Missouri Revised Statutes § 59.310

*59.310. Documents for recording — page, defined — size of type or print — signature requirements — recorder's fee. — 1. The county recorder of deeds may refuse any document presented for recording that does not meet the following requirements: (1) The document shall consist of one or more individual pages printed only on one side and not permanently bound nor in a continuous form. The document shall not have any attachment stapled or otherwise affixed to any page except as necessary to comply with statutory requirements, provided that a document may be stapled together for presentation for recording; a label that is firmly attached with a bar code or return address may be accepted for recording; (2) The size of print or type shall not be smaller than eight-point type and shall be in black or dark ink. Should any document presented for recording contain type smaller than eight-point type, such document shall be accompanied by an exact typewritten copy not smaller than eight-point type to be recorded contemporaneously as additional pages of the document; (3) The document must be of sufficient legibility to produce a clear and legible reproduction thereof. Should any document not be of sufficient legibility to produce a clear and legible reproduction, such document shall be accompanied by an exact typewritten copy not smaller than eight-point type to be recorded contemporaneously as additional pages of the document; (4) The document shall be on white or light-colored paper of not less than twenty-pound weight without watermarks or other visible inclusions, except for plats and surveys, which may be on materials such as Mylar or velum. All text within the document shall be of sufficient color and clarity to ensure that when the text is reproduced from record, it shall be readable; (5) All signatures on a document shall be in black or dark ink, such that such signatures shall be of sufficient color and clarity to ensure that when the text is reproduced from record, it shall be readable, and shall have the corresponding name typed, printed or stamped underneath said signature. The typing or printing of any name or the applying of an embossed or inked stamp shall not cover or otherwise materially interfere with any part of the document except where provided for by law; (6) The documents shall have a top margin of at least three inches of vertical space from left to right, to be reserved for the recorder of deeds' certification and use. All other margins on the document shall be a minimum of three-fourths of one inch on all sides. Nonessential information such as form numbers, page numbers or customer notations may be placed in the margin. A document may be recorded if a minor portion of a seal or incidental writing extends beyond the margins. The recorder of deeds will not incur any liability for not showing any seal or information that extends beyond the margins of the permanent archival record. 2. Every document containing any of the items listed in this subsection that is presented for recording, except plats and surveys, shall have such information on the first page below the three-inch horizontal margin: (1) The title of the document; (2) The date of the document; (3) All grantors' names and marital status; (4) All grantees' names; (5) Any statutory addresses; (6) The legal description of the property; and (7) Reference book and pages for statutory requirements, if applicable. 3. From January 1, 2002, documents which do not meet the requirements set forth in this section may be recorded for an additional fee of twenty-five dollars, which shall be deposited in the recorders' fund established pursuant to subsection 1 of section 59.319. 4. Documents which are exempt from format requirements and which the recorder of deeds may record include the following: (1) Documents which were signed prior to January 1, 2002; (2) Military separation papers; (3) Documents executed outside the United States; (4) Certified copies of documents, including birth and death certificates; (5) Any document where one of the original parties is deceased or otherwise incapacitated; and (6) Judgments or other documents formatted to meet court requirements. 5. Any document rejected by a recorder of deeds shall be returned to the preparer or presenter accompanied by an explanation of the reason it could not be recorded. 6. Recorders of deeds shall be allowed fees for their services as follows: (1) For recording every deed or instrument: five dollars for the first page and three dollars for each page thereafter except for plats and surveys; (2) For copying or reproducing any recorded instrument, except surveys and plats: a fee not to exceed two dollars for the first page and one dollar for each page thereafter; (3) For every certificate and seal, except when recording an instrument: one dollar; (4) For recording a plat or survey of a subdivision, outlets or condominiums: twenty-five dollars for each sheet of drawings or calculations based on a size not to exceed twenty-four inches in width by eighteen inches in height. For recording a survey of one or more tracts: five dollars for each sheet of drawings or calculations based on a size not to exceed twenty-four inches in width by eighteen inches in height. Any plat or survey larger than eighteen inches by twenty-four inches shall be counted as an additional sheet for each additional eighteen inches by twenty-four inches, or fraction thereof, plus five dollars per page of other material; (5) For copying a plat or survey of one or more tracts: a fee not to exceed five dollars for each sheet of drawings and calculations not larger than twenty-four inches in width and eighteen inches in height and one dollar for each page of other material; (6) For a document which releases or assigns more than one item: five dollars for each item beyond one released or assigned in addition to any other charges which may apply; (7) For every certified copy of a marriage license or application for a marriage license: two dollars; (8) For duplicate copies of the records in a medium other than paper, the recorder of deeds shall set a reasonable fee not to exceed the costs associated with document search and duplication; and (9) For all other use of equipment, personnel services and office facilities, the recorder of deeds may set a reasonable fee. (RSMo 1939 § 13426, A.L. 1951 p. 396, A.L. 1977 S.B. 112, A.L. 1981 S.B. 348, A.L. 1985 H.B. 320, A.L. 2001 H.B. 606 merged with S.B. 515, A.L. 2022 H.B. 1606 merged with H.B. 1662) Prior revisions: 1929 § 11804; 1919 § 11012; 1909 § 10715 *Revisor's Note: This section was amended identically by both H.B. 1606 and H.B. 1662, 2022. In 2023, H.B. 1606 was declared unconstitutional (see annotation below). The H.B. 1662 language remains in effect. (2023) The inclusion of Section 67.2300 in H.B. 1606 from 2022 declared unconstitutional as violating the single subject rule of Article III, § 23 of the Missouri Constitution. The remaining provisions of H.B. 1606 could not be severed and the bill is declared invalid in its entirety. Byrd, et al. v. State of Missouri, et al., 679 S.W.3d 492 (Mo.banc).