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The Circuit Court Clerk's Office is responsible for recording and maintaining real property records in Worcester County.
Recording Fees
* $20.00 for an instrument involving solely a principal residence, regardless of length (except as provided in next item)
* $10.00 for a release nine (9) pages or less in length (this does not apply to a termination of a financing statement)
* $20.00 for any other instrument nine (9) pages or less in length
* $75 any other instrument ten (10) pages or more in length
* $15.00 for a Request for Notice of Sale (Foreclosure)
Recording Surcharge: $40.00 (collected on all instruments recorded in land records or financing statement records, other than a Power of Attorney, Request of Notice (Foreclosure sale), plats, and homeowners' association disclosures)
TRANSFER & RECORDATION TAX
State recordation tax - $3.30 for every $500 or fraction thereof of consideration (exemptions in Tax Property Article, 12-108)
State transfer tax - one-half of 1% of the consideration (exemptions in Tax Property Article, 13-207) , one-fourth of 1% for deeds to a first-time Maryland homebuyer
County transfer tax - 1% of consideration (charged after first $50,000 if owner occupied)
Document Formatting Requirements
* A document should consist of individual pages measuring no larger than 8.5 x 14 inches with printing on one side only.
* Documents should be printed in a font size of at least 8 point and in black letters on white paper. The paper needs to be of sufficient weight to produce a readable copy.
* On the first page, provide a blank margin of at least 2 inches. All other margins should be at least 1 inch.
* Corresponding names should be printed above or below signatures.
* A deed needs to include a prepared by statement. This should bear the certification of an attorney at law that the instrument has been prepared by an attorney or under an attorney's supervision, or a certification that the instrument was prepared by one of the parties named in the instrument. The preparer can be named in the following format: "This is to certify that the within instrument has been prepared by a party to the instrument." This statement is to be followed by the signature of the preparer.
* A legal description of the real property being conveyed should be included in the instrument. The legal description includes the municipality and state, as well as the parcel ID number. Previous recorded information should also be referenced.
* The relationship, if any, of the grantor and grantee, should be stated in the document.
* Include a certificate of residency and/or an affidavit of total payment amount of the non-resident withholding tax.
* When submitting an instrument, it should be accompanied by a copy that will be submitted to the Department of Assessment and Taxation. All public taxes, assessments, and charges currently due and owed on the property must have been paid before the document can be recorded.
* A deed of trust that is being financed needs to include the refinance language, which must be on one of the numbered pages before the signature page or, if on a separate page, it must be signed and notarized.
* An affidavit of consideration is required for a mortgage or deed of trust. A mortgage or deed of trust is not valid unless there is contained in, endorsed on, or attached to it an oath of affirmation of the mortgagee or the party secured by a deed of trust that the consideration recited in the document is true and bona fide as set forth.
* No deed granting property lying within the boundaries of any sanitary district operated by the County Commissioners of Worcester County may be accepted by the Clerk of the Circuit Court for recording unless the deed is marked by the county to indicate that every assessment or charge currently due and owed to the county with respect to the property described in the deed has been paid.
LAND INTAKE SHEET
Include a completed Land Intake sheet with the document to be recorded. A Land Intake sheet should describe the property by at least one of the following property identifiers: the property tax account identification number, the street address, the lot and block designation (if the property is a lot within a subdivided tract), or if a property consists of multiple parcels, the designation "various lots of ground" (abbreviated as "VAR L.O.G") should be used. A completed intake sheet should also name the grantor and grantee, state the type of instrument, state the amount of consideration payable, state the amount of recording charges due, identify (by citation) each claimed exemption from recording taxes, state a tax bill mailing address, and indicate to whom the instrument should be returned.
The Intake sheet is not part of the instrument and does not constitute constructive notice as to the contents of the instrument.