The purpose of this document is to define the requirements, processes and guidelines for a commercial or governmental entity to become an authorized submitter of electronically filed real property documents and court documents.
Electronic Filing of Court Cases
For more information on eFiling, please visit the State of Texas web site at: www.texas.gov.
Electronic Recording of Official Public Records
Tarrant County began eRecording in February 2004. Today, we're recording approximately 50% of the county's official public records electronically.
Why eRecord?
The answer is simple - Efficiency. eRecording ensures recording without waiting in lines, ensures your record is made available online quicker and alleviates last minute rushes to the County Clerk's office. It is more efficient for the county and more efficient for submitters. Once a document is in electronic form and recorded in the Clerk's office, its electronic return allows the submitter to immediately forward the recorded document to their client.
How Does the eRecording Process Work?
- The authorized submitter scans and submits a document for recording using the agreed specifications. The County Clerk reserves the right to accept only certain document types via eRecording. The original documents are retained by the submitter.
- The document is electronically sent to the county.
- Once the county receives the document, it can be accepted or rejected.
- If accepted, the document is stamped and a receipt created for the appropriate recording fees.
- If rejected, the document is returned to the submitter with explanation and no charges are incurred.
- The stamped and recorded document is electronically returned to the submitter.
Who is a Good Candidate to eRecord?
- State Licensed Attorneys
- Mortgage Lenders
- State Licensed Title Insurance Companies and Agents
- State Agencies
There are two (2) options to consider:
- Contract with an outside company currently authorized to eRecord with Tarrant County. These are companies who have developed their own submission software and have entered into contract with Tarrant County. There are fees associated with these services which can be discussed with each company directly. Please see the list of companies providing this service.
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Become an authorized submitter by developing an application enabling direct interface and filing with Tarrant County. This will allow you to avoid additional fees but does require communication standards be met. Specifications and Standards can be reviewed at the
Manatron website.
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Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) must be signed and submitted. The MOU defines the technical, procedural and financial requirements of eRecording. The MOU references certain Property Records Industry Association (PRIA) standards which may be reviewed at
www.pria.us.
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Upon receipt, the prospective submitter will be contacted by IT to review qualifications. If qualified, the potential submitter will be contacted by Manatron, the county's vendor for eRecording services, to schedule testing of the interface.
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Upon successful testing, the MOU is submitted to Tarrant County Commissioner's Court for approval.
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Once the MOU has been fully executed, an escrow account is established with the County Clerk Accounting department. Fees are deducted from the account upon acceptance of each document.
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Lastly, the submitter is assigned a user ID and password.
