Document recording fee

AN ACT Relating to eliminating the document recording tax; 1
reenacting and amending RCW 36.18.010; creating new sections; 2
repealing RCW 36.22.170, 36.22.175, 36.22.181, 36.22.185, 36.22.240, 3
and 36.22.250; and providing an effective date. 4
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:5
NEW SECTION. Sec. 1. (1) The legislature finds that the 6
document recording fee was initially established to cover the 7
administrative costs associated with recording documents. Over time, 8
this fee has been substantially increased to fund programs well 9
beyond document recording services. This expansion has transformed 10
most of the recording fee into a tax.11
(2) The legislature intends to restore the document recording tax 12
to a fee. It costs county auditor offices in Washington state 13
approximately $21 per document recorded. This act instructs county 14
auditor offices to charge the public no more than their actual costs 15
of document recording or $30, whichever is less. 16
Sec. 2. RCW 36.18.010 and 2023 c 340 s 8 and 2023 c 277 s 9 are 17
each reenacted and amended to read as follows: 18
H-2033.3
HOUSE BILL 2067
State of Washington 69th Legislature 2025 Regular Session
By Representatives Manjarrez, Dufault, Corry, and Mendoza
Read first time 03/31/25. Referred to Committee on Appropriations.
p. 1 HB 2067
Except as otherwise ordered by the court pursuant to RCW 1
4.24.130, county auditors or recording officers shall collect the 2
following fees for their official services: 3
(1) For recording instruments, ((for the first page eight and 4
one-half by 14 inches or less, $5; for each additional page eight and 5
one-half by 14 inches or less, $1. The fee for recording multiple 6
transactions contained in one instrument will be calculated for each 7
transaction requiring separate indexing as required under RCW 8
65.04.050 as follows: The fee for each title or transaction is the 9
same fee as the first page of any additional recorded document; the 10
fee for additional pages is the same fee as for any additional pages 11
for any recorded document; the fee for the additional pages may be 12
collected only once and may not be collected for each title or 13
transaction)) $30 per document; 14
(2) For preparing and certifying copies, for the first page eight 15
and one-half by 14 inches or less, $3; for each additional page eight 16
and one-half by 14 inches or less, $1; 17
(3) For preparing noncertified copies, for each page eight and 18
one-half by 14 inches or less, $1; 19
(4) For administering an oath or taking an affidavit, with or 20
without seal, $2; 21
(5) For issuing a marriage license, $8, (this fee includes taking 22
necessary affidavits, filing returns, indexing, and transmittal of a 23
record of the marriage to the state registrar of vital statistics) 24
plus an additional $5 fee for use and support of the prevention of 25
child abuse and neglect activities to be transmitted monthly to the 26
state treasurer and deposited in the state general fund plus an 27
additional $10 fee to be transmitted monthly to the state treasurer 28
and deposited in the state general fund. The legislature intends to 29
appropriate an amount at least equal to the revenue generated by this 30
fee for the purposes of the displaced homemaker act, chapter 28B.04 31
RCW; and32
(6) For searching records per hour, $8((;33
(7) For recording plats, 50 cents for each lot except cemetery 34
plats for which the charge shall be 25 cents per lot; also $1 for 35
each acknowledgment, dedication, and description: PROVIDED, That 36
there shall be a minimum fee of $25 per plat;37
(8) For recording of miscellaneous records not listed above, for 38
the first page eight and one-half by 14 inches or less, $5; for each 39
additional page eight and one-half by 14 inches or less, $1;40
p. 2 HB 2067
(9) For modernization and improvement of the recording and 1
indexing system, a surcharge as provided in RCW 36.22.170;2
(10) For recording an emergency nonstandard document as provided 3
in RCW 65.04.047, $50, in addition to all other applicable recording 4
fees;5
(11) For recording instruments, a $3 surcharge to be deposited 6
into the Washington state library operations account created in RCW 7
43.07.129;8
(12) For recording instruments, a $2 surcharge to be deposited 9
into the Washington state library-archives building account created 10
in RCW 43.07.410 until the financing contract entered into by the 11
secretary of state for the Washington state library-archives building 12
is paid in full;13
(13) For recording instruments, the surcharge as provided in RCW 14
36.22.250; and15
(14) For recording instruments, except for documents exempt under 16
RCW 36.22.185(2), an assessment as provided in RCW 36.22.185)).17
NEW SECTION. Sec. 3. The following acts or parts of acts are 18
each repealed:19
(1) RCW 36.22.170 (Surcharge for preservation of historical 20
documents— Distribution of revenue to county and state treasurer — 21
Creation of account) and 2009 c 337 s 5, 2005 c 442 s 1, 1993 c 37 s 22
1, & 1989 c 204 s 3; 23
(2) RCW 36.22.175 (Surcharge for local government archives and 24
records management — Records management training — Eastern Washington 25
regional facility) and 2019 c 448 s 5, (2019 c 448 s 4 expired June 26
30, 2020), 2019 c 372 s 3, (2017 c 303 s 7 expired June 30, 2020), 27
2011 1st sp.s. c 50 s 931, 2008 c 328 s 6006, 2003 c 163 s 5, 2001 28
2nd sp.s. c 13 s 1, & 1996 c 245 s 1; 29
(3) RCW 36.22.181 (Surcharge for prosecution of mortgage lending 30
fraud— Transmittal to state treasurer) and 2021 c 31 s 1, 2016 c 7 s 31
2, 2011 c 129 s 2, 2006 c 21 s 1, & 2003 c 289 s 1;32
(4) RCW 36.22.185 (Covenant homeownership program assessment) and 33
2023 c 340 s 2; 34
(5) RCW 36.22.240 (Surcharge for growth management planning and 35
review— Increasing residential building capacity) and 2021 c 214 s 10 36
& 2019 c 348 s 11; and 37
p. 3 HB 2067
(6) RCW 36.22.250 (Document recording surcharge) and 2023 c 277 s 1
1. 2
NEW SECTION. Sec. 4. Any residual balance of funds remaining in 3
the centennial document preservation and modernization account 4
created in RCW 36.22.170 on the effective date of this section must 5
be transferred by the state treasurer to the state general fund.6
NEW SECTION. Sec. 5. This act takes effect June 30, 2026.7
--- END ---
p. 4 HB 2067