Requirements for Standardization of Documents

Effective January 1, 1995, the Illinois Legislature enacted a revision to the Recording Act which provides for the standardization of recorded documents. Those documents recorded without complying to the below requirements dates subsequent to January 1, 1995, which do not conform to the new requirements, will require additional recording fees.

The following standards are required under the law:

1.     The document shall consist of one or more individual sheets measuring 8.5 inches by 11 inches, not permanently bound and not a continuous form. Graphic displays accompanying a document to be recorded that measure up to 11 inches by 17 inches shall be recorded without charging an additional fee.

2.     The document shall be legibly printed in black or blue ink, by hand, type, or computer. Signatures and dates may be in contrasting colors if they reproduce clearly.*

3.     The document shall be on white paper of not less than 20-pound weight and shall have a clean margin of at least one-half inch on the top, the bottom, and each side. Margins may be used for non-essential notations that will not affect the validity of the document, including but not limited to form numbers, page numbers, and customer notations.

4.     The first page of the document shall contain a blank space, measuring at least 3 inches by 5 inches, in the upper right hand corner.

5.     The document shall not have any attachment stapled or otherwise affixed to any page.

A document that does not conform to these standards shall not be recorded except upon payment of the additional fee required under this paragraph. This paragraph, as amended by this amendatory Act of 1995, applies only to documents dated after the effective date of this amendatory Act of 1995.