deposit accounts. The Secretary shall charge, in addition to the filing fees provided for by law, the sum of twenty-five dollars for each expedited service provided. The filing fee and the expediting fee shall be paid by the person requesting the information and documents, in such manner as required by the Secretary. The Secretary may promulgate rules and regulations necessary to establish guidelines for the use of expedited services and shall establish fees, in addition to the expediting fee, for expedited electronic data processing services which cover the cost of such services.

      (e) The Secretary of the State may accept the filing of documents by telecopier or other electronic media and employ new technology, as it is developed, to aid in the performance of all duties required by the law. The Secretary of the State may establish rules, fee schedules and regulations, not inconsistent with the law, for filing documents by telecopier or other electronic media, for the adoption, employment and use of new technology in the performance of the duties of the office and for providing electronic access and other related products or services that result from the employment of such new technology.

      (f) The Secretary of the State may require that a unique identification number be provided on documents or requests processed by the office.

      (g) The Secretary of the State may allow remittances to be in the form of a credit account number and an authorization to draw upon a specified credit account, at such time and under such conditions as the Secretary may prescribe. Remittances in the form of an authorization to draw upon a specified credit account shall include an amount for purposes of paying the discount rate associated with drawing upon the credit account, unless the remittances are drawn on an account with a financial institution that agrees to add the number to the credit card holder's billing, in which event the remittances drawn shall not include an amount for purposes of paying the discount rate associated with the drawing upon the credit account.

      (February, 1965, P.A. 364, S. 1; 1967, P.A. 61; 1972, P.A. 30, S. 1; P.A. 76-230, S. 3, 4; P.A. 77-184, S. 3, 4; 77-604, S. 1, 84; P.A. 79-341; 79-356, S. 11; P.A. 82-374, S. 5, 6; P.A. 85-486, S. 1, 2; P.A. 89-251, S. 63, 203; 89-252, S. 1, 11; P.A. 90-100, S. 1, 2; May Sp. Sess. P.A. 92-6, S. 87, 117; P.A. 93-363, S. 1; P.A. 94-112, S. 2; P.A. 95-252, S. 14; P.A. 07-217, S. 3.)

      History: 1967 act prohibited fees for filing party rules or furnishing copies of rules; 1972 act allowed charge of $0.10 per page for furnishing copies; P.A. 76-230 increased fee for certifying various documents from $3.00 to $5.00 and deleted provision concerning comparing copies; P.A. 77-184 added Subsec. (c) providing sales tax exemption; P.A. 77-604 made technical changes; P.A. 79-341 made fee exemption extend to all documents pertaining to elections for filing purposes and allowed a charge for copying to cover costs, deleting the set fee of $0.10 per page; P.A. 79-356 provided that overpayments to corporations divisions not exceeding $5.00 be paid into general fund; P.A. 82-374 amended Subsec. (c) by adding provision that overpayments to uniform commercial code division in an amount not to exceed $3.00 shall not be refunded but shall be placed in general fund; P.A. 85-486 added Subsec. (d) re establishment and administration of expedited services, including expediting fee of $20.00 and regulatory authority to establish guidelines for use of system; P.A. 89-251 increased the fee for two pages or less from $4.00 to $6.00, for additional pages from $1.50 to $2.00, for certifying the incumbency of a judge of probate from $5.00 to $20.00, and created a fee for certifying the incumbency of other public officials of $20.00, set the fee for copies of title 9 documents at not less than $0.30 per copy for the first fifty copies and $0.50 each for subsequent copies, set the fee for services in Subsec. (c) and increased the fees for expedited service in Subsec. (d) from $20.00 to $25.00; P.A. 89-252 amended Subsec. (a) by increasing standard fee for copies from $1.50 for each page of a document, with a minimum charge of $4.00 to $15.00 for each document, regardless of the number of pages, amended Subsec. (b) by exempting documents filed pursuant to titles 4 and 7 from fee, amended Subsec. (c) by changing "corporations division" to "records and legislative services division or to the commercial recording division, except the uniform commercial code unit" and amended Subsec. (d) by providing that the commercial recording division and the records and legislative services division may provide expedited services; P.A. 90-100 added in Subsec. (a) the reduced fee for certifying the incumbency of an official in connection with the adoption of a child; May Sp. Sess. P.A. 92-6 amended Subsec. (a) to increase fees and to make fees applicable regardless of number of pages and amended Subsec. (c) to delete specific fees formerly enumerated in Subdivs. (1) to (12), inclusive, and to place one-year time limit on presenting overpayment claim; P.A. 93-363 increased fees for certificate from $5.00 to $25.00, deleted provisions in Subsec. (c) re overpayments made to uniform commercial code unit and added Subsec. (e) re acceptance of filing of documents by telecopier or other electronic media, Subsec. (f) re requirement of unique identification number on documents or requests and Subsec. (g) re permitting remittances to be in form of credit account number; P.A. 94-112 amended Subsec. (b) by changing the fee from not less than $0.30 per copy for the first fifty copies and $0.50 per copy for each copy thereafter to not more than $0.25 per page; P.A. 95-252 amended Subsec. (b) to provide that the maximum fee of $0.25 per page for furnishing copies of documents only applies to copies of documents filed pursuant to title 9 and amended Subsec. (e) to authorize the Secretary of the State to establish rules, fee schedules and regulations "for providing electronic access and other related products or services that result from the employment of such new technology"; P.A. 07-217 made technical changes in Subsec. (a), effective July 12, 2007.

      See Secs. 33-617 and 33-1013 re fees payable to Secretary by stock and nonstock corporations, respectively.