2006 Louisiana Laws - RS 35:323 — Central office; preservation of notarial records; permanent volumes

§323.  Central office; preservation of notarial records; permanent volumes

NOTE:  Repealed by Acts 2006, No. 621, §20(A), eff. Jan. 1, 2009.

A.  The custodian shall maintain a central office in the city of New Orleans in the Civil District Court Building in quarters presently provided by the city of New Orleans or other quarters in said courthouse to be provided in the city of New Orleans.  The custodian shall demand, take possession of, collect, keep, and preserve in this office or in an archival-safe environment the notarial records of notaries in the parish of Orleans.

B.(1)(a)  The original of every authentic act, except chattel mortgages and acts relating to real property outside of Orleans Parish, passed before a notary public in Orleans Parish, and also every act, contract, and instrument except money judgments and chattel mortgages filed for record in the office of either the recorder of mortgages or the register of conveyances for the parish of Orleans shall, as a condition precedent to such filing in the office of the recorder of mortgages or the register of conveyances for the parish of Orleans, be first filed in the office of the custodian of notarial records for the parish of Orleans.

(b)  The custodian shall endorse on each act, contract, or instrument filed in his office the date of such filing and a serial number, and shall issue a receipt for such act, contract, or instrument, showing the date of its filing and the serial number.  All acts, contracts, or instruments so endorsed, if required by law, shall be filed for record with the recorder of mortgages or the register of conveyances for the parish of Orleans, or both, and shall be registered and/or recorded with the serial number furnished by the custodian; however, nothing herein shall be deemed to impose upon the custodian any obligation to file any act, contract, or instrument with either the recorder of mortgages or the register of conveyances.

(c)  The recorder of mortgages and register of conveyances for the parish of Orleans shall thereafter endorse said act, contract, or instrument to the custodian, showing the date and time of filing, and the book and folio or instrument number endorsed thereon by the recorder of mortgages or the registrar of conveyances, and shall return the act to the custodian who shall thereupon have permanent custody of the said act, contract, or instrument, and shall file same in his office in permanent, bound form according to the serial number endorsed thereon by the custodian.

(2)  It shall be the duty of all notaries public filing acts for registration and/or recordation pursuant hereto to deposit with the custodian all attachments such as certificates, tax researches, surveys, and other documents pertaining to any act passed before them and this deposit must be made within sixty days of the date of registration and/or recordation of said act.  It shall be the duty of the custodian to file these attachments in permanent, bound form, to the act to which they pertain.  The bookbinding shall be done in accordance to standards that will ensure the indefinite survival of the records.

C.(1)  The custodian of notarial records shall charge the sum of ten dollars for each act, contract, or other instrument thus filed and deposited in his office, and twenty dollars for each sketch, blueprint, or survey, with one-half of the fee collected to be dedicated to microfilm or other imaging projects, with the remainder to be used only for the expenses and maintenance of said office.

(2)  Notwithstanding the provisions of this subsection, all veterans of the armed forces of the United States of America shall be exempt from paying any fee for the filing and depositing of their discharge certificates or other evidence of honorable separation from the armed forces with the custodian of notarial records.

(3)  Notwithstanding the provisions of this Subsection, the city of New Orleans shall be exempt from payment of any filing fees.

D.  Repealed by Acts 1997, No. 1102, §2.

E.  Every living, qualified notary public is authorized to certify true copies of any authentic act or any instrument under private signature hereafter or heretofore passed before him or acknowledged before him, and to make and certify copies, by any method, of any certificate, research, resolution, survey or other document annexed to the original of any authentic acts passed before him, and may certify such copies as true copies of the original document attached to the original passed before him.

F.  Whenever any notary public for the parish of Orleans shall fail to comply with the provisions of this section then it shall be the duty of the custodian of notarial records to institute proceedings by rule in the Civil District Court for the parish of Orleans to require said notary public to show cause why his notarial commission should not be forfeited and why he should not be ordered to turn over all his notarial archives and records to the custodian of notarial records and pay all costs of said proceedings.

G.  Repealed by Acts 1997, No. 1102, §2.

Amended by Acts 1991, No. 475, §1; Acts 1997, No. 1102, §§1, 2; Acts 2006, No. 621, §20(A), eff. Jan. 1, 2009.