The Florida Statutes are amended as necessary to reflect the changing needs and concerns of Florida citizens. In an effort to curb the rise of property fraud, a recent amendment to FL Statute 695.26 regarding the recording of deeds will go into effect at the first of the year.
Currently, two witness signatures are required on all deeds, along with the name of each witness to be legibly printed, stamped, or typewritten beneath the signature. Beginning January 1, 2024, the new amendment will also require each witness’s post office address be clearly printed, stamped or typewritten below the signature and name. This extra step will aid in properly identifying the witnesses during the transfer of property.
As an added measure of safety, we encourage property owners to enroll in our Risk Alert Notification program. With this program, subscribers will be sent an email alert when a deed, lien, mortgage or other land record matching the subscriber’s criteria has been recorded into the Official Records of Collier County. Although this service does not prevent the actual fraudulent activity from occurring, it provides the subscriber an opportunity to verify whether the activity was initiated by them or by a scammer committing fraud.
As of September 27, 2023, there are roughly 4,112 accounts registered in the Risk Alert Notification System. With our growing population, we hope to see this number increase in the coming years. Please share this link collierclerk.com/risk-alert-enrollment/ with your family, friends and colleagues. The program is completely free and takes less than 5 minutes to register.