Arizona Adopts Electronic Recording Act

Arizona Gov. Janet Napolitano has signed the Arizona Uniform Real Property Electronic Recording Act, which authorizes the storage of real property records, including mortgages, in electronic format.The act was adopted based on a model recording act of the same name drafted by the National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws in 2004. It states that an electronic document satisfies a recording statute that requires a document to be an original, on paper or another tangible medium, or in writing, and that an electronic signature satisfies a recording statute that requires a document to be signed. The act also states that an electronic signature satisfies a requirement that a document or signature associated with a document be notarized, acknowledged, verified, witnessed, or made under oath by someone authorized to sign for the document so long as the electronic signature and all other information required to be included is attached to or logically associated with the document or signature. The Arizona URPERA goes into effect on Jan. 1, 2006.