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As Introduced
136th
General Assembly
Regular
Session
H. B. No. 749
2025-2026
Representatives Roemer, Kishman
To
amend sections 317.22 and 4735.141 and to enact section 317.43 of the
Revised Code
regarding
deed and title fraud prevention.
BE
IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF OHIO:
Section
1.
That
sections 317.22 and 4735.141 be amended and section 317.43 of the
Revised Code be enacted to read as follows:
Sec.
317.22.
No
deed of absolute conveyance of land or any conveyance, absolute or
otherwise, of minerals or mineral rights shall be recorded by the
county recorder until:
(A)
The conveyance presented to the county recorder bears the stamp of
the county auditor stating the conveyance has been examined and the
grantor has complied with section 319.202 of the Revised Code;
(B)
Such conveyance has been presented to the county auditor, and by the
county auditor indorsed "transferred," or "transfer
not necessary."
(C)(1)
Subject to division (C)(2) of this section, an individual presenting
a conveyance to the county recorder for recording shall provide photo
identification.
(2)
The photo identification requirement in division (C)(1) of this
section does not apply to real estate agents or real estate brokers
licensed under Chapter 4735. of the Revised Code or title insurance
agents licensed under Chapter 3953. of the Revised Code.
(3)
As used in this section, "photo identification" means a
passport, driver's license, government-issued nondriver
identification card, or other form of government-issued
identification with the signature or photograph of the individual,
which is not expired.
Before
any real estate, the title to which has passed under the laws of
descent, is transferred from the name of the ancestor to the heir at
law or next of kin of such ancestor, or to any grantee of such heir
or next of kin; and before any deed or conveyance of real estate made
by any such heir or next of kin is presented to or filed for record
by the recorder, the heir or next of kin, or that person's grantee,
agent, or attorney shall present to the auditor the affidavit of such
heir or next of kin, or of two persons resident of this state, each
of whom has personal knowledge of the facts. Such affidavit shall set
forth the date of the ancestor's death, and the place of residence at
the time of death; the fact that the ancestor died intestate; the
names, ages, and addresses, so far as known and can be ascertained,
of each of such ancestor's heirs at law and next of kin, who, by the
ancestor's death, inherited such real estate, the relationship of
each to the ancestor, and the part or portion of such real estate
inherited by each. Such transfers shall be made by the auditor in
accordance with the statement contained in the affidavit, and the
auditor shall indorse upon the deed or conveyance the fact that such
transfer was made by affidavit. The affidavit shall be filed with the
county recorder of the county in which such real estate is situated,
at or before the time such deed or conveyance is filed with the
county recorder, and shall be recorded by the county recorder of the
county in the official records and indexed in the direct and reverse
indexes in the county recorder's office, in the name of such ancestor
as grantor and of each such heir or next of kin as grantee, in the
same manner as if such names occurred in a deed of conveyance from
the ancestor to such heirs at law. The county recorder shall receive
the same fees for such indexing and recording as provided by section
317.32 of the Revised Code.
(C)
(D)
The record of such affidavit shall, in the trial of any cause, so far
as competent, be prima-facie evidence.
(D)
(E)
No county recorder shall record a conveyance if the indorsement,
indorsements, or stamps of indorsement of a county auditor indicating
compliance with section 319.202 of the Revised Code on the conveyance
are in whole or in part defaced, illegible, or incomplete.
Sec.
317.43.
(A)
As used in this section, "evidence of residence" means any
of the following documents:
(1)
A utility bill or receipt of utility installation issued within
ninety days of registration;
(2)
A paycheck or paystub issued to the applicant within ninety days of
the date of application that includes the address of the applicant's
residence;
(3)
The most current available bank statement issued to the applicant
that includes the address of the applicant's residence;
(4)
Any other official document issued to the applicant that includes the
address of the applicant's residence. The county auditor shall
develop guidelines for determining what qualifies as an "official
document" under this division.
(B)
Each county auditor may establish and maintain a property protection
program that includes an automated system to inform property owners
by electronic mail, telephone, or mail when a deed conveying title to
a registered property is presented to the county auditor for
transfer. The system may be run by a county or by a third-party
vendor.
(C)(1)
The county auditor shall prescribe a form for registering a property
with the program and for removing a property from the program. The
form shall require all of the following information:
(a)
The applicant's name, electronic mail address, and telephone number;
(b)
The parcel number and address of the property to be registered with
the program.
(2)
A form shall be delivered in person to the office of the county
auditor along with photo identification and evidence of residence.
(D)
For twenty-four hours following notice by the property protection
program to the owner of a registered property, the county auditor
shall not transfer the registered property, unless the owner
subsequently authorizes the transfer.
(E)
This section does not create a new cause of action or substantive
legal right against a county auditor.
Sec.
4735.141.
(A)
Except as otherwise provided in this division and in section 4735.13
of the Revised Code and except for a licensee who has placed the
licensee's license in resigned status pursuant to section 4735.142 of
the Revised Code, each person licensed under section 4735.07 or
4735.09 of the Revised Code shall submit proof satisfactory to the
superintendent of real estate that the licensee has satisfactorily
completed thirty hours of continuing education, as prescribed by the
Ohio real estate commission pursuant to section 4735.10 of the
Revised Code, on or before the licensee's birthday occurring three
years after the licensee's date of initial licensure, and on or
before the licensee's birthday every three years thereafter.
The
continuing education shall include at least one hour of instruction
focused on deed and title fraud prevention, identification, response,
and reporting.
If
the person is licensed as a broker or broker on deposit, or acts as a
management level licensee, the continuing education shall include a
three-hour course on the duties of a principal broker and other
issues involved in operating a real estate brokerage. The continuing
education may be completed by either classroom instruction or
distance education.
Persons
licensed as real estate salespersons who subsequently become licensed
real estate brokers shall continue to submit proof of continuing
education in accordance with the time period established in this
section.
The
requirements of this section shall not apply to any disabled licensee
as provided in division (E) of this section.
Each
licensee who is seventy years of age or older, within a continuing
education reporting period, shall submit proof satisfactory to the
superintendent of real estate that the licensee has satisfactorily
completed both of the following:
(1)
A total of nine hours of continuing education, including instruction
in Ohio real estate law; recently enacted state and federal laws
affecting the real estate industry; municipal, state, and federal
civil rights law;
and
canons
of ethics for the real estate industry as adopted by the commission;
and at least one hour focused on deed and title fraud prevention,
identification, response, and reporting;
(2)
If licensed as a broker, broker on deposit, or acting as a management
level licensee, a three-hour continuing education course on the
duties of a principal broker and other issues involved in operating a
real estate brokerage.
The
continuing education may be completed by either classroom instruction
or distance education. The required proof of completion shall be
submitted on or before the licensee's birthday that falls in the
third year of that continuing education reporting period. A licensee
who is seventy years of age or older whose license is in an inactive
status is exempt from the continuing education requirements specified
in this section. The commission shall adopt reasonable rules in
accordance with Chapter 119. of the Revised Code to carry out the
purposes of this paragraph.
(B)
The continuing education requirements of this section shall be
completed in schools, seminars, and educational institutions approved
by the commission. Such approval shall be given according to rules
established by the commission under the procedures of Chapter 119. of
the Revised Code, and shall not be limited to institutions providing
two-year or four-year degrees. Each school, seminar, or educational
institution approved under this division shall be open to all
licensees on an equal basis.
(C)
If the requirements of this section are not met by a licensee within
the period specified, the licensee's license shall be suspended
automatically without the taking of any action by the superintendent.
The superintendent shall notify the licensee of the license
suspension, and such notification shall be sent by regular mail to
the personal residence address of the licensee that is on file with
the division. Any license so suspended shall remain suspended until
it is reactivated by the superintendent. No such license shall be
reactivated until it is established, to the satisfaction of the
superintendent, that the requirements of this section have been met.
If the requirements of this section are not met within twelve months
from the date the license was suspended, the license shall be revoked
automatically without the taking of any action by the superintendent.
(D)
If the license of a real estate broker is suspended pursuant to
division (C) of this section, the license of a real estate
salesperson associated with that broker correspondingly is suspended
pursuant to division (H) of section 4735.20 of the Revised Code. A
sole broker shall notify affiliated salespersons of the suspension in
writing within three days of receiving the notice required by
division (C) of this section.
(1)
The suspended license of the associated real estate salesperson shall
be reactivated and no fee shall be charged or collected for that
reactivation if that broker subsequently submits proof to the
superintendent that the broker has complied with the requirements of
this section and requests that the broker's license as a real estate
broker be reactivated, and the superintendent then reactivates the
broker's license as a real estate broker.
(2)
If the real estate salesperson submits an application to leave the
association of the suspended broker in order to associate with a
different broker, the suspended license of the associated real estate
salesperson shall be reactivated and no fee shall be charged or
collected for that reactivation. The superintendent may process the
application regardless of whether the licensee's license is returned
to the superintendent.
Any
person whose license is reactivated pursuant to this division shall
comply with the requirements of this section and otherwise be in
compliance with this chapter.
(E)
Any licensee who is a disabled licensee at any time during the last
three months of the third year of the licensee's continuing education
reporting period may receive an extension of time as deemed
appropriate by the superintendent to submit proof to the
superintendent that the licensee has satisfactorily completed the
required thirty hours of continuing education. To receive an
extension of time, the licensee shall submit a request to the
division of real estate for the extension and proof satisfactory to
the commission that the licensee was a disabled licensee at some time
during the last three months of the three-year reporting period. The
proof shall include, but is not limited to, a signed statement by the
licensee's attending physician describing the disability, certifying
that the licensee's disability is of such a nature as to prevent the
licensee from attending any instruction lasting at least three hours
in duration, and stating the expected duration of the disability. The
licensee shall request the extension and provide the physician's
statement to the division no later than one month prior to the end of
the licensee's three-year continuing education reporting period,
unless the disability did not arise until the last month of the
three-year reporting period, in which event the licensee shall
request the extension and provide the physician's statement as soon
as practical after the occurrence of the disability. A licensee
granted an extension pursuant to this division who is no longer a
disabled licensee and who submits proof of completion of the
continuing education during the extension period, shall submit, for
future continuing education reporting periods, proof of completion of
the continuing education requirements according to the schedule
established in division (A) of this section.
(F)
The superintendent shall not renew a license if the licensee fails to
comply with this section, and the licensee shall be required to pay
the penalty fee provided in section 4735.14 of the Revised Code.
(G)
A licensee shall submit proof of completion of the required
continuing education with the licensee's notice of renewal. The proof
shall be submitted in the manner provided by the superintendent.
Section
2.
That
existing sections 317.22 and 4735.141 of the Revised Code are hereby
repealed.
Section
3.
The
amendment by this act of section 4735.141 of the Revised Code takes
effect six months after the effective date of this section.