Bulletin: NY000150

Dear Associates:

We have received a letter from Karen Murphy, the Nassau County Clerk, advising the public that an affidavit will now be accepted in Nassau County for the purpose of correcting the mis-indexing of instruments. You will recall that, in the past, the County Clerk would not accept changes made to the original recorded, mis-indexed instrument on the theory that such changes (e.g. correcting the block and lot reference) would require re-execution and re-acknowledgment before it could be accepted for recording.

As a result of discussions between the New York State Land title Association's Land Records Committee and the Nassau County Clerk, the correction of an indexing error can be made upon the submission of an affidavit, a copy of which can be obtained through this office, executed by a title company representative, a property owner, or his attorney confirming that the instrument was mis-indexed and requesting that it be re-indexed against the correct block and lot. The affidavit requires proof to establish that the correction is warranted and must be accompanied by the original mis-indexed instrument or a certified copy thereof. The proof may take the form of attaching a copy of a title report, tax bill or last deed of record, which clearly indicates the correct block and lot against which the instrument should have been indexed.

It should be noted that the proof and the original instrument will be examined, but not recorded. The affidavit will be recorded, however, and an address to which the affidavit should be sent after recording, should be included in the document. The recording charge will be $10.00 plus $3.00 per page plus a notation will be made on the Index. A notation will not be made on the microfilm copy of the original instrument in the Clerk's Office unless the original instrument is presented for that purpose.

The Nassau County Clerk has also indicated that data entry errors made by the Clerk's office will be corrected without an affidavit, as has been the practice in the past.

If you have any questions regarding this bulletin, please contact Company Counsel.