The Craven County Register Of Deeds has adhered to the Minimum Standards for Indexing Real Estate Instruments promulgated by the North Carolina Secretary of State, Land Records Management Division in Raleigh, NC, since January 1, 1995.
Since July 1, 2002, all documents recorded must comply with GS 161-14(b) with the following specific requirements:
- Paper size must be 8 1/2 x 11 inches or 8 1/2 x 14 inches.
- A 3-inch margin at the top of the first page and a 1/2 inch margin on the remaining sides of the first page and all sides of subsequent pages.
- Black lettering on white paper.
- Font no smaller than 10 point (Blank spaces in a document may be filled in with pen and ink and corrections may be made with pen and ink).
- Typed or printed text only on one side.
- Document type noted at the top of the first page below the 3-inch margin.
- Preparer’s name to be on the first page of the document.
If a document presented for recording does not meet all requirements, the Craven County Register of Deeds will collect a $25 fee for filing a “non-standard document.” After this fee is collected, the Craven County Register of Deeds may record the document and collect applicable recording fees. Therefore, when an instrument is not in compliance with the new recording standards, the Craven County Register of Deeds will collect 2 fees: one fee for non-compliance and another fee for the actual recording. The Craven County Register of Deeds may, at their discretion, waive the non-standard document fee in any one instance. If a document is printed with a font smaller than 10 point but the Craven County Register of Deeds finds that it is still legible, the document may be recorded without the non-standard fee. Legible means that it must be readable after being scanned.
Excise tax is $1 per $500 of property value.
Per Craven County Ordinance, all deeds must have the tax parcel ID number on the first page of the document.
