Minimum Standards for Indexing Real Property Instruments

10 NORTH CAROLINA ASSOCIATION OF REGISTERS OF DEEDS MINIMUM STANDARDS FOR INDEXING REAL PROPERTY INSTRUMENTS NCARD Land Records Committee Final Proposed Substitute 2 2 2011 Effective Date July 1 , 2012 Except in Wake County in Which the Rules Shall Become Effective no Later Than 1 1 2014 1PageTABLE OF CONTENTS 1 STANDARD OF CARE AND POSTED INDEX RULES 101 Standard of Care in User Index Searches 102 Posting of Indexing Rules 2 CONSOLIDATED INDEX 201 Consolidated Real Property Index 3 INDEXING PROCEDURES 301 Spelling Variations and Illegibility 302 Additional Name References 303 Name Format 304 Names of All Parties 305 Basic Alphabetizing Procedures 306 Recognized Characters 307 Capital Letters 308 Names Required by General Statutes 4 NAMES 401 Surnames 402 Given Names 403 Titles 404 Suffixes 405 Surname in Parentheses 406 Professional Titles 407 Single Word Human Names 408 Estate Names 409 Trust Names 410 Non - Human Names 5 INDEX FORMAT 501 Sorting Order for Index 502 Trustee or Other Designated Status 503 Index Information 6 PLATS 601 Consolidated Real Property Index 602 Owner 603 Plat Title 604 Condominium Plat 7 MINIMUM FUNCTIONAL STANDARDS FOR ELECTONIC INDEXES 701 Compliance with Standards 702 Nonproprietary Data Storage and Accessibility 703 Sortable Fields 704 Search Result Narrowing Restrictions 705 Auto - Completion 706 Soundex Suggestions 707 Sorting Order 2Page708 Allowable Name Length 709 Punctuation and Symbols 710 Hyphenated Surnames 711 Words Beginning The , A , An 712 Political Divisions 713 Abbreviations APPENDIX Recommended Instrument Type Abbreviations 3Page1 STANDARD OF CARE AND INDEXING RULES 101 Standard of Care in User Index Searches These rules are intended to promote predictability in the appearance and sorting of names in alphabetical indexes Reliance on the procedures in these rules is not intended to define the standard of care for a reasonably careful and prudent user of a register's index Users may be expected to search for names according to variations in appearance that should reasonably be anticipated 102 Posting of Indexing Rules Indexing rules shall be posted prominently together with the index Included in the posted rules shall be , at a minimum a These Minimum Standards b Document type abbreviations c A description of the location of the public documents and indexes d Identification of previously applicable indexing rules , the dates during which such rules were used , and the location at which the rules can be reviewed 2 CONSOLIDATED INDEX 201 Consolidated Real Property Index a The register of deeds shall maintain a single index of all documents related to real property Such an index shall be known as the " Consolidated Real Property Index " and shall be subdivided into an index for grantors and an index for grantees Grantor and grantee indexes shall allow separate searches for human and non - human names For indexing purposes human names are names apparently of individual human beings Non - human names are names apparently of entities or organizations such as corporations , partnerships , government agencies , churches , schools , and charitable organizations Names identified as trade names for sole proprietorships and other businesses or organizations are considered non - human names b Names in the Consolidated Real Property Index shall be indexed in a telephone - type listing , continuous alphabetical listing 4PagePage pageNumber53 INDEXING PROCEDURES 301 Indexing Procedures for Spelling Variations and Illegibility As set forth in G S 161 - 142 , when instruments contain spelling variations between the typed or printed portions and signatures , partially illegible signatures , or information in the typed or printed portion not given by the signatures , the following procedures shall govern the indexing a When each word of the signature is legible and it gives the complete name of the party , the signature shall govern b When the signature is legible but initials or abbreviations are used , any additional information given by the printed or typed name and not in conflict with the signature shall govern c When none of the words in the signature are legible , the printed or typed name shall govern d When one or more of the words in the signature are legible , then the words that are legible shall govern ; the words that appear in the printed or typed name shall govern over the words of the signature that are not legible e When the spelling of any word in a legible signature and the spelling of the corresponding word in the typed or printed name is at variance , and the variance would cause the entries to be made at different places in the index , then the instrument shall be indexed under both spellings f When a reasonable interpretation of an illegible word in a signature is at variance with the corresponding word in a typed or printed name and the variance would cause the entries to be made at different places in the index , then the instrument shall be indexed in both places 302 Additional Name References When the printed or typed portion of the signature block makes reference to an additional name through terms such as " also known as , " " formerly known as , " " now known as , " or " doing business as , " or their acronyms such as " AKA , " " FKA , " " NKA , " or " DBA , " only the name and the additional name shall be indexed , not the referential words or acronyms Example Signature name - Jane Smith Typed name - Jane Smith FKA Jane Simpson Index SIMPSON JANE Index SMITH JANE 5PagePage pageNumber6303 Name Format The register of deeds shall assume that all names on a document are in the United States name convention of given name s followed by surname 304 Index Names of All Parties a Except as specified or allowed otherwise by the General Statutes , the names of each party to an instrument shall be indexed in the Consolidated Real Property Index , and the names of each party shall be entered into its proper alphabetical section or location of the index b Only one name shall be listed for each entry in the index The system shall allow entry and display of a minimum of 70 characters including spaces , punctuation , and other characters that are disregarded in the search routine according to these standards for each of the following fields 1 nonhuman name ; 2 human surname s ; and 3 given name s The indexer shall not abbreviate human and non - human names that are not abbreviated in the document 305 Standard Alphabetizing Procedures a Alphabet - All entries shall use the English alphabet and shall be arranged alphabetically according to the order of the English alphabet Umlauts , accents , dieresis and other diacritical marks in foreign languages shall not be used b Word by word - All entries shall be arranged word by word , alphabetizing character by character within the word Alphabetizing shall begin with the first character of the first word and end with the last character of the last word The principle of nothing before something shall be applied , considering the space between words a nothing " Thus , a single letter or shorter word precedes a longer word beginning with the same letter or letters When two or more entries begin with the same word , the entry will be arranged by the first different word Example AD VIDEO ADAM INSTRUMENT INC ADAMS BILT CO ADAMS BILT LOT CO ADVENT SPEAKERS INC 6PagePage pageNumber7c Human Names - Human names shall be alphabetized on the basis of the surname followed by the given name s Example SMITH JAMES SMITH JOHN SMITH JOHN E d Non - Human Names - Non - human names shall be alphabetized on the basis of all words in the non - human name , word by word , character by character , in the order in which they appear in the document A number , single letter , initial , or grouping of letters can be the first word of a non - human name Example WINSTON R AND P CO WINSTON ROOF AND SIDING INC WINSTON ROOFING AND GUTTERING CO WINSTON ROOFING CO e Numbers - Arabic numerals shall be used for numeric numbers For the purposes of alphabetizing sorting , a number consisting of one or more numerals shall be considered as a word Examples 2 GUYS CO 23 STREET INC 4 PENNIES INC 40 THIEVES MARKET 401 AMOCO FOOD MARKET 4TH STREET OYSTER BAR INC For purposes of alphabetizing sorting , Roman numerals shall be considered as alphabetic characters and not numbers A Roman numeral shall be considered as an alphabetical word Example Name - VIII Division Survivors Fund Index VIDEOFONICS INC VIII DIVISION SURVIVORS FUND VINYL WHOLESALE SUPPLY CO 7PagePage pageNumber8306 Recognized Characters Index entries for names shall only include the following characters , numerals and symbols , which shall be alphabetized according to ASCII sequence in the order shown here Indexers should disregard any other symbols or marks that are part of the name Diacritical marks appearing above , below or over a letter shall be ignored " # & + , - 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 ; lt; gt; @ A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z [ ] ^ _ ` { | } ~ Diacritical marks Example O Name Freidrich Rodl Index RODL FREIDRICH Example Ñ Name Francisco Peña Index PENA FRANCISCO Example É Name René Theriot Index THERIOT RENE 307 Capital Letters All letters in entries in the Consolidated Real Property Index shall appear in capitals 308 Names Required by General Statutes In addition to indexing names of parties as they appear in the document consistent with these rules , indexing shall comply with any requirements of the NC General Statutes 4 NAMES 401 Surnames Surnames shall be keyed into the index with the characters as they appear on the document When a surname consists of two or more separate words separated by a hyphen , the surname shall be keyed into the index as it appears on the document The surname shall appear in the index pursuant to Rule 710 Example Name - Jane Smith - Simpson Keyed SMITH - SIMPSON JANE 8PagePage pageNumber9402 Given Names a Given names shall be keyed into the index with the characters as they appear on the document Given names shall be listed in the order of first given name or initial , second given name middle name or initial , third given name or initial , etc Example Name - ROBERT M STEWART Keyed STEWART ROBERT M b Compound Given Name - Given names with two or more words separated by a hyphen shall be keyed into the index as they appear on the document Example Name - Ann Mary - Margaret Hendon Keyed HENDON ANN MARY - MARGARET 403 Titles Titles such as Reverend , Bishop , Dr , Major , Mr , Ms , Mrs , etc shall not be keyed into the index as part of the human name unless a such title appears with a surname and no other given name , or b such title appears with only what appears on the face of the document to be the spouse's name Examples Name - Mrs John Smith Keyed SMITH JOHN MRS Name - Mrs Smith and Mr Smith Keyed SMITH MR SMITH MRS Name - Major Smith Keyed SMITH MAJOR 404 Suffixes A suffix denoting lineage such as Junior , Jr , Sr , II , III , etc , shall be placed after the last given name with no comma between the last given name and the suffix Example Name - William John Smith , III Keyed SMITH WILLIAM JOHN III 405 Surnames in Parentheses When a human name containing what clearly appears to be an additional surname in parentheses before or after the surname [ eg , Jane Ann Smith Simpson , Jane Ann Simpson Smith ] , the name shall be keyed into the index by the surname not in parentheses and also by the surname that was in parentheses without parentheses When indexing the surname not in parentheses , the surname that was in parentheses shall be considered and alphabetized as the last given name 9Page0Example Name - Jane Ann Smith Simpson Keyed SIMPSON JANE ANN SMITH SMITH JANE ANN SIMPSON 406 Professional Titles Professional certifications or degrees showing a certain level or type of education such as CPA , DDS , and MD , shall be keyed into the index as a human name with the title excluded Example Name - John Smith , CPA Keyed SMITH JOHN 407 Single Word Human Names A single word as a human name shall be considered as both the given name and the surname and shall be keyed into the index as both the given name and the surname Example Name - Topika Keyed TOPIKA TOPIKA 408 Estate Names The names of estates containing human names shall be keyed into the index by the human name Additional references to the estate are optional and if included shall not affect the alphabetical order of the human name being indexed Example Name - John Smith Estate Keyed SMITH JOHN 409 Trust Names The names of trusts containing what clearly appear to be human names shall be keyed into the index both a as a non - human name and b by the human name contained within the trust When indexing the human name for a trust , references to the trust are optional and if included shall not affect the alphabetical order of the human name being indexed Example Name - John Smith Revocable Trust Keyed JOHN SMITH REVOCABLE TRUST SMITH JOHN Name John Smith and Mary Brown Revocable Trust Keyed JOHN SMITH AND MARY BROWN REVOCABLE TRUST BROWN MARY SMITH JOHN 410 Non - Human Names Non - human names shall be keyed into the index with the characters as they appear on the document 10Page15 INDEX FORMAT 501 Sorting Order for Index The location of an entry in the index shall be determined by the following sort order 1st Alphabetically according to human surname or non - human name 2nd For human names alphabetically according to given name 3rd Date registered 502 Trustee or Other Designated Status When a party's human or non - human name as it appears in the document is clearly designated as an administrator administratrix , attorney - in - fact , executor executrix , or trustee , such status designation shall be set forth in a separate field but it shall not affect the name's alphabetical placement Punctuation separating the name from the status shall not be keyed into the index Example Name Richard M Stewart , Trustee Index STEWART RICHARD M TR Name Stewart Banking & Trust Company , Trustee Index STEWART BANKING & TRUST COMPANY TR 503 Index Information Information returned in response to a query shall include the following categories of information , in any order a Indexed party - For a human name the index shall show the surname followed by the given name If the indexed party is acting with a designated status as set forth in Rule 502 , the status shall also be shown b Date registered - In numeric form of two digit month two digit day four digit year eg , January 15 , 2010 would appear as 01 15 2010 c Reverse party grantee if indexed party is grantor ; grantor if indexed party is grantee - Only one name need be listed as reverse party ; if there are more than one on the document only the first need be shown If the reverse party is acting with a designated status as set forth in Rule 502 the status shall also be shown d Document type - As is apparent on the face of the document Only one document type need be listed A list of suggested type abbreviations is set forth in the Appendix to these standards Although registers may use additional or different abbreviations use of the list in the Appendix is suggested to promote consistency and predictability All document type abbreviations in use in the register's index shall be listed in the posted indexing rules according to Rule 102 e Reference - The book and page location , with the book number listed first f Description - The index description is an abbreviation and approximation of information that appears in the document , which can be descriptive or reference information Indexers do not supply or verify the provided information 11Page2g PIN - In a county that uses an index by land parcel identification number PIN , the PIN shall be shown as required by statute 6 PLATS 601 Consolidated Real Property Index Plats shall be indexed in the Consolidated Real Property Index except as otherwise provided by statute Plats recorded as attachments to other recorded documents need not be separately indexed 602 Owner The owner of the property that is the subject of the plat , as shown on the plat , shall be indexed as a grantor 603 Plat Title The title of the plat shall be indexed as a grantor A descriptive title such as Singing Oaks , Part II shall be indexed as a non - human name 604 Condominium Plat Indexing information for a condominium plat shall also include the following a The name of the condominium , as shown on the plat , as a non - human grantor b Reference to the book and page and date of recording of the condominium declaration , as shown on the plat 7 MINIMUM FUNCTIONAL STANDARDS FOR ELECTRONIC INDEXES Each register of deeds shall have an electronic indexing system hereinafter " the system " of real property instruments for public use with the following functional standards The functional standards required in this part 7 shall apply at least to all records for documents that have been registered beginning on the date on which minimum indexing standards adopted by the Department of Secretary of State pursuant to GS 147 - 543 b1 first became effective in the respective register of deed's office This rule shall not be construed as prohibiting application of these functional standards to records for documents registered before such effective date Registers may also choose to provide additional functions and features with electronic indexes as well as paper indexing resources 701 Compliance with Standards 12Page3The system shall enable real estate instruments to appear in indexes that comply with the rules set forth in these Minimum Standards for Indexing 702 Nonproprietary Data Storage and Accessibility The system shall store data using open standards and architecture and each data set and table shall be well - documented , enabling conversion to a different system at the register of deeds ' sole discretion without need for proprietary software , licenses , or approvals to which the register does not have full and irrevocable rights and access as part of the use agreement for the system 703 Sortable Fields The system shall enable public users to enter queries for names and view document - specific identification information for all documents for which matching names have been indexed as parties In counties in which parcel identification numbers are used , as an indexing system in lieu of an alphabetical system , the system shall enable public users to view document - specific identification information for all documents for which matching parcel identification numbers have been indexed 704 Search Result Narrowing Restrictions The system shall enable public users to narrow their search results from the required sortable fields to within a range of registration dates The system may , but is not required to , enable index users to further narrow their searches based on other fields and criteria 705 Auto - Completion The system shall include a drop - down automatic completion function that , at the searcher's option , suggests in the alphabetical sorted order at least five of any names that have been indexed and that begin with the characters entered in the name query Examples Human surname query entry J Suggested names Indexed human surnames beginning with J in alphabetical order Human surname query entry JEFF Suggested names Indexed human surnames beginning with JEFF in alphabetical order Human surname query entry JEFFERSON Suggested names Indexed human surnames with last name JEFFERSON , and if no surnames are indexed with following letters such as JEFFERSONIAN , given names for JEFFERSON in alphabetical order such as ABRAHAM , ADAM , etc 706 Soundex Suggestions 13Page4The system shall include a soundex function that , at the searcher's option , suggests to users names from the indexed names database that are pronounced similarly to the query entry but spelled differently , with at least the functional capability of the soundex coding rules of the US Archives and Records Administration Examples Indexed entries SMYTH Returned for query but not necessarily limited to SMITH Indexed entries GUITEREZ Returned for query but not necessarily limited to GUITERREZ Indexed entry FISTER Returned for query but not necessarily limited to PFISTER 707 Sorting Order The names in each field shall be sorted in ASCII order as specified in Rule 306 following the standard alphabetizing procedures in Rule 305 708 Allowable Name Length The system shall allow entry and display of a minimum of 70 characters including spaces , punctuation , and other characters that are disregarded in the search routine according to these standards for each of the following fields 1 nonhuman name ; 2 human surname s ; and 3 given name s The system shall return the full information for all indexed entries that begin with the number of characters allowed 709 Punctuation and Symbols The system shall return results for queries both with and without regard to the presence of punctuation , symbols , and spaces within a name field Examples Indexed human surname name VAN DER KAMPEN Returned for queries but not necessarily limited to VAN DER KAMPEN VAN DERKAMPEN VANDERKAMPEN Indexed human surname SMITH - JAMES Returned for queries but not necessarily limited to JAMES SMITH JAMES SMITH - JAMES SMITHJAMES Indexed nonhuman name AT & T Returned for queries but not necessarily limited to A T & T AT & T 14Page5AT & T Indexed nonhuman name @ { AUTO } Returned for queries but not necessarily limited to @ AUTO @ { AUTO } AUTO { AUTO } Indexed human name ROBERT KIP M STEWART Returned for queries but not necessarily limited to STEWART ROBERT KIP M STEWART ROBERT KIP M Example applying the sorting order of Rule 707 Same name on two documents ROBERT KIP M STEWART Keyed under prior rules STEWART ROBERT KIP M DOC 1 Keyed under these rules STEWART ROBERT KIP M DOC 2 Search query STEWART ROBERT KIP M Returns include STEWART ROBERT KIP M DOC 1 STEWART ROBERTKIPM DOC 1 STEWART ROBERTKIPM DOC 2 Search query STEWART ROBERT KIP M Returns include STEWART ROBERT KIP M DOC 2 STEWART ROBERTKIPM DOC 1 STEWART ROBERTKIPM DOC 2 710 Hyphenated Surname When a surname is entered with two or more separate words separated by a hyphen , the system shall create a record a with the hyphen dropped and the previously hyphenated words as a surname and b with the last word alone as surname , and c as it was keyed into the index Example Surname entered JANE SMITH - SIMPSON Surname index records SIMPSON JANE SMITH SMITH SIMPSON JANE SMITH - SIMPSON JANE 711 Words Beginning The , A , An The system shall return entries for queries for a nonhuman name both with and without regard to the presence of the articles THE , A , or AN at the beginning of the indexed name or query 15Page6712 Political Divisions The system shall return results for queries that identify a political division and proper name without regard to the order in which the political division and proper name is given or the presence of " of " district , village , town , township , municipality , city , county , and state Example Indexed nonhuman name VILLAGE OF PINEHURST Returned for query but not necessarily limited to PINEHURST VILLAGE PINEHURST VILLAGE OF VILLAGE OF PINEHURST 713 Abbreviations The system shall return results for queries that automatically associate characters with abbreviations and vice - versa Example Indexed nonhuman name MORTGAGE ELECTRONIC REGISTRATION SYSTEMS INC Returned for query but not necessarily limited toMERS MORTGAGE ELECTRONIC REGISTRATION SYSTEMS MORTGAGE ELECTRONIC REGISTRATION SYSTEMS INC Indexed nonhuman name MERS Returned for query but not necessarily limited to MERS MORTGAGE ELECTRONIC REGISTRATION SYSTEMS MORTGAGE ELECTRONIC REGISTRATION SYSTEMS INC The abbreviations for which such equivalence shall be made shall include the following AND & ASSOCIATE , ASSOCIATES ASSOC ASSOCIATION ASSN BANK AND TRUST , BANK & TRUST B & T COMPANY , COMPANIES CO CONDOMINIUM CONDO CORPORATION CORP COUNTY CNTY DEPARTMENT DEPT DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENT AND NATURAL RESOURCES DENR FINANCE FIN INCORPORATED INC INSURANCE INS LIMITED LTD LIMITED LIABILITY COMPANY LLC 16Page7MORTGAGE MTG MORTGAGE ELECTRONIC REGISTRATION SYSTEMS MERS MORTGAGE ELECTRONIC REGISTRATION SYSTEMS INC MERS MOUNT MT NORTH CAROLINA NC PARTNER , PARTNERS PTNR PARTNERSHIP , PARTNERSHIPS PTNRP SAINT ST SAVINGS AND LOAN , SAVINGS & LOAN S & L UNITED STATES USA AND US US STATE NAMES US POSTAL SERVICE two - letter abbreviations The system shall enable the register of deeds to enter additional automatic equivalencies 17Page8Appendix RECOMMENDED INSTRUMENT TYPE ABBREVIATIONS AFFIDAVIT AFFT AGREEMENT AGMT ASSIGNMENT ASGMT ASSUMED NAME A N BANKRUPTCY BKCY CERTIFICATE CERT CONDOMINIUM CONDO CONSENT CONST DECLARATION DECL DEED DEED DEED OF TRUST D T FORECLOSURE FCL GRAVE REMOVAL GRAVE JUDGMENT JGMT LEASE LEASE MEMORANDUM MEMO MORTGAGE MTG NOTARY COMMISSION NTRY NOTICE NOTCE ORDER ORDER ORDINANCE ORD PARTIAL RELEASE P REL PARTIAL SATISFACTION P SAT PLAT PLAT POWER OF ATTORNEY P A RELEASE REL RESCISSION RECIS RESTRICTIONS RESTR RIGHT OF WAY R W SATISFACTION SAT SEE INSTRUMENT S INS SUBSTITUTION TRUSTEE S TR UNIFORM COMMERCIAL UCC CODE 18Page