Section 258 – Electronic filing and recording of written instruments

May 13, 2021 | Civil Procedure, Louisiana

A. Notwithstanding any provision of law to the contrary, a clerk of court, as ex officio recorder, the Orleans Parish register of conveyances, or its successor, or the Orleans Parish recorder of mortgages or its successor, hereinafter referred to as “recorder,” is authorized to adopt and implement a published plan which shall include a written contract between the clerk of court, the Orleans Parish register of conveyances, or its successor, or the Orleans Parish recorder of mortgages, or its successor, and the filer, which complies with the Louisiana Uniform Electronic Transactions Act, R.S. 9:2601 et seq., and which provides for the acceptance of an electronic record of any recordable written instrument except original maps, plats, property descriptions, or photographs as related to the work of a professional surveyor engaged in the “Practice of Land Surveying” as defined in R.S. 37:682 for filing and recording submitted by any person, department, political subdivision, agency, branch, entity, or instrumentality of Louisiana or of the federal government or of a state-chartered or federally chartered financial institution insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or the National Credit Union Administration. The filer of such an electronic record shall certify to the recorder that the written instrument from which the electronic record is taken conforms to all applicable laws relating to the form and content of instruments which are submitted in writing.
B. Immediately after acceptance of an electronic record for filing, the recorder shall endorse such record with the date, hour, and minute it is filed. An electronic filing received on a legal holiday or at any time other than during the normal business hours of the recorder shall be accepted for filing on the next business day by the same procedure followed when a paper document is received in the mail of the recorder at any time other than during normal business hours.
C. An electronic record shall be effective with respect to a third person from the time of its filing in the same manner as if the written instrument had been filed.
D. On or before January 1, 2022, each clerk of court, including the Orleans Parish register of conveyances or its successor and the Orleans Parish recorder of mortgages or its successor, shall adopt and implement a plan for recording electronic documents in accordance with Paragraph A of this Article.

La. C.P. § 258

Amended by Acts 2017, No. 173,s. 5, eff. 8/1/2017.
Acts 2005, No. 125, §1; Acts 2008, No. 368, §1.