A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT to regulate the solicitation of a fee in exchange for copies of recorded documents and to clarify the fees charged by the register of deeds for recording instruments subsequent to deeds of trust and mortgages.
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:
SECTION 1.  Article 1 of Chapter 75 of the General Statutes is amended by adding a new section to read:
"§ 75‑43.  Solicitation of a fee for copy of recorded documents.
(a)	Any person, firm, or corporation soliciting a fee in exchange for providing a copy of a record available at the register of deeds office shall state on the top of the document used for the solicitation, in conspicuous type, all of the following:
(1)	That the solicitation is not from a State agency or a local unit of government.
(2)	That no action is legally required by the person being solicited.
(3)	The fee for obtaining a copy of the record directly from the register of deeds that has custody of the record.
(4)	The information necessary to contact the register of deeds that has custody of the record.
(5)	The name and physical address of the person, firm, or corporation soliciting the fee.
(b)	A document used for a solicitation governed by this section shall not contain deadline dates or be in a form or contain language designed to make the document appear to be issued by a State agency or local unit of government or to appear to impose a legal duty on the person being solicited.
(c)	A person, firm, or corporation soliciting a fee in exchange for providing a copy of a record may not charge a fee that is greater than four times the amount the register of deeds with custody of the record would charge for a copy of the same record.
(d)	A violation of this section constitutes an unfair trade practice under G.S. 75‑1.1 and is subject to all of the enforcement and penalty provisions under this Article.
(e)	For the purposes of this section, the term "solicit" means to advertise or market to a person with whom the solicitor has no preexisting business relationship."
SECTION 2.  G.S. 161‑10 reads as rewritten:
"§ 161‑10.  Uniform fees of registers of deeds.
(a)	Except as otherwise provided in this Article, all fees collected under this section shall be deposited into the county general fund. While performing the duties of the office, the register of deeds shall collect the following fees which shall be uniform throughout the State:
(1)	Instruments in General. – For registering or filing any instrument for which no other provision is made by this section, the fee shall be twenty‑six dollars ($26.00) for the first 15 pages plus four dollars ($4.00) for each additional page or fraction thereof.
For any instrument that assigns more than one security instrument as defined in G.S. 45‑36.4(18) by reference to previously recorded instrument recording data that are required to be indexed pursuant to G.S. 161‑14.1(b), the fee shall be an additional ten dollars ($10.00) for each additional reference.
For an instrument that contains excessive recording data, the fee shall be an additional two dollars ($2.00) for each party listed in the instrument in excess of 20. An instrument contains excessive recording data when there are more than 20 distinct parties listed in the instrument, including any attachments and exhibits, that require indexing pursuant to G.S. 147‑54.3 or this Chapter.
When a document is presented for registration that consists of multiple instruments, the fee shall be an additional ten dollars ($10.00) for each additional instrument. A document consists of multiple instruments when it contains two or more instruments with different legal consequences or intent, each of which is separately executed and acknowledged and could be recorded alone.
(1a)	Deeds of Trust, Mortgages, and Cancellation of Deeds of Trust and Mortgages. – For registering or filing any deed of trust or mortgage the fee shall be sixty‑four dollars ($64.00) for the first 35 pages plus four dollars ($4.00) for each additional page or fraction thereof.
When a deed of trust or mortgage is presented for registration that contains one or more additional instruments, the fee shall be ten dollars ($10.00) for each additional instrument. A deed of trust or mortgage contains one or more additional instruments if such additional instrument or instruments has or have different legal consequences or intent, each of which is separately executed and acknowledged and could be recorded alone.
There shall be no fee for recording records of satisfaction, or the cancellation of record by any other means, of deeds of trust or mortgages. In all other cases, the fees set forth in subdivision (1) of subsection (a) of this section shall apply to the registration or filing of any subsequent instrument that relates to a previously recorded deed of trust or mortgage.
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(d)	For the purposes of this section, the term "subsequent instrument" has the same meaning as set forth in G.S. 161‑14.1(a)(3)."
SECTION 3.  G.S. 161‑14.1 reads as rewritten:
"§ 161‑14.1.  Recording subsequent entries as separate instruments.
(a)	As used in this section, the following terms mean:
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(3)	Subsequent instrument. – Any instrument presented for registration that indicates in its title or within the first two pages of its text that it is intended or purports to modify, amend, supplement, assign, satisfy, terminate, revoke, or cancel a previously registered instrument. Examples of subsequent instruments include the following:
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i.	An amendment or modification agreement or an amended and restated instrument.
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SECTION 4.  Section 1 of this act becomes effective July 1, 2017. The remainder of this act becomes effective October 1, 2017, and applies to instruments submitted for registration on or after that date.