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Chapter 0031 - 572R - H Ver of SB1479
House Engrossed
Senate Bill
deeds;
identification; forgery; notice; notaries
State of Arizona
Senate
Fifty-seventh Legislature
Second Regular Session
2026
CHAPTER 31
SENATE BILL 1479
AN
ACT
amending title 11, chapter 3, article 3, Arizona
Revised Statutes, by adding section 11-472; amending title 11, chapter 3,
article 7, Arizona Revised Statutes, by adding section 11-544; amending section
11-1133, Arizona Revised Statutes; repealing section 12-524, Arizona
Revised Statutes; amending sections 33-420, 41-254 and 41-263,
Arizona Revised Statutes; relating to real property.
(TEXT OF BILL BEGINS ON NEXT PAG
Be it enacted by the Legislature of the State of Arizona:
Section 1. Title 11, chapter 3, article 3,
Arizona Revised Statutes, is amended by adding section 11-472, to read:
START_STATUTE
11-472.
Recording; photo identification; exemptions
A. For any document that is recorded
in person at the recorder's office or at a recording kiosk, a person shall
provide the recorder with a valid form of photo identification unless the
document to be recorded is submitted by any of the following:
1. An escrow officer or escrow
office.
2. A title insurance agent or title
insurer as defined in section 20-1562.
3. A state-chartered or federally
chartered bank or credit union.
4. An active member of the state bar
of Arizona.
5. A governmental entity, including
an agency, branch or instrumentality of the federal government.
B. The recorder may not retain a copy
of the person's identification, but shall note in the recording system or
receipt for the recording, or both, the FOLLOWING:
1. The type of identification.
2. The name on the identification.
3. The identification number.
C. The information noted pursuant to
subsection B of this section is not a public record, is exempt from title 39,
chapter 1 and is not subject to disclosure.
END_STATUTE
Sec. 2. Title 11, chapter 3, article 7, Arizona
Revised Statutes, is amended by adding section 11-544, to read:
START_STATUTE
11-544.
Notice to owner; changed information
On or before January 1, 2027, the assessor shall
provide a system for notifying an owner of a parcel of real property when the
assessor receives notice of a change in the ownership of or the mailing address
for the owner of the parcel of real property. The system shall allow
an owner to choose to participate and is voluntary for the owner, and the
notice shall be provided promptly by email, text message or other similar
means.
END_STATUTE
Sec. 3. Section 11-1133, Arizona Revised
Statutes, is amended to read:
START_STATUTE
11-1133.
Affidavit of legal value
A. Each deed evidencing a transfer of title and any
contract relating to the sale of real property shall have appended at the time
of recording an affidavit of the seller and the buyer to the transaction, or
the agent of either the seller or buyer, or both, in a form approved by the
department of revenue, who shall declare and jointly certify the following
information:
1. The name
,
and
mailing
address
and telephone number
of the buyer and seller.
The buyer and seller may
provide additional contact information, including email addresses.
2. The name and address where a tax statement may be
sent.
3. The complete legal description of the property.
4. The situs address, if any, of the property.
5. The date of sale.
6. The total consideration paid for the property,
the amount of cash down payment and whether
or not
the
type of financing included cash, a new
third party
third-party
loan, a new loan from the seller, an
assumption of an existing loan or an exchange or trade of property.
7. Whether
or not
the estimated
market value of personal property received by the buyer equals five
per cent
percent
or more of the total
consideration.
8. The assessor's parcel number or numbers assigned
to the real property by the county assessor or, in the case of a new parcel or
parcels not yet assigned a parcel number, the parcel number or numbers of the
previous parcel or parcels from which the new parcel or parcels are created.
9. The conditions of the transaction
,
including the relationship, if any, of the parties.
10. The use and description of the property and, in
the case of a residential dwelling, whether the property is to be owner-occupied
or rented.
11. The name and address of the person to contact
regarding information contained on the affidavit.
B. If a beneficiary of a foreclosed trustee's deed
receives payment based on private mortgage insurance covering the sale that is
in addition to the proceeds of the sale, the beneficiary shall submit, in a
form approved by the department of revenue, to the county recorder in the
county where the property is located within four months after the date of the
trustee's sale a beneficiary's declaration of additional funds received that
contains the following:
1. The county assessor's parcel number or numbers
assigned as of the date of the trustee's sale.
2. The name and address of the beneficiary
submitting the declaration.
3. The date of the trustee's sale.
4. The highest bid amount received by the trustee at
the trustee's sale.
5. The recording number of the trustee's deed on
sale.
6. The amount of any additional compensation
received by the beneficiary within three months after the date of the trustee's
sale.
C. The county recorder shall refuse to record any
deed and any contract relating to the sale of real property if a complete
affidavit of legal value is not appended unless the instrument bears a notation
indicating an exemption pursuant to section 11-1134.
D. An affidavit is complete for
the
purposes of this section if all of the required information is stated on the
affidavit form or is indicated on the form as "not applicable".
END_STATUTE
Sec. 4.
Repeal
Section 12-524, Arizona Revised
Statutes, is repealed.
Sec. 5. Section 33-420, Arizona Revised
Statutes, is amended to read:
START_STATUTE
33-420.
False documents; liability; special action; damages; violation;
classification
A. A person purporting to claim an interest in, or a
lien or encumbrance against, real property, who causes a document asserting
such claim to be recorded in the office of the county recorder, knowing or
having reason to know that the document is forged
,
or
groundless, contains a material misstatement or false claim
or is otherwise invalid is liable to the owner or beneficial title holder of
the real property for the sum of
not less than five thousand
dollars,
at least $5,000
or for treble the actual
damages caused by the recording, whichever is greater, and reasonable attorney
fees and costs of the action.
B. The owner or beneficial title holder of the real
property may bring an action pursuant to this section in the superior court in
the county in which the real property is located for such relief as is required
to immediately clear title to the real property as provided for in the rules of
procedure for special actions. This special action may be brought
based on the ground that the lien is forged
,
or
groundless, contains a material misstatement or false claim
or is otherwise invalid. The owner or beneficial title holder may bring a
separate special action to clear title to the real property or join such action
with an action for damages as described in this section. In either
case, the owner or beneficial title holder may recover reasonable attorney fees
and costs of the action if
he
the owner or
beneficial title holder
prevails.
C. A person who is named in a document
which
that
purports to create an interest
in, or a lien or encumbrance against, real property and who knows that the
document is forged
,
or
groundless, contains a material misstatement or false claim or is otherwise
invalid
shall be
is
liable to the
owner or
beneficial
title holder for the sum of
not less than one thousand dollars,
at least
$1,000
or for treble actual damages, whichever is greater, and
reasonable attorney fees and costs as provided in this section, if
he
the person
wilfully refuses to release
or correct
such
the
document of
record within twenty days
from
after
the date of a written request from the owner or beneficial title holder of the
real property.
D. A document purporting to create an interest in,
or a lien or encumbrance against, real property not authorized by statute,
judgment or other specific legal authority is presumed to be groundless and
invalid.
E. A person
purporting to claim an interest in, or a lien or encumbrance against, real
property, who causes a document asserting such claim to be recorded in the
office of the county recorder, knowing or having reason to know that the
document is forged
,
or
groundless, contains a material misstatement or false claim or is otherwise
invalid
,
is guilty of a class
1 misdemeanor
5 felony
.
END_STATUTE
Sec. 6. Section 41-254, Arizona Revised
Statutes, is amended to read:
START_STATUTE
41-254.
Personal appearance required; thumbprint; exceptions
A. If a notarial act relates to a statement made in
or a signature executed on a record, the individual making the statement or
executing the signature shall appear personally before the notarial officer.
B. If a notarial act involves a translator under
section 41-253, subsection F, the translator shall appear personally
before the notary public.
C. If the document to be notarized is
a deed, quitclaim deed, deed of trust or other document that affects real
property or a power of attorney document, the notary public shall require the
party signing the document to place the party's right thumbprint in the
notary's journal. If the right thumbprint is not available, the
notary public shall have the party use the party's left thumb, or any available
finger, and shall so indicate in the journal. If the party signing
the document is physically unable to provide a thumbprint or fingerprint, the
notary public shall so indicate in the journal and shall also provide an
explanation of that physical condition.
D. Subsection
C
of this section does not apply to
any of the following:
1. A trustee's deed that results from
a judicial or nonjudicial foreclosure
.
2. a deed of release and
reconveyance.
3. A notarial act performed for a
remotely located individual as prescribed by and in compliance with section
41-263 if both of the following apply:
(
a
) The notary
journal includes the INDIVIDUAL'S identification CREDENTIAL number.
(
b
) the notary
retains the audiovisual recording for at least seven years.
END_STATUTE
Sec. 7. Section 41-263, Arizona Revised
Statutes, is amended to read:
START_STATUTE
41-263.
Notarial act performed for remotely located individual;
definitions
A. A remotely located individual may comply with
section 41-254 by using communication technology to appear before a
notary public.
B. A notary public located in this state may perform
a notarial act using communication technology for a remotely located individual
if:
1. The notary public has any of the following:
(a) Personal knowledge under section 41-255,
subsection A of the remotely located individual's identity.
(b) Satisfactory evidence of the identity of the
remotely located
individual by oath or affirmation from a
credible witness appearing before and identified by the notary public under
section 41-255, subsection B or this section.
(c) Satisfactory evidence of the identity of the
remotely located individual by using at least two different types of identity
proofing.
2. The notary public is able reasonably to confirm
that a record before the notary public is the same record in which the remotely
located individual made a statement or on which the individual executed a
signature.
3. The notary public, or a person acting on behalf
of the notary public, creates an audiovisual recording of the performance of
the notarial act.
4. For a remotely located individual located outside
the United States, both of the following apply:
(a) The record either:
(i) Is to be filed with or relates to a matter
before a public official or court, governmental entity or other entity subject
to the jurisdiction of the United States.
(ii) Involves property located in the territorial
jurisdiction of the United States or involves a transaction substantially
connected with the United States.
(b) The notary public has no actual knowledge that
the act of making the statement or signing the record is prohibited by the
foreign state in which the remotely located individual is located.
C. If a notarial act is performed under this
section, the certificate of notarial act required by section 41-264 and
the short form certificate provided in section 41-265 must indicate that
the notarial act was performed using communication technology.
D. A short form certificate provided in section 41-265
for a notarial act subject to this section is sufficient if either of the
following applies:
1. The form of certificate complies with rules
adopted under subsection G, paragraph 1 of this section.
2. The certificate is in the form provided in
section 41-265 and contains a statement substantially as follows:
"This notarial act involved the use of communication technology."
E. A notary public, a
guardian, conservator or agent of a notary public or a personal representative
of a deceased notary public shall retain the audiovisual recording created
under subsection B, paragraph 3 of this section or cause the recording to be
retained by a repository designated by or on behalf of the person required to
retain the recording. Unless a different period is required by rule adopted
under subsection G, paragraph 4 of this section
and except as
PRESCRIBED by section 41-254
, the recording must be retained for a
period of at least five
years after the recording
is made.
F. Before a notary public performs the notary
public's initial notarial act under this section, the notary public must notify
the secretary of state that the notary public will be performing notarial acts
with respect to remotely located individuals and identify the technologies the
notary public intends to use. If the secretary of state has
established standards under subsection G of this section and section 41-275
for approval of communication technology or identity proofing, the
communication technology and identity proofing must conform to the standards.
G. In addition to adopting rules under section 41-275,
on or before July 1, 2022,
the secretary of state shall
adopt rules under this section regarding performance of notarial acts for
remotely located individuals. The rules may:
1. Prescribe the means of performing a notarial act
involving a remotely located individual using communication technology.
2. Establish standards for communication technology
and identity proofing.
3. Establish requirements or procedures to approve
providers of communication technology and the process of identity proofing.
4. Establish standards and a period for the
retention of an audiovisual recording created under subsection B, paragraph 3
of this section.
H. Before adopting, amending or repealing a rule
governing performance of a notarial act with respect to a remotely located individual,
the secretary of state must consider:
1. The most recent standards regarding the
performance of a notarial act with respect to a remotely located individual
adopted by national standard-setting organizations and the recommendations of
the national association of secretaries of state.
2. Standards, practices and customs of other
jurisdictions that have laws substantially similar to this section.
3. The views of governmental officials and entities
and other interested persons.
I. For the purposes
of this section:
1. "Communication
technology" means an electronic device or process that:
(a) Allows a notary
public and a remotely located individual to communicate with each other
simultaneously by sight and sound.
(b) When necessary and consistent with other
applicable law, facilitates communication with a remotely located individual
who has a vision, hearing or speech impairment.
2. "Foreign state" means a jurisdiction
other than the United States, a state or a federally recognized Indian tribe.
3. "Identity proofing" means a process or
service by which a third person provides a notary public with a means to verify
the identity of a remotely located individual by a review of personal
information from public or private data sources.
4. "Outside the United States" means a
location outside the geographic boundaries of the United States, Puerto Rico,
the United States Virgin Islands and any territory, insular possession or other
location subject to the jurisdiction of the United States.
5. "Remotely located individual" means an
individual who is not in the physical presence of the notary public who
performs a notarial act under subsection B of this section.
END_STATUTE
APPROVED BY THE GOVERNOR APRIL 9, 2026.
FILED IN THE OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY OF STATE APRIL 9, 2026.