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Florida Statute 695.26 | Lawyer Caselaw & Research
F.S. 695.26 Case Law from Google Scholar
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Link to State of Florida Official Statute Google Search for Amendments to 695.26

The 2022 Florida Statutes (including 2022 Special Session A and 2023 Special Session B)

Title XL
REAL AND PERSONAL PROPERTY
Chapter 695
RECORD OF CONVEYANCES OF REAL ESTATE
View Entire Chapter
F.S. 695.26
695.26 Requirements for recording instruments affecting real property.
(1) No instrument by which the title to real property or any interest therein is conveyed, assigned, encumbered, or otherwise disposed of shall be recorded by the clerk of the circuit court unless:
(a) The name of each person who executed such instrument is legibly printed, typewritten, or stamped upon such instrument immediately beneath the signature of such person and the post-office address of each such person is legibly printed, typewritten, or stamped upon such instrument;
(b) The name and post-office address of the natural person who prepared the instrument or under whose supervision it was prepared are legibly printed, typewritten, or stamped upon such instrument;
(c) The name of each witness to the instrument is legibly printed, typewritten, or stamped upon such instrument immediately beneath the signature of such witness;
(d) The name of any notary public or other officer authorized to take acknowledgments or proofs whose signature appears upon the instrument is legibly printed, typewritten, or stamped upon such instrument immediately beneath the signature of such notary public or other officer authorized to take acknowledgment or proofs;
(e) A 3-inch by 3-inch space at the top right-hand corner on the first page and a 1-inch by 3-inch space at the top right-hand corner on each subsequent page are reserved for use by the clerk of the court; and
(f) In any instrument other than a mortgage conveying or purporting to convey any interest in real property, the name and post-office address of each grantee in such instrument are legibly printed, typewritten, or stamped upon such instrument.
(2) If a name or address is printed, typewritten, or stamped on an instrument in a position other than the position required by subsection (1), the clerk of the circuit court may, in her or his discretion, accept the instrument for recordation if she or he determines that the connection between the signature and the name or the name and the address is apparent.
(3) This section does not apply to:
(a) An instrument executed before July 1, 1991.
(b) A decree, order, judgment, or writ of any court.
(c) An instrument executed, acknowledged, or proved outside of this state.
(d) A will.
(e) A plat.
(f) An instrument prepared or executed by any public officer other than a notary public.
(4) The failure of the clerk of the circuit court to comply with this section does not impair the validity of the recordation or of the constructive notice imparted by recordation.
History.s. 1, ch. 90-183; ss. 8, 22, ch. 94-348; s. 773, ch. 97-102.

F.S. 695.26 on Google Scholar

F.S. 695.26 on Casetext

Amendments to 695.26


Arrestable Offenses / Crimes under Fla. Stat. 695.26
Level: Degree
Misdemeanor/Felony: First/Second/Third

Current data shows no reason an arrest or criminal charge should have occurred directly under Florida Statute 695.26.



Annotations, Discussions, Cases:

10 Cases from Casetext:Date Descending

U.S. Supreme Court11th Cir. - Ct. App.11th Cir. - MD FL11th Cir. - ND FL11th Cir. - SD FLFed. Reg.Secondary Sources - All
  1. Critically, the waiver is not statutorily compliant. It does not purport to be a disclaimer, it was not acknowledged before "a judge, clerk, or deputy clerk of any court; a United States commissioner or magistrate; or any notary public or civil-law notary of this state," and it was not recorded. § 695.03(1), Fla. Stat.; see § 739.104(3), Fla. Stat.; § 695.26(1), Fla. Stat. (2022). The disclaimer statute makes no provision for partial compliance.
    PAGE 14
  2. The Lennens' claim fails because, even if the trust documents were legally deficient, the county had no discretion to reject them for recording. Section 28.222 states that, "[u]pon payment of the service charges prescribed by law," the clerk "shall record . . . [d]eeds . . . agreements . . . and other instruments relating to the ownership, transfer or encumbrance of or claims against real or personal property or any interest in it." Fla. Stat. § 28.222(3)(a) (emphasis added). "Shall" means "must," not "may" or "can." See Phillips v. Pritchett Trucking, Inc., __ So.3d __, 2021 WL 4582131, at *1 (Fla. Dist. Ct. App. Oct. 6, 2021) ("Although there is no fixed construction of the word 'shall,' it is normally meant to be mandatory in nature." (quoting S.R. v. State, 346 So.2d 1018, 1019 (Fla. 1977))). For this reason, Florida courts have explained that "[a] clerk acts in a purely ministerial capacity, and has no discretion to pass upon the sufficiency of the documents presented for filing." Ferlita v. State, 380 So.2d 1118, 1119 (Fla. Dist. Ct. App. 1980); see, e.g., City of Miami v. Piper, 306 So.3d 156, 158 (Fla. Dist. Ct. App. 2020) ("The use of the word 'shall' only reinforces…
  3. Although the effective date of the provision was January 1, 2020, it is retroactive due to the inclusion of the phrase "as currently or previously in effect[.]" Id . Furthermore, Section 695.26(4), enacted before Appellee purchased the property, states that "[t]he failure of the clerk of the circuit court to comply with this section does not impair the validity of the recordation or of the constructive notice imparted by recordation." § 695.26(4), Fla. Stat. (1990).
    PAGE 511
  4. 1996 Amendment. Subdivision (c) was amended to make the blank space requirements for use by the clerk of the court consistent with section 695.26, Florida Statutes (1995). Subdivision (e) was eliminated because the transition period for letter-size and recycled paper was no longer necessary.
    PAGE 1022
  5. As a result of these comments, we suspended until January 1, 1999, the application of rule 2.055(c) to the extent it applies to papers other than those specifically described in section 695.26. See Amendment to Fla. Rule of Judicial Admin. 2.055(c), 697 So.2d 144 (Fla. 1997). We also directed that any further suggested modifications of that rule be submitted by January 1, 1998.
  6. This matter concerns the recent amendment to Florida Rule of Judicial Administration 2.055(c), in which we provided that all papers to be filed with the clerk of the court and subsequently recorded in the public records of any county must contain a three-inch by three-inch space at the top right-hand corner. This amendment was adopted to ensure compliance with section 695.26, Florida Statutes (1995). However, the rule, as proposed by the Florida Bar Judicial Administration Rules Committee and as adopted by this Court, is broader than what is required by the statute. The Florida Association of Court Clerks and members of the legal profession have requested that we suspend the application of this rule to documents or papers other than those specifically described in section 695.26, until January 1, 1999. In support of that request, it is asserted that compliance with the rule is difficult at this time due to, among other concerns, the large volume of pre-prepared forms that were purchased by members of the legal profession prior to the rule amendment.
  7. (4) RULE 2.055 — would change the blank spaces on pages for clerk's stamps to make the rule consistent with section 695.26, Florida Statutes (1995) (enlarges space from 1 1/2" x 1 1/2" to 3" x 3").

    Cases from cite.case.law:

    In AMENDMENTS TO THE FLORIDA RULES OF JUDICIAL ADMINISTRATION- REORGANIZATION OF THE RULES, 939 So. 2d 966 (Fla. 2006)

    . . . amended to make the blank space requirements for use by the clerk of the court consistent with section 695.26 . . .

    AMENDMENT TO FLORIDA RULE OF JUDICIAL ADMINISTRATION c, 711 So. 2d 29 (Fla. 1998)

    . . . proposed by the Judicial Administration Rules Committee was adopted to ensure compliance with section 695.26 . . . rule 2.055(c) to the extent it applies to papers other than those specifically described in section 695.26 . . .

    K. BOULAIS, v. STATE, 706 So. 2d 365 (Fla. Dist. Ct. App. 1998)

    . . . testified in support of, and the trial court awarded: $17,516 in cash payments stolen from the business; $695.26 . . .

    AMENDMENT TO FLORIDA RULE OF JUDICIAL ADMINISTRATION c, 697 So. 2d 144 (Fla. 1997)

    . . . This amendment was adopted to ensure compliance with section 695.26, Florida Statutes (1995). . . . application of this rule to documents or papers other than those specifically described in section 695.26 . . . rule 2.055 to the extent that it applies to papers other than those specifically described in section 695.26 . . .

    AMENDMENTS TO THE FLORIDA RULES OF JUDICIAL ADMINISTRATION, 682 So. 2d 89 (Fla. 1996)

    . . . would change the blank spaces on pages for clerk’s stamps to make the rule consistent with section 695.26 . . . amended to make the blank space requirements for use by the clerk of the court consistent with section 695.26 . . .