Island County AUDITOR      Recording Department

General Formatting Requirements  (per RCW 65.04.045)

(1)  When any instrument is presented to a county auditor or recording officer for recording, the first page of the instrument shall contain:

(a)  A top margin of at least three inches and a one-inch margin on the bottom and sides, except that an instrument may be recorded if a minor portion of a notary seal, incidental writing, or minor portion of a signature extends beyond the margins;

(b)  The top left-hand side of the page shall contain the name and address to whom the instrument will be returned;

(c)  The title or titles, or type or types, of the instrument to be recorded indicating the kind or kinds of documents or transactions contained therein immediately below the three-inch margin at the top of the page.  The auditor or recording officer shall be required to index only the title or titles captioned on the document;

(d)  Reference numbers of documents assigned or released with reference to the document page number where additional references can be found, if applicable;

(e)  The names of the grantor(s), as defined under RCW 65.04.015, with reference to the document page number where additional names are located, if applicable;

(f)  An abbreviated legal description of the property, and for purposes of this subsection, "abbreviated legal description of the property" means lot, block, plat, or section, township, range, and quarter/quarter section, and reference to the document page number where the full legal description is included, if applicable;

(g)  The assessor's property tax parcel or account number set forth separately from the legal description or other text.

(2)  All pages of the document shall be on sheets of paper of a weight and color capable of producing a legible image that are not larger than fourteen inches long and eight and one-half inches wide with text printed or written in eight point type or larger. All text within the document must be of sufficient color and clarity to ensure that when the text is imaged all text is readable. Further, all pages presented for recording must have at minimum a one-inch margin on the top, bottom, and sides for all pages except page one, except that an instrument may be recorded if a minor portion of a notary seal, incidental writing, or minor portion of a signature extends beyond the margins, be prepared in ink color capable of being imaged, and have all seals legible and capable of being imaged. No attachments, except firmly attached bar code or address labels, may be affixed to the pages.

(3) When any instrument, except those generated by governmental agencies, is presented to a county auditor or recording officer for recording, the document may not contain the following information: (a) A social security number; (b) a date of birth identified with a particular person; or (c) the maiden name of a person's parent so as to be identified with a particular person.