RECORDING

RCW 65.08
in effect

RCW 65.08.030 Recorded irregular instrument imparts notice.

(1) An instrument in writing purporting to convey or encumber real estate or any interest therein, which has been recorded in the auditor's office of the county in which the real estate is situated, although the instrument may not have been executed and acknowledged in accordance with the law in force at the time of its execution, shall impart the same notice to third persons, from the date of recording, as if the instrument had been executed, acknowledged, and recorded, in accordance with the laws regulating the execution, acknowledgment, and recording of the instrument then in force. (2) A tangible copy of an electronic record purporting to convey or encumber real estate or any interest therein, which has been recorded in the auditor's office of the county in which the real estate is situated, although the tangible copy may not have been certified by a notarial officer in accordance with RCW 42.45.020 (3), imparts the same notice to third persons, from the date of recording, as if the tangible copy had been so certified. (1) An instrument in writing purporting to convey or encumber real estate or any interest therein, which has been recorded in the auditor's office of the county in which the real estate is situated, although the instrument may not have been executed and acknowledged in accordance with the law in force at the time of its execution, shall impart the same notice to third persons, from the date of recording, as if the instrument had been executed, acknowledged, and recorded, in accordance with the laws regulating the execution, acknowledgment, and recording of the instrument then in force. (2) A tangible copy of an electronic record purporting to convey or encumber real estate or any interest therein, which has been recorded in the auditor's office of the county in which the real estate is situated, although the tangible copy may not have been certified by a notarial officer in accordance with RCW 42.45.020 (3), imparts the same notice to third persons, from the date of recording, as if the tangible copy had been so certified.

RCW 65.08.050 Recording land office receipts.

Every cash or final receipt from any receiver, and every cash or final certificate from any register of the United States land office, evidencing that final payment has been made to the United States as required by law, or that the person named in such certificate is entitled, on presentation thereof, to a patent from the United States for land within the state of Washington, shall be recorded by the county auditor of the county wherein such land lies, on request of any party presenting the same, and any record heretofore made of any such cash or final receipt or certificate shall, from the date when this section becomes a law, and every record hereafter made of any such receipt or certificate shall, from the date of recording, impart to third persons and all the world, full notice of all the rights and equities of the person named in said cash or final receipt or certificate in the land described in such receipt or certificate. Every cash or final receipt from any receiver, and every cash or final certificate from any register of the United States land office, evidencing that final payment has been made to the United States as required by law, or that the person named in such certificate is entitled, on presentation thereof, to a patent from the United States for land within the state of Washington, shall be recorded by the county auditor of the county wherein such land lies, on request of any party presenting the same, and any record heretofore made of any such cash or final receipt or certificate shall, from the date when this section becomes a law, and every record hereafter made of any such receipt or certificate shall, from the date of recording, impart to third persons and all the world, full notice of all the rights and equities of the person named in said cash or final receipt or certificate in the land described in such receipt or certificate.

RCW 65.08.060 Terms defined.

(1) The term "real property" as used in RCW 65.08.060 through 65.08.150 includes lands, tenements and hereditaments and chattels real and mortgage liens thereon except a leasehold for a term not exceeding two years. (2) The term "purchaser" includes every person to whom any estate or interest in real property is conveyed for a valuable consideration and every assignee of a mortgage, lease or other conditional estate. (3) The term "conveyance" includes every written instrument by which any estate or interest in real property is created, transferred, mortgaged or assigned or by which the title to any real property may be affected, including an instrument in execution of a power, although the power be one of revocation only, and an instrument releasing in whole or in part, postponing or subordinating a mortgage or other lien; except a will, a lease for a term of not exceeding two years, and an instrument granting a power to convey real property as the agent or attorney for the owner of the property. "To convey" is to execute a "conveyance" as defined in this subdivision. (4) The term "recording officer" means the county auditor or, in charter counties, the county official charged with the responsibility for recording instruments in the county records. (1) The term "real property" as used in RCW 65.08.060 through 65.08.150 includes lands, tenements and hereditaments and chattels real and mortgage liens thereon except a leasehold for a term not exceeding two years. (2) The term "purchaser" includes every person to whom any estate or interest in real property is conveyed for a valuable consideration and every assignee of a mortgage, lease or other conditional estate. (3) The term "conveyance" includes every written instrument by which any estate or interest in real property is created, transferred, mortgaged or assigned or by which the title to any real property may be affected, including an instrument in execution of a power, although the power be one of revocation only, and an instrument releasing in whole or in part, postponing or subordinating a mortgage or other lien; except a will, a lease for a term of not exceeding two years, and an instrument granting a power to convey real property as the agent or attorney for the owner of the property. "To convey" is to execute a "conveyance" as defined in this subdivision. (4) The term "recording officer" means the county auditor or, in charter counties, the county official charged with the responsibility for recording instruments in the county records.

RCW 65.08.070 Real property conveyances to be recorded.

(1) A conveyance of real property, when acknowledged by the person executing the same (the acknowledgment being certified as required by law), may be recorded in the office of the recording officer of the county where the property is situated. Every such conveyance not so recorded is void as against any subsequent purchaser or mortgagee in good faith and for a valuable consideration from the same vendor, his or her heirs or devisees, of the same real property or any portion thereof whose conveyance is first duly recorded. An instrument is deemed recorded the minute it is filed for record. (2) A recording officer as defined in RCW 65.08.060 (4) may accept for recording under this section a tangible copy of an electronic record containing a notarial certificate as satisfying any requirement that a record accepted for recording be an original, if the notarial officer executing the notarial certificate certifies that the tangible copy is an accurate copy of the electronic record under RCW 42.45.020 (3). (1) A conveyance of real property, when acknowledged by the person executing the same (the acknowledgment being certified as required by law), may be recorded in the office of the recording officer of the county where the property is situated. Every such conveyance not so recorded is void as against any subsequent purchaser or mortgagee in good faith and for a valuable consideration from the same vendor, his or her heirs or devisees, of the same real property or any portion thereof whose conveyance is first duly recorded. An instrument is deemed recorded the minute it is filed for record. (2) A recording officer as defined in RCW 65.08.060 (4) may accept for recording under this section a tangible copy of an electronic record containing a notarial certificate as satisfying any requirement that a record accepted for recording be an original, if the notarial officer executing the notarial certificate certifies that the tangible copy is an accurate copy of the electronic record under RCW 42.45.020 (3).

RCW 65.08.090 Letters patent.

Letters patent from the United States or the state of Washington granting real property may be recorded in the office of the recording officer of the county where such property is situated in the same manner and with like effect as a conveyance that is entitled to be recorded. Letters patent from the United States or the state of Washington granting real property may be recorded in the office of the recording officer of the county where such property is situated in the same manner and with like effect as a conveyance that is entitled to be recorded.

RCW 65.08.095 Conveyances of fee title by public bodies.

Every conveyance of fee title to real property hereafter executed by the state or by any political subdivision or municipal corporation thereof shall be recorded by the grantor, after having been reviewed as to form by the grantee, at the expense of the grantee at the time of delivery to the grantee, and shall constitute legal delivery at the time of filing for record. Every conveyance of fee title to real property hereafter executed by the state or by any political subdivision or municipal corporation thereof shall be recorded by the grantor, after having been reviewed as to form by the grantee, at the expense of the grantee at the time of delivery to the grantee, and shall constitute legal delivery at the time of filing for record.

RCW 65.08.100 Certified copies.

A copy of a conveyance of or other instrument affecting real property recorded or filed in the office of the secretary of state or the commissioner of public lands, or of the record thereof, when certified in the manner required to entitle the same to be read in evidence, may be recorded with the certificate in the office of any recording officer of the state. A copy of a conveyance of or other instrument affecting real property recorded or filed in the office of the secretary of state or the commissioner of public lands, or of the record thereof, when certified in the manner required to entitle the same to be read in evidence, may be recorded with the certificate in the office of any recording officer of the state.

RCW 65.08.110 Certified copies — Effect.

A copy of a record, when certified or authenticated to entitle it to be read in evidence, may be recorded in any office where the original instrument would be entitled to be recorded. Such record has the same effect as if the original were so recorded. A copy of the record of a conveyance of or other instrument affecting separate parcels of real property situated in more than one county, when certified or authenticated to entitle it to be read in evidence may be recorded in the office of the recording officer of any county in which any such parcel is situated with the same effect as though the original instrument were so recorded. A copy of a record, when certified or authenticated to entitle it to be read in evidence, may be recorded in any office where the original instrument would be entitled to be recorded. Such record has the same effect as if the original were so recorded. A copy of the record of a conveyance of or other instrument affecting separate parcels of real property situated in more than one county, when certified or authenticated to entitle it to be read in evidence may be recorded in the office of the recording officer of any county in which any such parcel is situated with the same effect as though the original instrument were so recorded.

RCW 65.08.120 Assignment of mortgage — Notice.

The recording of an assignment of a mortgage is not in itself notice to the mortgagor, his or her heirs, assigns or personal representatives, to invalidate a payment made by any of them to a prior holder of the mortgage. The recording of an assignment of a mortgage is not in itself notice to the mortgagor, his or her heirs, assigns or personal representatives, to invalidate a payment made by any of them to a prior holder of the mortgage.

RCW 65.08.130 Revocation of power of attorney.

A power of attorney or other instrument recorded pursuant to RCW 65.08.060 through 65.08.150 is not deemed revoked by any act of the party by whom it was executed unless the instrument of revocation is also recorded in the same office in which the instrument granting the power was recorded. A power of attorney or other instrument recorded pursuant to RCW 65.08.060 through 65.08.150 is not deemed revoked by any act of the party by whom it was executed unless the instrument of revocation is also recorded in the same office in which the instrument granting the power was recorded.

RCW 65.08.140 No liability for error in recording when properly indexed.

A recording officer is not liable for recording an instrument in a wrong book, volume or set of records if the instrument is properly indexed with a reference to the volume and page or recording number where the instrument is actually of record. A recording officer is not liable for recording an instrument in a wrong book, volume or set of records if the instrument is properly indexed with a reference to the volume and page or recording number where the instrument is actually of record.

RCW 65.08.150 Duty to record.

A recording officer, upon payment or tender to him or her of the lawful fees therefor, shall record in his or her office any instrument authorized or permitted to be so recorded by the laws of this state or by the laws of the United States. A recording officer, upon payment or tender to him or her of the lawful fees therefor, shall record in his or her office any instrument authorized or permitted to be so recorded by the laws of this state or by the laws of the United States.

RCW 65.08.160 Recording master form instruments and mortgages or deeds of trust incorporating master form provisions.

A mortgage or deed of trust of real estate may be recorded and constructive notice of the same and the contents thereof given in the following manner: (1) An instrument containing a form or forms of covenants, conditions, obligations, powers, and other clauses of a mortgage or deed of trust may be recorded in the office of the county auditor of any county and the auditor of such county, upon the request of any person, on tender of the lawful fees therefor, shall record the same. Every such instrument shall be entitled on the face thereof as a "Master form recorded by  .  .  .  (name of person causing the instrument to be recorded)." Such instrument need not be acknowledged to be entitled to record. (2) When any such instrument is recorded, the county auditor shall index such instrument under the name of the person causing it to be recorded in the manner provided for miscellaneous instruments relating to real estate. (3) Thereafter any of the provisions of such master form instrument may be incorporated by reference in any mortgage or deed of trust of real estate situated within this state, if such reference in the mortgage or deed of trust states that the master form instrument was recorded in the county in which the mortgage or deed of trust is offered for record, the date when and the book and page or pages or recording number where such master form instrument was recorded, and that a copy of such master form instrument was furnished to the person executing the mortgage or deed of trust. The recording of any mortgage or deed of trust which has so incorporated by reference therein any of the provisions of a master form instrument recorded as provided in this section shall have like effect as if such provisions of the master form so incorporated by reference had been set forth fully in the mortgage or deed of trust. (4) Whenever a mortgage or deed of trust is presented for recording on which is set forth matter purporting to be a copy or reproduction of such master form instrument or of part thereof, identified by its title as provided in subsection (1) of this section and stating the date when it was recorded and the book and page where it was recorded, preceded by the words "do not record" or "not to be recorded," and plainly separated from the matter to be recorded as a part of the mortgage or deed of trust in such manner that it will not appear upon a photographic reproduction of any page containing any part of the mortgage or deed of trust, such matter shall not be recorded by the county auditor to whom the instrument is presented for recording; in such case the county auditor shall record only the mortgage or deed of trust apart from such matter and shall not be liable for so doing, any other provisions of law to the contrary notwithstanding. A mortgage or deed of trust of real estate may be recorded and constructive notice of the same and the contents thereof given in the following manner: (1) An instrument containing a form or forms of covenants, conditions, obligations, powers, and other clauses of a mortgage or deed of trust may be recorded in the office of the county auditor of any county and the auditor of such county, upon the request of any person, on tender of the lawful fees therefor, shall record the same. Every such instrument shall be entitled on the face thereof as a "Master form recorded by  .  .  .  (name of person causing the instrument to be recorded)." Such instrument need not be acknowledged to be entitled to record. (2) When any such instrument is recorded, the county auditor shall index such instrument under the name of the person causing it to be recorded in the manner provided for miscellaneous instruments relating to real estate. (3) Thereafter any of the provisions of such master form instrument may be incorporated by reference in any mortgage or deed of trust of real estate situated within this state, if such reference in the mortgage or deed of trust states that the master form instrument was recorded in the county in which the mortgage or deed of trust is offered for record, the date when and the book and page or pages or recording number where such master form instrument was recorded, and that a copy of such master form instrument was furnished to the person executing the mortgage or deed of trust. The recording of any mortgage or deed of trust which has so incorporated by reference therein any of the provisions of a master form instrument recorded as provided in this section shall have like effect as if such provisions of the master form so incorporated by reference had been set forth fully in the mortgage or deed of trust. (4) Whenever a mortgage or deed of trust is presented for recording on which is set forth matter purporting to be a copy or reproduction of such master form instrument or of part thereof, identified by its title as provided in subsection (1) of this section and stating the date when it was recorded and the book and page where it was recorded, preceded by the words "do not record" or "not to be recorded," and plainly separated from the matter to be recorded as a part of the mortgage or deed of trust in such manner that it will not appear upon a photographic reproduction of any page containing any part of the mortgage or deed of trust, such matter shall not be recorded by the county auditor to whom the instrument is presented for recording; in such case the county auditor shall record only the mortgage or deed of trust apart from such matter and shall not be liable for so doing, any other provisions of law to the contrary notwithstanding.

RCW 65.08.170 Notice of additional water or sewer facility tap or connection charges — Required — Contents.

When any municipality as defined in *RCW 35.91.020 or any county has levied or intends to levy a charge on property pertaining to: (1) The amount required by the provisions of a contract pursuant to RCW 35.91.020 under which the water or sewer facilities so tapped into or used were constructed; or (2) Any connection charges which are in fact reimbursement for the cost of facilities constructed by the sale of revenue bonds; or (3) The additional connection charge authorized in RCW 35.92.025 ; such municipality or county shall record in the office in which deeds are recorded of the county or counties in which such facility is located a notice of additional tap or connection charges. Such notice shall contain either the legal description of the land affected by such additional tap or connection charges or a map making appropriate references to the United States government survey showing in outline the land affected or to be affected by such additional tap or connection charges. When any municipality as defined in *RCW 35.91.020 or any county has levied or intends to levy a charge on property pertaining to: (1) The amount required by the provisions of a contract pursuant to RCW 35.91.020 under which the water or sewer facilities so tapped into or used were constructed; or (2) Any connection charges which are in fact reimbursement for the cost of facilities constructed by the sale of revenue bonds; or (3) The additional connection charge authorized in RCW 35.92.025 ; such municipality or county shall record in the office in which deeds are recorded of the county or counties in which such facility is located a notice of additional tap or connection charges. Such notice shall contain either the legal description of the land affected by such additional tap or connection charges or a map making appropriate references to the United States government survey showing in outline the land affected or to be affected by such additional tap or connection charges.

RCW 65.08.180 Notice of additional water or sewer facility tap or connection charges — Duration — Certificate of payment and release.

The notice required by RCW 65.08.170 , when duly recorded, shall be effective until there is recorded in the same office in which the notice was recorded a certificate of payment and release executed by the municipality or county. Such certificate shall contain a legal description of the particular parcel of land so released and shall be recorded within thirty days of the date of payment thereof. The notice required by RCW 65.08.170 , when duly recorded, shall be effective until there is recorded in the same office in which the notice was recorded a certificate of payment and release executed by the municipality or county. Such certificate shall contain a legal description of the particular parcel of land so released and shall be recorded within thirty days of the date of payment thereof.
Source: WA Statutes (Official Site)URL: https://app.leg.wa.gov/RCW/default.aspx?cite=65.08&full=trueFetched: 6/29/2026

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