Bulletin: GA2018001

Dear Associates:

On February 20, 2018, the Governor of Georgia signed House Bill 661 amending House Bill 337 from the 2017 legislative term. The Act retroactively takes effect on January 1, 2018. Attached to this bulletin, please find a copy of HB 661 in its entirety.    

All Georgia issuing offices should please note the following revisions to HB 337 related to the passage of HB 661: 

• State tax liens no longer have a statewide attachment; they only attach to real property in the county in which the lien is filed. 
• The Certificate of Lien Clearance and Statement of Lien request processes no longer exist (the corresponding 30-day holds are also eliminated as a result). There will no longer be a requirement to obtain either of the above before preparing the PT-61 and recording a deed of conveyance. 
• Current payoff amounts for recorded state tax liens will now be available on the DOR’s Georgia Tax Center website without the need for registration by the requestor. 
• The DOR must continue to record liens electronically through the Georgia Superior Court Clerks’ Cooperative Authority website. The DOR lien is considered filed and perfected upon receipt by gsccca.org. 
• DOR liens filed prior to January 1, 2018, will be invalid unless they have been refiled. DOR liens filed after January 1, 2018, will be valid for 10 years from the initial effective date and cannot be refiled.         

NOTE: The ten years may be tolled by:

1) An installment payment agreement;

2) A suit to collect the taxes; 

3) Any other endorsement action;

4) Bankruptcy; or

5) An offer in compromise.

• A proper search for DOR liens after January 1, 2018, will consist of a search of the owners who held title on or after January 1, 2018, for DOR items filed on or after January 1, 2018, via:
   
  • the County Lien Index or in the Pending Lien Index on gsccca.org. 

The guidelines and underwriting requirements for Powers of Attorney may be found on Virtual Underwriter at www.vuwriter.com.

If you have any questions relating to this or other bulletins, please contact a Stewart Title Guaranty Company underwriter.

For on-line viewing of this and other bulletins, please log onto www.vuwriter.com.