LEGIBILITY & GUIDELINES

Documents presented for recording in the Wood County Recorder's Office MUST meet Ohio Revised Code Section 317.11, 317.112(A), and 317.114:

  • R.C. 317.11 requires the signature of any person, who signs an "instrument by which title to real estate or personal property of any interest therein or lien thereon, is conveyed, created, encumbered, assigned, discharged, canceled or otherwise disposed of" to be legible or, if illegibly written, to be identified by an affidavit or by having the name legibly printed, typewritten or stamped upon the instrument.
  • 317.112 (A) reads "The contents of the instrument shall be sufficiently LEGIBLE to permit their reproduction by photographic or micro-photographic process". The ENTIRE document must be legible for reproduction.
  • R.C. 317.114 sets out specific document standardization requirements such as margins, page size, ink color, and font size.

Please follow the following guidelines for documents to be recorded or filed. These guidelines will help document preparers meet the requirements of the Ohio Revised Code.

  1. Computer font size of at least 10 point.
  2. LEGIBLE, not blurry or too light. Fax copies have a tendency to be blurred and illegible.
  3. No tape or staples.
  4. Minimum paper size is letter size (8 1/2 x 11).
  5. Black or blue/black ink. No purple, green, or red ink.
  6. No highlighting. Highlighting blocks out printed words and signatures.
  7. One (1) inch margins are required on the sides and bottom of every page.
  8. A three (3) inch margin is required at the top of the document for certification stamps of engineer, auditor, and recorder. Each page after the first requires a one and one-half (1 1/2) inch margin at the top.

Your cooperation is appreciated.