Commissioner of deeds
Encyclopedia
A Commissioner of Deeds is an officer having authority to take affidavits, depositions
, acknowledgments
of deed
s, etc., for use in the state
by which the person is appointed. The office is similar to that of Notaries Public
; thus, commissioners of deeds generally authenticate their acts with some type of official seal.
, Florida
, Kentucky
, Maine
, Mississippi
, Missouri
, New Hampshire
, New Jersey
, New York
, Rhode Island
, South Dakota
, Texas
, Virginia
, West Virginia
, and Wisconsin
. Usually the appointment and commission is granted by the state governor or secretary of state. However, even in the states which have laws allowing the appointment of commissioners, the majority of these states no longer grant appointments. Currently, only Florida, New Hampshire, New York and West Virginia still allow the appointment of commissioners.
The office of Commissioners of Deeds in the state of Florida
was first created on January 28, 1831, and at that time such commissioners could authenticate any document to be used in Florida. The commissioner was appointed to one particular U.S. state or a foreign country, and was required to actually live in that state/country. However, the Governor at that time requested that the office be abolished, because he claimed that the office had "been used to facilitate fraudulent acts on some occasions." The office in its then-current form was abolished and replaced by the new form of "Timeshare Commissioner of Deeds" on April 30, 1998.
, Commissioners of Deeds are officers appointed by the Governor to a term of five years, who are authorized to administer oaths, take depositions and affidavits, take acknowledgments of deeds and other instruments of writing, for documents intended to be used or recorded in the state of New Hampshire. Such commissioners may not be residents of New Hampshire; however, they are authorized to act both within and without the state.
. It is not a paid office. He or she must file an application and pass an examination; however, the application is filed with and appointment is made by a local city government rather than the state, as is the case with notaries public. Commissioners of deeds are normally appointed en masse in periodic acts of the city council.
The powers and rules and regulations are practically identical to those of a Notary Public, except that the Commissioner of Deeds' authority exists only within the limits of the city for which he or she is appointed, and does not extend to the area of the whole state. Despite the name, their powers are not restricted to certifying signatures on property transfers. A large number of political party
officials and activists apply to become commissioners of deeds to certify signatures on nominating petitions in New York's notoriously complex elections process, as the application is cheaper and the registration process slightly less cumbersome than for a notary.
New York law also authorizes the appointment of commissioners to act in foreign jurisdictions, who are required to use a seal, bearing their name as commissioned, the words "Commissioner of Deeds for the state of New York", and the name of the city, county, country, or other political subdivision in which they have been appointed to act, to authenticate their official acts. Such commissioners are appointed to act in a particular city or county (within the United States), or in a particular foreign country, and they may only act within the region to which they are appointed. They are authorized to take acknowledgments to be used or read into evidence within the State of New York; to administer oaths (the law does not specify that the administration of such oaths is restricted to documents to be used in New York); and, if appointed to act in a foreign country outside the United States, to certify copies of any records or patents, such certified copies to be read into evidence or used within the State of New York. The executive powers in New York are currently not appointing any out-of-state commissioners.
Deposition (law)
In the law of the United States, a deposition is the out-of-court oral testimony of a witness that is reduced to writing for later use in court or for discovery purposes. It is commonly used in litigation in the United States and Canada and is almost always conducted outside of court by the...
, acknowledgments
Acknowledgment (law)
In law, an acknowledgment is a declaration or avowal of one's own act, to give it legal validity, such as the acknowledgment of a deed before a proper officer...
of deed
Deed
A deed is any legal instrument in writing which passes, or affirms or confirms something which passes, an interest, right, or property and that is signed, attested, delivered, and in some jurisdictions sealed...
s, etc., for use in the state
U.S. state
A U.S. state is any one of the 50 federated states of the United States of America that share sovereignty with the federal government. Because of this shared sovereignty, an American is a citizen both of the federal entity and of his or her state of domicile. Four states use the official title of...
by which the person is appointed. The office is similar to that of Notaries Public
Notary public
A notary public in the common law world is a public officer constituted by law to serve the public in non-contentious matters usually concerned with estates, deeds, powers-of-attorney, and foreign and international business...
; thus, commissioners of deeds generally authenticate their acts with some type of official seal.
In the United States
The office of Commissioner of Deeds is one unique to the United States. During the 19th century, deeds concerning property located in a particular state could only be acknowledged before a Notary Public in that state; if the deeds was acknowledged outside the state where the subject property was located, the grantor would have to find a judge of a court of record to take the acknowledgment. Because of the difficulty in finding a judge, most states created the office of Commissioner of Deeds to allow state officials to be present in other states to assist with the acknowledgment of instruments intended to be used in the state by which the commissioner was appointed. Over time, states began to accept the notarial acts of notaries in other states and the need for commissioners became eradicated. As a result, most of the states abolished the office during the 20th century. Although at one time at least half of all states appointed such commissioners, currently the only states whose statutes authorize such appointment are the states of ColoradoColorado
Colorado is a U.S. state that encompasses much of the Rocky Mountains as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of the Great Plains...
, Florida
Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
, Kentucky
Kentucky
The Commonwealth of Kentucky is a state located in the East Central United States of America. As classified by the United States Census Bureau, Kentucky is a Southern state, more specifically in the East South Central region. Kentucky is one of four U.S. states constituted as a commonwealth...
, Maine
Maine
Maine is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States, bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the east and south, New Hampshire to the west, and the Canadian provinces of Quebec to the northwest and New Brunswick to the northeast. Maine is both the northernmost and easternmost...
, Mississippi
Mississippi
Mississippi is a U.S. state located in the Southern United States. Jackson is the state capital and largest city. The name of the state derives from the Mississippi River, which flows along its western boundary, whose name comes from the Ojibwe word misi-ziibi...
, Missouri
Missouri
Missouri is a US state located in the Midwestern United States, bordered by Iowa, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Kansas and Nebraska. With a 2010 population of 5,988,927, Missouri is the 18th most populous state in the nation and the fifth most populous in the Midwest. It...
, New Hampshire
New Hampshire
New Hampshire is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. The state was named after the southern English county of Hampshire. It is bordered by Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Atlantic Ocean to the east, and the Canadian...
, New Jersey
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
, New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
, Rhode Island
Rhode Island
The state of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, more commonly referred to as Rhode Island , is a state in the New England region of the United States. It is the smallest U.S. state by area...
, South Dakota
South Dakota
South Dakota is a state located in the Midwestern region of the United States. It is named after the Lakota and Dakota Sioux American Indian tribes. Once a part of Dakota Territory, South Dakota became a state on November 2, 1889. The state has an area of and an estimated population of just over...
, Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
, Virginia
Virginia
The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...
, West Virginia
West Virginia
West Virginia is a state in the Appalachian and Southeastern regions of the United States, bordered by Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Ohio to the northwest, Pennsylvania to the northeast and Maryland to the east...
, and Wisconsin
Wisconsin
Wisconsin is a U.S. state located in the north-central United States and is part of the Midwest. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michigan to the northeast, and Lake Superior to the north. Wisconsin's capital is...
. Usually the appointment and commission is granted by the state governor or secretary of state. However, even in the states which have laws allowing the appointment of commissioners, the majority of these states no longer grant appointments. Currently, only Florida, New Hampshire, New York and West Virginia still allow the appointment of commissioners.
In Florida
In the state of Florida, Commissioners of Deeds are officers appointed by the Governor to take acknowledgments and administer oaths on documents executed outside Florida, but to be used or recorded in connection with a timeshare property located in Florida. Commissioners are appointed to serve in a particular country and may only act in the country to which they are appointed, but they are not required to actually reside in that country.The office of Commissioners of Deeds in the state of Florida
Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
was first created on January 28, 1831, and at that time such commissioners could authenticate any document to be used in Florida. The commissioner was appointed to one particular U.S. state or a foreign country, and was required to actually live in that state/country. However, the Governor at that time requested that the office be abolished, because he claimed that the office had "been used to facilitate fraudulent acts on some occasions." The office in its then-current form was abolished and replaced by the new form of "Timeshare Commissioner of Deeds" on April 30, 1998.
In New Hampshire
In the state of New HampshireNew Hampshire
New Hampshire is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. The state was named after the southern English county of Hampshire. It is bordered by Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Atlantic Ocean to the east, and the Canadian...
, Commissioners of Deeds are officers appointed by the Governor to a term of five years, who are authorized to administer oaths, take depositions and affidavits, take acknowledgments of deeds and other instruments of writing, for documents intended to be used or recorded in the state of New Hampshire. Such commissioners may not be residents of New Hampshire; however, they are authorized to act both within and without the state.
In New York
In the state of New York, a Commissioner of Deeds is an official with duties similar to that of a Notary PublicNotary public
A notary public in the common law world is a public officer constituted by law to serve the public in non-contentious matters usually concerned with estates, deeds, powers-of-attorney, and foreign and international business...
. It is not a paid office. He or she must file an application and pass an examination; however, the application is filed with and appointment is made by a local city government rather than the state, as is the case with notaries public. Commissioners of deeds are normally appointed en masse in periodic acts of the city council.
The powers and rules and regulations are practically identical to those of a Notary Public, except that the Commissioner of Deeds' authority exists only within the limits of the city for which he or she is appointed, and does not extend to the area of the whole state. Despite the name, their powers are not restricted to certifying signatures on property transfers. A large number of political party
Political party
A political party is a political organization that typically seeks to influence government policy, usually by nominating their own candidates and trying to seat them in political office. Parties participate in electoral campaigns, educational outreach or protest actions...
officials and activists apply to become commissioners of deeds to certify signatures on nominating petitions in New York's notoriously complex elections process, as the application is cheaper and the registration process slightly less cumbersome than for a notary.
New York law also authorizes the appointment of commissioners to act in foreign jurisdictions, who are required to use a seal, bearing their name as commissioned, the words "Commissioner of Deeds for the state of New York", and the name of the city, county, country, or other political subdivision in which they have been appointed to act, to authenticate their official acts. Such commissioners are appointed to act in a particular city or county (within the United States), or in a particular foreign country, and they may only act within the region to which they are appointed. They are authorized to take acknowledgments to be used or read into evidence within the State of New York; to administer oaths (the law does not specify that the administration of such oaths is restricted to documents to be used in New York); and, if appointed to act in a foreign country outside the United States, to certify copies of any records or patents, such certified copies to be read into evidence or used within the State of New York. The executive powers in New York are currently not appointing any out-of-state commissioners.