Bulletin: NJ2022002

Dear Associates:

Please be advised that on January 12, 2022, the State of New Jersey has enacted the following bill, A6171/S4219, which creates the Office of Information Privacy in the Department of Community Affairs, and establishes certain exceptions for title insurers, title agents, and searchers pertaining to Daniel’s Law. 

This bulletin supplements Stewart bulletin, NJ2020006, and is an update to Daniel’s Law. 

This bill shall take effect immediately and be retroactive to December 10, 2021. 

The bill creates the Office of Information Privacy to ensure that personal information of protected individuals under Daniel’s Law is shielded from the public. 

Under the bill, certain exceptions are also created for title insurers, title agents, and searchers, so they are entitled to unredacted versions of affected government records. Further, the constructive notice of the land records is preserved, any redaction notwithstanding. 

Title insurers, title agents, and searchers are specifically defined under the bill as “title search business entities,” and are required to register with and be subject to regulation by the Department of Banking and Insurance in order to be granted an exception under the bill. The title search business entities must also register with the Division of Revenue and Enterprise Services in the Department of the Treasury, or the county clerk, as appropriate. 

The following documents are not subject to redaction under the bill: business filings, candidate petitions; records evidencing encumbrances on real or other property, and unclaimed property, and, when viewed in person, property tax assessment lists and the indexes of recorded documents maintained by county recording officers. 

Lastly, records that are very old or for other reasons can only be viewed in person may be left unredacted, but the government records custodian must make every effort to hide a protected address when allowing an individual to view the record.

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.