CHAPTER 6 - UNIFORM REAL PROPERTY ELECTRONIC RECORDING ACT - South Carolina Statutes

Title 30 - Public Records

CHAPTER 6.

UNIFORM REAL PROPERTY ELECTRONIC RECORDING ACT

SECTION 30-6-10. Short title.

This chapter may be cited as the "Uniform Real Property Electronic Recording Act".

SECTION 30-6-20. Definitions.

In this chapter:

(1) "Document" means information that is:

(a) inscribed on a tangible medium or that is stored in an electronic or other medium and is retrievable in perceivable form; and

(b) eligible to be recorded in the land records maintained by the register.

(2) "Electronic" means relating to technology having electrical, digital, magnetic, wireless, optical, electromagnetic, or similar capabilities.

(3) "Electronic document" means a document that is received by the register in an electronic form.

(4) "Electronic Recording Committee" means a committee composed of seven members and charged with developing the standards to implement this chapter. The Secretary of State shall serve as the chairman of the committee and the Governor shall appoint six members as follows:

(a) one register from a county with a population greater than 100,000 according to the last decennial census, upon the recommendation of the South Carolina Clerks of Court and Registers of Deeds;

(b) one register from a county with a population greater than 33,000 and less than 100,000 according to the last decennial census, upon the recommendation of the South Carolina Clerks of Court and Registers of Deeds;

(c) one register from a county with a population less than 33,000 according to the last decennial census, upon recommendation of the South Carolina Clerks of Court and Registers of Deeds;

(d) one representative of the title insurance industry, upon the recommendation of the Palmetto Land Title Association;

(e) one real estate professional, upon the recommendation of the South Carolina Realtors Association; and

(f) one attorney whose practice includes the real estate area of the law, upon the recommendation of the South Carolina Bar Association.

(5) "Electronic signature" means an electronic sound, symbol, or process attached to or logically associated with a document and executed or adopted by a person with the intent to sign the document.

(6) "Person" means an individual, corporation, business trust, estate, trust, partnership, limited liability company, association, joint venture, public corporation, government, or governmental subdivision, agency, or instrumentality, or any other legal or commercial entity.

(7) "Register" means the official, including the register of deeds, register of mense conveyances, or clerk of court, charged with the recording and indexing duties in Chapter 5 of Title 30.

(8) "State" means a state of the United States, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the United States Virgin Islands, or any territory or insular possession subject to the jurisdiction of the United States.

SECTION 30-6-30. Validity of electronic documents.

(a) If a law requires, as a condition for recording, that a document be an original, be on paper or another tangible medium, or be in writing, the requirement is satisfied by an electronic document satisfying this chapter.

(b) If a law requires, as a condition for recording, that a document be signed, the requirement is satisfied by an electronic signature.

(c) A requirement that a document or a signature associated with a document be notarized, acknowledged, verified, witnessed, or made under oath is satisfied if the electronic signature of the person authorized to perform that act, and all other information required to be included, is attached to or logically associated with the document or signature. A physical or electronic image of a stamp, impression, or seal need not accompany an electronic signature.

SECTION 30-6-40. Recording of documents.

(a) In this section, "paper document" means a document that is received by the register in a form that is not electronic.

(b) A register:

(1) who implements any of the functions listed in this section shall do so in compliance with the standards promulgated through regulation by the Office of the Secretary of State;

(2) may receive, index, store, archive, and transmit electronic documents.

(3) may provide for access to, and for search and retrieval of, documents and information by electronic means.

(4) who accepts electronic documents for recording shall continue to accept paper documents as authorized by state law and shall place entries for both types of documents in the same index.

(5) may convert paper documents accepted for recording into electronic form.

(6) may convert into electronic form information recorded before the register began to record electronic documents.

(7) may accept electronically any fee that the register is authorized to collect pursuant to Section 8-21-310.

(8) may agree with other officials of a state or a political subdivision thereof, or of the United States, on procedures or processes to facilitate the electronic satisfaction of prior approvals and conditions precedent to recording and the electronic payment of fees.

SECTION 30-6-50. Administration and standards.

(a) Upon the recommendation of the Electronic Recording Committee, the Office of the Secretary of State shall promulgate regulations to adopt standards to implement this chapter.

(b) To keep the standards and practices of registers in this state in harmony with the standards and practices of recording offices in other jurisdictions that enact substantially this chapter and to keep the technology used by registers in this state compatible with technology used by recording offices in other jurisdictions that enact substantially this chapter, the Office of the Secretary of State, so far as is consistent with the purposes, policies, and provisions of this chapter, in adopting, amending, and repealing standards shall consider:

(1) standards and practices of other jurisdictions;

(2) the most recent standards promulgated by national standard-setting bodies, such as the Property Records Industry Association;

(3) the views of interested persons and governmental officials and entities;

(4) the needs of counties of varying size, population, and resources; and

(5) standards requiring adequate information security protection to ensure that electronic documents are accurate, authentic, adequately preserved, and resistant to tampering.

SECTION 30-6-60. Uniformity of application and construction.

In applying and construing this Uniform Act, consideration must be given to the need to promote uniformity of the law with respect to its subject matter among states that enact.

SECTION 30-6-70. Relation to Electronic Signatures in Global and National Commerce Act.

This chapter modifies, limits, and supersedes the federal Electronic Signatures in Global and National Commerce Act, 15 U.S.C. Section 7001, et seq., but does not modify, limit, or supersede Section 101(c) of that act, 15 U.S.C. Section 7001(c), or authorize electronic delivery of any of the notices described in Section 103(b) of that act, 15 U.S.C. Section 7003(b).