In response to Indiana’s Senate Bill 340, effective July 1, 2020, DocMagic is adding an additional notary certificate and witness statement to recordable documents to comply with new recording requirements in the state.
Indiana has long allowed either a notary acknowledgement of a grantor’s signature OR a proving affidavit by a witness in order to record an instrument granting an interest in real property. Senate Bill 340 updates Indiana statute section 32-21-2-3(a) to change “or” to “and” to now require both of these certifications. While it is unclear the motivation for changing this requirement, and the stated intent of interested parties to work to resolve the statute in future legislation, the statutory requirement will be effective July 1st. The Indiana State Bar Association recently issued guidance to its members on complying with this requirement and recommending that as of July 1st, all recordable instruments include both a notary acknowledgment of the grantor’s signature as well as a proving affidavit by a witness to the grantor’s signature and a certification by the notary of that affidavit.
Accordingly, DocMagic will be adding an additional witness affidavit to Indiana recordable instruments as of July 1, 2020.
If you have any questions, please contact DocMagic’s Compliance Department.
