Format & Fees Made Simple

Overview:

IMPORTANT:  Effective May 2024, Fee ordinance says rejection and non-conforming fees "may" be charged, not that they "shall" be charged. 

The rejection and non-conforming fees continue to be a source of conversation.

  • The nonconforming fee of $40 is triggered by format and font issues. 
  • The rejection fee of $20 is triggered by failing to follow Delaware Code.
  • These are two separate standards. 

Details:

  • Rejection Fees: By law, we cannot record the documents unless you have paid the correct fees and attached the required documents (such as Transfer Tax, New Property Owner Information Form, etc.). 
    • What is new is that we no longer must charge a rejection fee if we encounter errors on paper documents.  If we are not busy, we may call to ask you to remedy the situation. 
    • For eRecordings, we cannot put the documents on the side while we call you.  We must reject it and move on to the following document in the queue, triggering the fee set by Levy Court Commissioners. 
  • We don't like to reject documents, so it is best for everyone if you refer to our new Website https://www.kentcountyde.gov/My-Government/Departments/Deeds-Office/Recording-Forms. 
  • Feel free to call our office and double-check the fees before submitting them for recording. 
  • Non-Conforming Fees.  The clerks have already "relaxed their eyes" since I took over as Recorder.  However, if the font is tiny or illegible, the clerks may still charge a non-conforming fee.   We are making a public record that should adhere to the national standards we now use, especially paper size and legibility.  For eRecordings, we rarely charge a non-conforming fee. 
  • It has never been the policy of this office that you submit a check for non-conforming or rejection along with your documents.  This has become an "unwritten rule" based on you not knowing if you will receive the non-conforming and/or rejection fee. 
    • Some customers who send in paper docs establish an account with us so that if there is a non-conforming or rejection fee, we take the money from your account, and you do not need to worry about checks.  This is a good policy we urge all firms to adopt.
    • One law firm always sends in $10 more than required along with their paper doc, so we add that $10 to the "kitty" for that law firm.  We would prefer not to do it this way.  We prefer you treat this like you treat the GoPrint in our office, load it up with funds and keep sufficient funds in it, so if you need to draw a non-conforming or rejection fee, the paperwork will continue moving forward, assuming you can make it recordable that same day.
    • One law firm always adds $40 to the one check with the document.  Because of this, we ALWAYS mark that as "non-conforming" so we can deposit the check.  Otherwise, we would have to reject the document because the law firm did not calculate the fees correctly. 
    • One mortgage company does something similar.  This really should not be happening!  If you need that extra insurance to send in checks, assuming you make mistakes, we prefer you use two separate checks. 

Conclusions:

  • If you do not want to fool around with sending in the $20 and the $40 every time, then take the time to cut client checks back, we recommend you:
    • Refer to the Recording Standards on our Website and conform to them.
    • Establish an account with us so if you make a mistake, we can take the money without slowing down the paperwork.
    • Use eRecording since the money is handled by ACH.
  • Please pay attention to the fees and call us if you need help determining what they should be.  The Fee Schedule is on our Website or you can print it out for your desk: https://www.kentcountyde.gov/files/sharedassets/public/v/2/content-publishers/deeds/deeds-pdf/recording-forms-and-fees/fees-schedule.pdf

 

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