ACCEPTANCE OF THE DEED MANUAL

v. 3.0
INTRODUCTION
This manual presents everything you need to know about formally accepting
your original grant deed by acknowledgement. It includes the rationale, legal
foundation and step by step instructions on how to acknowledge acceptance
of your deed and the options available for enforcing your action.
This manual is linked to resources in the ACCEPTING THE DEED PACKAGE
designed to assist you in carrying out this process. To preserve the resource
links in this manual, do not separate this manual or remove the resource
files from the package folder.
Acknowledging Acceptance of the Deed is part of a larger complete land
redemption process that includes effecting debt discharge and claiming the
benefits of your Land Patent. It is strongly recommended to execute these
processes together in their entirety to most fully establish the ownership
rights to your land. (Visit www.HisAdvocates.Org for further information.)
IMPORTANT: if your land has been collateralized against a mortgage or
deed of trust, it is usually necessary for you to satisfy or discharge the
mortgage for the acknowledged Acceptance of Deed to take full effect. The
best way to do this is through the Debt Discharge process together with the
filing of an Affidavit of Status and Affidavit of Secured Interest. (Consult
www.HisAdvocates.Org for details on these processes).

Why Acknowledge Accepting the Deed?

The conveying of land from a Grantor to a Grantee via a deed is rooted in
Biblical antiquity and the concept of Common Law contract. In ancient
times of conveyance, a Grantees formal Acknowledgement of Accepting
the Deed consummated the contract.
Though the use of deeds dates from Biblical times, deeds were not always
used to carry out a land conveyance. During the English Middle Ages, when
writing was uncommon, land was conveyed through a ceremony known as
livery of seisin (lit,. transfer of possession). At the ceremony, the Grantor
would give a symbolic gift of something related to the land, such as a tuft of
grass, to the Grantee. The personal delivery to the Grantee and the Grantees
acceptance of the Grantors gift consummated the transaction. It evidenced
both the Grantees possession and the Grantors abandonment of the land.
In time, deeds came to be used as part of the livery of seisin, giving evidence
that a contract had been completed. Eventually, conveying of deeds replaced
the ceremony, where the language of the livery of seisin was instead written
into the deeds.
As English history progressed, the Common Law came to view delivery of
the deed to the Grantee as sufficient evidence of the Grantees acceptance of
the contract including the Grantors abandonment of the estate. This became
settled legal presumption.
But as the Western judicial system has migrated from Common Law to an
administrative law venue, the Grantees right of ownership through implicit
acceptance via delivery alone has been steadily eroded. Administrative
government has availed itself of the absence of a Grantees seal to
presumptively act as a holder in trust of private land and to treat Grantees
as mere feudal tenants (serfs) on their land rather than as true owners in fee
simple as was granted to the people after the Magna Carta. Said differently,
administrative law has replaced the Common Law presumption of Grantee
ownership with its own presumption of governmental trusteeship.
Because of this, a Grantees formal Acknowledgement of Deed Acceptance
is necessary to establish unrebuttable Grantee ownership of the land via clear
sealed witness to the Grantees consent under the law of contract. Without

formal sealed acceptance, the legal presumption of Deed Acceptance in the

modern administrative court system is rebuttable and open to legal
challenge.
Until a Grantee formally accepts a deed by seal, land ownership remains
subject to an administratively interpretable legal void supporting a
presumption of total land abeyance (abandonment). Under such
presumption, Grantee ownership may be challenged by lien and Grantee
obligations otherwise unrelated to the land. Grantee ownership may also be
challenged by previous creditors of the Grantor. It has been further
demonstrated that property taxation is related to a legally presumed state of
ownership abeyance on which basis government presumes to function as
undeclared holder in trust of the land.
A Grantees formal Acknowledgment of Deed Acceptance can also directly
affect the Title. It theoretically can and has been known in fact to revert the
chain of title back to the time of the original execution of the Deed by the
Grantorremoving all other liens including mortgages against the Title
from that time to the acceptance. It has been particularly proven that when
such Acknowledgment occurs in conjunction with payment of a real estate
excise tax, lenders may be retroactively cleared from the Title.
In sum, a Grantees formal Acceptance by Acknowledgement denies any
legal wiggle room for counterclaims to ownership, liens by past creditors
and attempted foreclosure based in liens for nonpayment of taxes or other
obligations against which the Grantee has not offered the property as
collateral. Even where the property has been offered as collateral for a loan,
formal Deed Acceptance has sometimes been proven capable of removing
lenders from Title as well as removing property from municipal tax rolls.
DISCLAIMER: THE POSSIBLE REMOVAL OF A LENDER FROM
TITLE VIA FORMAL ACCEPTANCE OF THE DEED DOES NOT
GUARANTEE A LENDERS ACQUIESCENCE TO SATISFACTION OF
THE MORTGAGE. A lender may counter sue for fraud. Or a lender may
still sue for satisfaction of the mortgage even if the lenders removal from
Title may impede the lenders ability to foreclose. Acceptance of the Deed is
not a stand-alone substitute for formal discharge of a mortgage.
But where a debt discharge process, revocation of deed of trust and/or any
other process has been effected to satisfy, discharge or prove the fraudulence

of the mortgage, formal Grantee Acceptance of the Deed works in tandem

with such processes to create a double wall of defense against the possibility
of foreclosure by an alleged lender who rejects the discharge.

TABLE OF CONTENTS
LEGAL FOUNDATIONS
I. Acknowledging Acceptance of the Deed
A. Record of Ancient Practice
B. Legal Definitions
C. Legal Commentary

II. The Right to Record Acknowledgement of Deed Acceptance

A. Constitution of the United States
B. Legal Definitions
C. Legal Commentary
D. Federal Rules of Evidence
PROCESS OUTLINE
I. Substance and Format
A. Terminology
B. Deed Authentication
C. Document Format and Presentation
D. Tax Payment Verification
II. Writing the Acknowledgement of Acceptance
III. Sign and Seal
A. Sign Your Document
B. Seal Your Document
C. Witnesses

IV. Obtain Notary Acknowledgement

Pointers
V. Obtain Authentication Certificate for the Notary
A. Single Authentication
B. Double Authentication
VI. Obtain Certified Copy of Grant Deed
VII. Obtain (as required) a New Original Deed by Conversion
- Obtain Authentication Certificate of Certifying Clerk
VIII. Inserting the Exhibit Page
IX. Recording
X. Verifying Title Status
A. Unexpected Notices
B. Conduct a New Title Search
PROTOCOLS
ENFORCEMENT STRATEGIES & MEASURES
1. Formatting Technicality
2. Appeal to the Clerks Superior
3. File by Certified Mail
4. File with Pinal County, Arizona or Other Cash-Strapped
Jurisdiction
5. Exhausting Administrative Remedy

6. Appeal to the Equivalent of the Court of Inquiry

7. Send a Lawful Notification Letter to the Recorder / Registrar /
Clerk of Court
8. Final In-Person Submission
9. Serving a Title 42 Action

LEGAL FOUNDATIONS
I. Acknowledging Acceptance of the Deed
The legal foundation for formally acknowledging Acceptance of the Deed is
established by record of ancient practice, legal definition and legal
commentary that includes various state case law relating to recording and
assent to contract.

A. Record of Ancient Practice

Holy Bible
Jeremiah 32:6-12 (New King James Version)
6

And Jeremiah said, The word of the LORD came to me, saying, 7 Behold,
Hanamel the son of Shallum your uncle will come to you, saying, Buy my
field which is in Anathoth, for the right of redemption is yours to
buy it. 8 Then Hanamel my uncles son came to me in the court of the
prison according to the word of the LORD, and said to me, Please buy my
field that is in Anathoth, which is in the country of Benjamin; for the right of
inheritance is yours, and the redemption yours; buy it for yourself. Then I
knew that this was the word of the LORD. 9 So I bought the field from
Hanamel, the son of my uncle who was in Anathoth, and weighed out to him
the moneyseventeen shekels of silver. 10 And I signed the deed and
sealed it, took witnesses, and weighed the money on the scales. 11 So I took
the purchase deed, both that which was sealed according to the law and
custom, and that which was open; 12 and I gave the purchase deed to Baruch
the son of Neriah, son of Mahseiah, in the presence of Hanamel my
uncles son, and in the presence of the witnesses who signed the purchase
deed, before all the Jews who sat in the court of the prison.

TheFreeDictionary.com
http://legal-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/livery+of+seisin

livery of seisin
A ceremony performed in medieval England that effected the transfer of land
from one party to another.
Livery of seisin was the dominant method of transferring land in England
until 1536, and it continued to be legal until 1925. The term livery of
seisin means simply "transfer of possession": livery means "delivery" and is
from the Old French livrer, and seisin means "possession" and is from the
Old French saisiror seisir. The concept behind livery of seisin, therefore,
was the symbolic transfer of the possession of land. The entire ceremony of
transfer was called feoffment with livery of seisin, with feoffment meaning
"a gift," specifically a gift of a freehold interest in a parcel of land. The
transferor was the feoffor, the transferee was the feoffee, and the land
interest was the fief.
In the Middle Ages, a livery of seisin was essential to convey land from one
party to another; without it no real right to land could be transferred. When
performing the ceremony, the feoffor, the feoffee, and their witnesses
generally stood on the land itself, though it was permissible to stand within
view of the land if the feoffee made an actual entry to the land while the
feoffor was still alive. During the ceremony the feoffor spoke appropriate
words declaring the gift, and then handed the feoffee an object representing
that gift, such as dirt, turf, or a twig, or even a ring, a cross, or a knife. If a
house was being transferred, the ring of the door might be exchanged.
In addition to delivering possession of the land, the feoffor needed to vacate
the land. The feoffor's tenants and others living on the land were expelled,
along with their possessions. In some cases, the feoffor performed a
ceremony or gesture showing Abandonment of the land, such as by making a
sign with the hands, jumping over a hedge, or throwing a rod to the feoffee.
A livery of seisin was sometimes accompanied by a deed, or charter of
feoffment, written in Latin, which was used to call attention to the
conveyance of land. This was often the case when the transfer in question
had special political significance or when it involved complex boundaries. If
a charter of feoffment existed, it was read during the livery of seisin.

However, such a charter did not in itself serve as a means of transferring

land; rather, it was used simply as evidence that a transfer had taken place.
Its language was not "I hereby give" but "Know ye that I have given." A
charter of feoffment by itself was not considered an agreement to transfer
land, but had to be accompanied by a livery of seisin.
During the Anglo-Saxon period in England, before the Norman Conquest of
1066, the use of writing was rare, so few charters existed. After the Norman
invasion, writing was used more often, but charters were still generally short
and crude. Eventually, over a period of hundreds of years, the delivery of a
charter or deed came to replace the delivery of dirt, twigs, or knives that had
been used to convey land in the livery-ofseisin ceremonies.
The Real Property Act of 1845 (8 & 9 Vict. ch. 106 [Eng.]) did not abolish
livery of seisin, but it did allow deeds to be used freely as granting devices,
which had the same effect. The Law of Property Act, passed in 1925 (15 &
16 Geo. 5, ch. 20 [Eng.]), finally abolished the livery-ofseisin ceremony.
Bouviers Law Dictionary
LIVERY OF SEISIN, estates. A delivery of possession of lands, tenements,
and hereditaments, unto one entitled to the same. This was a ceremony used in
the common law for the conveyance of real estate; and the livery was in deed,
which was performed by the feoffor and the feoffee going upon the land, and
the latter receiving it from the former; or in law, where the game was not made
on the land, but in sight of it. 2 Bl. Com. 315, 316.

Blacks Law Dictionary, 5th Edition

Livery of seisin. The appropriate ceremony, at common law, for transferring
the corporal possession of lands or tenements by a grantor to his grantee. It
was livery in deed where the parties went together upon the land, and there a
twig, clod, key, or other symbol was delivered in the name of the whole.
Livery in law was where the same ceremony was performed, not upon the
land itself, but in sight of it. 2 Bl.Comm. 3 1 5, 3 1 6.

B. Legal Definitions
Bouviers Law Dictionary
DEED, conveyancing, contracts. A writing or instrument, under seal,
containing some contract or agreement, and which has been delivered by the
parties. Co. Litt. 171; 2 Bl. Com. 295; Shep. Touch. 50. This applies to all
instruments in writing, under seal, whether they relate to the conveyance of
lands, or to any other matter; a bond, a single bill, an agreement in writing,
or any other contract whatever, when reduced to writing, which writing is
sealed and delivered, is as much a deed as any conveyance of land. 2 Serg.
& Rawle, 504; 1 Mood. Cr, Cas. 57; 5 Dana, 365; 1 How. Miss. R. 154; 1
McMullan, 373. Signing is not necessary at common law to make a deed. 2
Ev. Poth. 165; 11 Co. Rep. 278 6 S. & R. 311.
TO RECORD, the act of making a record.
2. Sometimes questions arise as to when the act of recording is complete, as
in the following case. A deed of real estate was acknowledged before the
register of deeds and handed to him to be recorded, and at the same instant a
creditor of the grantor attached the real estate; in this case it was held the act
of recording was incomplete without a certificate of the acknowledgment,
and wanting that, the attaching creditor had the preference. 10 Pick. Rep. 72.

ASSENT, contracts. An agreement to something that has been done before.

2. It is either express, where it is openly declared; or implied, where it is
presumed by law. For instance, when a conveyance is made to a man, his
assent to it is presumed, for the following reasons; cause there is a strong
intendment of law, that it is for a person's benefit to take, and no man can be
supposed to be unwilling to do that which is for his advantage. 2. Because it
would seem incongruous and absurd, that when a conveyance is completely
executed on the part of the grantor, the estate should continue in him. 3.
Because it is contrary to the policy of law to permit the freehold to remain in
suspense and uncertainty. 2 Ventr. 201; 3 Mod. 296A 3 Lev. 284; Show. P.
C. 150; 3 Barn. & Alders. 31; 1 Binn. R. 502; 2 Hayw. 234; 12 Mass IR. 461
4 Day, 395; 5 S. & R. 523 20 John. R. 184; 14 S. & R. 296 15 Wend. R.
656; 4 Halst. R. 161; 6 Verm. R. 411.

Blacks Law Dictionary, 5th Edition

Deed. A conveyance of realty; a writing signed by grantor, whereby title to
realty is transferred from one to another. National Fire Ins. Co. v. Patterson,
1 70 Okl. 593, 41 P.2d 645, 647. A written instrument, signed, and
delivered, by which one person conveys land, tenements, or hereditaments to
another.
At common law, a sealed instrument, containing a contract or covenant,
delivered by the party to be bound thereby, and accepted by the party to
whom the contract or covenant runs. 2 Bl.Comm. 295. A writing under seal
by which lands, tenements, or hereditaments are conveyed for an estate not
less than freehold. 2 Bl.Comm. 294. It is no longer necessary that the
instrument be sealed.

C. Legal Commentary
Commentaries on the Laws of England in Four Books. Vol. I
Sir William Blackstone
ed., George Sharswood,
Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of' Pennsylvania.
Philadelphia, 1893
pp.304-305

Sixthly, it is requisite that the party, whose deed it is, should seal, and now
in most cases I apprehend should sign it also. The use of seals, as a mark of
authenticity to letters and other instruments in writing, is extremely ancient.
We read of it among the Jews and Persians in the earliest and most sacred
records of history. And in the book of Jeremiah there is a very remarkable
instance, not only of an attestation by seal, but also of the other usual
formalities attending a Jewish purchase. In the civil law also, seals were the
evidence of truth, and were required, on the part of the witnesses at least, at
the attestation of every testament.

A Digest of Pickering's Reports: Volumes VIII-XIV Inclusive

Francis Hilliard, Massachusetts. Supreme Judicial Court
Boston, 1837
p. 81
E. Delivery, acknowledgment, registry, and proof of a conveyance.
1. If a deed be delivered by the grantor to the register of deeds for the
grantees use, and afterwards assented to by the grantee, a title vests in him
from the time of such assent, as against attaching creditors of the grantor.
Hedge v. Drew, xii. 141

Crockers Notes on Common Forms

9th Edition, 2nd Supplement 2010
32
360. Acceptance necessary.
It is well settled in this Commonwealth that the delivery of a deed is not
complete and effectual without an acceptance by the grantee, or by some one
authorized to represent him, or who assumes to represent him, and whose act
of acceptance is afterwards ratified. Meigs v. Dexter, 172 Mass. 217, 218,
52 N.E. 75 (1898) (Knowlton, J.).
As to what constitutes an acceptance, see OLoughlin v. Prendergast, 269
Mass. 41, 47, 168 N.E. 96 (1929); Blackwell v. Blackwell, 196 Mass. 186, 81
N.E. 910 (1907); Whitcomb v. City of Boston, 192 Mass. 211, 78 N.E. 407
(1906); Bartlett v. City of Boston, 182 Mass. 460, 65 N.E. 827 (1903).

The Real Property Law of the State of New York

Being Chapter 50 of the Consolidated Laws, 3rd Ed.
Robert Ludlow Fowler, Counsellor At Law
New York, 1909
p. 815-816
Proof of Delivery by Subscribing Witness
.In this connection it may be said, that an attestation by a subscribing
witness (where a grantee does not acknowledge the execution before a
notary) to the effect that a deed is signed, sealed and delivered in the
presence of the witness is better than a formula than simply in the
presence of the witness. But an independent superscription of the deed
itself, in the old form usually employed on deeds of feoffment where the
witness attested to delivery of seisin, is better still. It should state that the
deed after it was signed and sealed by grantee was actually delivered to the
grantee in the presence of the subscribing witness. Such was the ancient
usage to prove delivery of seisin before deeds were essential.
p. 821
Acceptance
Acceptance is as important as delivery to complete the transaction at law.

California Department of Real Estate Reference Book 2010

http://www.dre.ca.gov/Publications/ReferenceBook.html

Chapter 7 Principles of Transfer

Delivery and Acceptance
A deed is of no effect unless delivered. But delivery in this context means
more than a turning over of the physical possession of the document. The
grantor must have the intention to pass title immediately. It is possible in
some cases to have a legal delivery without the instrument actually being
handed to the grantee, if the grantor has the requisite intent to transfer title.
That intention is not present if A gives B a deed but tells B not to record it
until As death, both parties believing the deed is ineffective until recorded.
Nor is such intention present in the typical case of cross-deeds between
husband and wife placed in a joint safe deposit box with the understanding
that the survivor will record his or her deed.
The law presumes a valid delivery if the deed is found in the possession of
the grantee or is recorded, but such presumption is rebuttable. A deed may
be entrusted to a third party (such as an escrow agent) with directions that it
be delivered to the grantee upon the performance of designated conditions.
The deed itself may contain conditions. But with reference to delivery, by
statute, a grant cannot be delivered to the grantee conditionally.
Delivery to the grantee, or to the grantees agent as such, is necessarily
absolute, and the instrument takes effect immediately, discharged of any
condition on which the delivery was made which is not expressed in the
deed. (Or, no delivery may have occurred and the deed may be found to be
void.) The grantor attempting a conditional delivery should withhold transfer
of the deed to the grantee until the conditions are satisfied; or incorporate the
conditions in the deed itself; or deposit the deed into an escrow with
appropriate instructions. Transfer of a deed conditioned on the grantors
death is ineffective as an attempted testamentary disposition failing to meet
the requirements of a will.

A duly executed deed is presumed to be delivered as of its dated date. The

dated date of a deed is often different from its recorded date. Possession or
the rights thereto must be given when the deed is delivered.
Ordinarily, a deed cannot be given effect unless it is accepted by the grantee.
An exception to this rule is made when the grantee is a minor or mentally
incompetent. Acceptance of a deed may be shown by acts, words or conduct
of the grantee showing an intent to accept. A deed to a governmental entity
must ordinarily contain (either on the face of the deed itself or on a separate
sheet attached to the deed) a certificate of acceptance.

II. Right to Record Acknowledgment of Deed Acceptance

The legal foundation for the right to record a Grantees Acknowledgement
of the Acceptance of the Deed is found in the Amendment V protection of
property ownership, and the Article 1 Section 10 proscription against state
impairment of contracts. It is also found in the legal definition and Federal
Rules of Evidence pertaining to public records and their authentication
relative to Article IV Sect. 1 of the federal Constitution:
A deed demonstrates a conveyance of property from a Grantor to a Grantee,
forming a two-party contract vesting in clear property ownership. The
federal Constitution guarantees that no one shall be deprived of property
without due process of law. Accepting a deed is a right of property
ownership that may not be abridged by any state statute. The Constitution
further guarantees that no state may pass a statute that impairs the right of
contract. The Supreme Court has further determined that such right is
unlimited. As accepting a deed belongs to the unlimited right of contract, its
formal declaration on the public record may not be prohibited.
From the perspective of public records, the federal Constitution guarantees
that whatever qualifies as an authentic public record in any jurisdiction must
be honored as such in every other jurisdiction. Subsequent acts of Congress
and state case law define what constitutes authentic public records, both in
substance and proof.
The substantial body of authentic public records includes all documents filed
in a Common Law court (Article III and Amendment VII venue) and all
records kept in any public office of any state. By legal definition, that body
is extended to include other documents necessary in order to perpetuate the
memory of the facts they contain and the causing an instrument to be
known and identified as for example, the acknowledgment of a deed by the
grantor; the attesting a deed by witnesses.
Acceptable proofs of authenticity that qualify an instrument for recording
include attestation by a clerk of court further authenticated by a presiding
magistrate, and attestation by the clerk of any municipal office further
authenticated by either a presiding judge, the governor, the secretary of state,
or whatever officer is presently recognized as the keeper of the great seal of
the state or the modern equivalent of the common law chancellor.

Acceptable proofs of self-authenticity are additionally defined by the Federal

Rules of Evidence 902. Any document signed, sealed and attested is
presumed authentic. Any certified copy that is accompanied by a certificate
that is signed, sealed and attested is presumed authentic. And any document
accompanied by a notarys certificate of acknowledgement is deemed
authentic.
Taken all together, this means that if
1) the purpose of public land records is to make known and
otherwise perpetuate the memory of authentic facts pertaining to land
(which an Acknowledgement of Deed Acceptance does), and
2) an Acknowledgement of Deed Acceptance meets the legal
definition and federal standard for authentication (which it does), and
3) an Acknowledgment of Deed Acceptance has proven recordable in
any American jurisdiction (which it has),
then, whether detailed in all state statutes or not, a way must exist for the
public recording of an Acknowledgment of Deed Acceptance in all
jurisdictions, nor may its authenticity be questioned, and otherwise the
burden rests on a recording officer to prove why an acknowledged
Acceptance of Deed may not be recorded. The burden is not upon the
grantee to prove why it is allowable to be recorded.
Note: if recording clerks, as they oft claim, may not provide legal advice,
neither may they pass legal judgment. Clerks have discretionary power only
in favor of the rights of the people, not against their orders. Clerks unable to
lawfully substantiate their refusal to record an Acknowledgement of Deed
Acceptance other than for matters of statutory form are guilty of treason and
breach of oath and of warring against the Constitution. (Strategies and
enforcement measures are discussed in the PROCESS OUTLINE below.)

A. Constitution of the United States

Article I. Section 10. Clause 1
No State shall enter into any Treaty, Alliance, or Confederation; grant
Letters of Marque and Reprisal; coin Money; emit Bills of Credit; make any
Thing but gold and silver Coin a Tender in Payment of Debts; pass any Bill
of Attainder, ex post facto Law, or Law impairing the Obligation of
Contracts, or grant any Title of Nobility.

Article IV. Section 1

Full faith and credit shall be given in each state to the public acts, records,
and judicial proceedings of every other state. And the Congress may by
general laws prescribe the manner in which such acts, records, and
proceedings shall be proved, and the effect thereof.
Amendment V
No person shall be held to answer for a capital, or otherwise infamous crime,
unless on a presentment or indictment of a Grand Jury, except in cases
arising in the land or naval forces, or in the Militia, when in actual service in
time of War or public danger; nor shall any person be subject for the same
offence to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb; nor shall be compelled in
any criminal case to be a witness against himself, nor be deprived of life,
liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor shall private property be
taken for public use, without just compensation.

B. Legal Definitions
Bouviers Law Dictionary
RECORD, evidence. A written memorial made by a public officer
authorized by law to perform that function, and intended to serve as
evidence of something written, said, or done. 6 Call, 78; 1 Dana, 595.
2. Records may be divided into those which relate to the proceedings of
congress and the state legislatures - the courts of common law - the courts of
chancery - and those which are made so by statutory provisions.
3. - 1. Legislative acts. The acts of congress and of the several legislatures
are the highest kind of records. The printed journals of congress have been
so considered. 1 Whart. Dig. tit. Evidence, pl. 112 and see Dougl. 593;
Cowp. 17.
4. - 2. The proceedings of the courts of common law are records. But every
minute made by a clerk of a court for his own future guidance in making up
his record, is not a record. 4 Wash. C. C. Rep. 698.
5. - 3. Proceedings in courts of chancery are said not to be, strictly speaking,
records; but they are so considered. Gresley on Ev. 101.
6. - 4. The legislatures of the several states have made the enrollment of
certain deeds and other documents necessary in order to perpetuate the
memory of the facts they contain, and declared that the copies thus made
should have the effect of records.
7. By the constitution of the United States, art. 4. s. 1, it is declared that "full
faith and credit shall be given, in each state, to the public acts, records and
judicial proceedings of every other state; and the congress may, by general
laws, prescribe the manner in which such acts, records and proceedings shall
be proved, and the effect thereof." In pursuance of this power, congress have
passed several acts directing the manner of authenticating public records,
which will be found under the article Authentication.
8. Numerous decisions have been made under these acts, some of which are
here referred to. 7 Cranch, 471; 3 Wheat. 234; 4 Cowen, 292; 1 N. H. Rep.
242; 1 Ohio Reports, 264; 2 Verm. R. 263; 5 John. R. 37; 4 Conn. R. 380; 9

Mass 462; 10 Serg. & Rawle, 240; 1 Hall's N. York Rep. 155; 4 Dall. 412; 5
Serg. & Rawle, 523; 1 Pet. S. C. Rep. 352. Vide, generally, 18 Vin. Ab. 17;
1 Phil. Ev. 288; Bac. Ab. Amendment, &c., H; 1 Kent, Com. 260; Archb.
Civ. Pl. 395; Gresley on Ev. 99; Stark. Ev. Index, h. t.; Dane's Ab. Index, h.
t.; Co. Litt. 260; 10 Pick. R. 72; Bouv. Inst. Index, h. t.

AUTHENTICATION, practice. An attestation made by a proper officer, by

which he certifies that a record is in due form of law, and that the person
who certifies it is the officer appointed by law to do so.
2. The Constitution of the U. S., art. 4, s. 1, declares, "Full faith and credit
shall be given in each state to the public acts, records and judicial
proceedings of every other state. And congress may by general laws
prescribe the manner in which such acts, records and proceedings shall be
proved, and the effect thereof." The object of the authentication is to supply
all other proof of the record. The laws of the United States have provided a
mode of authentication of public records and office papers; these acts are
here transcribed.
3. By the Act of May 26, 1790, it is provided, "That the act of the
legislatures of the several states shall be authenticated by having the seal of
their respective states affixed thereto: That the records and judicial
proceedings of the courts of any state shall be proved or admitted, in any
other court within the United States, by the attestation of the clerk, and the
seal of the court annexed, if there be a seal, together with a certificate of the
judge, chief justice or presiding magistrate, as the case may be, that the said
attestation is in due form. And the said records and judicial proceedings,
authenticated as aforesaid, shall have such faith and credit given to them, in
every court within the United States, as they have, by law or usage, in the
courts of the state from whence the said records are, or shall be taken."
4. The above act having provided only for one species of record, it was
necessary to pass the Act of March 27, 1804, to provide for other cases. By
this act it is enacted, 1. " That, from and after the passage of this act, all
records and exemplifications of office books, which are or may be kept in
any public office of any state, not appertaining to a court, shall be proved or
admitted in any other court or office in any other state, by the attestation of
the keeper of the said records or books, and the seal of his office thereto

annexed, if there be a seal, together with a certificate of the presiding justice

of the court of the county or district, as the case may be, in which such office
is or may be kept or of the governor, the secretary of state, the chancellor or
the keeper of the great seal of the state, that the said attestation is in due
form, and by the proper officer and the said certificate, if given by the
presiding justice of a court, shall be further authenticated by the clerk or
prothonotary of the said court, who shall certify, under his hand and the seal
of his office, that the said presiding justice is duly commissioned and
qualified; or if the said certificate be given by the; governor, the secretary of
state, the chancellor or keeper of the great seal, it shall be under the great
seal of the state in which the said certificate is made. And the said records
and exemplifications, authenticated as aforesaid, shall have such faith and
credit given to them in every court and office within the United States, as
they have by law or usage in the courts or offices of the state from whence
the same are or shall be taken."
5. 2. That all the provisions of this act, and the act to which this is, a
supplement, shall apply, as well to the public acts, records, office books,
judicial proceedings, courts, and offices of the respective territories of the
United States, and countries subject to the jurisdiction of the United States,
as to the public acts, records, office books, judicial proceedings, courts and
offices of the several states."
6. The Act of May 8, 1792, s. 12, provides: That all the records and
proceedings of the court of appeals, heretofore appointed, previous to the
adoption of the present constitution, shall be deposited in the office of the
clerk of the supreme court of the United States, who is hereby authorized
and directed to give copies of all such records and proceedings, to any
person requiring and paying for the same, in like manner as copies of the
records and other proceedings of the said court are by law directed to be
given; which copies shall have like faith and credit as all other proceedings
of the said court."
7. By authentication is also understood whatever act is done either by the
party or some other person with a view of causing an instrument to be
known and identified as for example, the acknowledgment of a deed by the
grantor; the attesting a deed by witnesses. 2 Benth. on Ev. 449.

C. Legal Commentary

U.S. Supreme Court

Hale v. Henkel, 201 U.S. 43 (1906)
The individual may stand upon his constitutional rights as a citizen. He is
entitled to carry on his private business in his own way. His power to
contract is unlimited. He owes no duty to the State or to his neighbors to
divulge his business, or to open his doors to an investigation, so far as it may
tend to criminate him. He owes no such duty to the State, since he receives
nothing therefrom beyond the protection of his life and property. His rights
are such as existed by the law of the land long antecedent to the organization
of the State, and can only be taken from him by due process of law, and in
accordance with the Constitution.

D. Federal Rules of Evidence

RULE 902. EVIDENCE THAT IS SELF-AUTHENTICATING
The following items of evidence are self-authenticating; they require no
extrinsic evidence of authenticity in order to be admitted:
(1) Domestic Public Documents That Are Sealed and Signed. A
document that bears:
(A) a seal purporting to be that of the United States; any state, district,
commonwealth, territory, or insular possession of the United States; the
former Panama Canal Zone; the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands; a
political subdivision of any of these entities; or a department, agency, or
officer of any entity named above; and
(B) a signature purporting to be an execution or attestation.
(2) Domestic Public Documents That Are Not Sealed but Are Signed
and Certified. A document that bears no seal if:
(A) it bears the signature of an officer or employee of an entity named
in Rule 902(1)(A); and
(B) another public officer who has a seal and official duties within
that same entity certifies under seal or its equivalent that the
signer has the official capacity and that the signature is genuine.
(3) Foreign Public Documents. A document that purports to be signed
or attested by a person who is authorized by a foreign countrys law to do
so. The document must be accompanied by a final certification that
certifies the genuineness of the signature and official position of the signer
or attester or of any foreign official whose certificate of genuineness
relates to the signature or attestation or is in a chain of certificates of
genuineness relating to the signature or attestation. The certification may
be made by a secretary of a United States embassy or legation; by a consul
general, vice consul, or consular agent of the United States; or by a
diplomatic or consular official of the foreign country assigned or
accredited to the United States. If all parties have been given a reasonable
opportunity to investigate the documents authenticity and accuracy, the
court may, for good cause, either:

(A) order that it be treated as presumptively authentic without final

certification; or
(B) allow it to be evidenced by an attested summary with or without
final certification.
(4) Certified Copies of Public Records. A copy of an official record
or a copy of a document that was recorded or filed in a public office as
authorized by law if the copy is certified as correct by:
(A) the custodian or another person authorized to make the
certification; or
(B) a certificate that complies with Rule 902(1), (2), or (3), a federal
statute, or a rule prescribed by the Supreme Court.
(5) Official Publications. A book, pamphlet, or other publication
purporting to be issued by a public authority.
(6) Newspapers and Periodicals. Printed material purporting to be a
newspaper or periodical.
(7) Trade Inscriptions and the Like. An inscription, sign, tag, or label
purporting to have been affixed in the course of business and indicating
origin, ownership, or control.
(8) Acknowledged Documents. A document accompanied by a
certificate of acknowledgment that is lawfully executed by a notary public
or another officer who is authorized to take acknowledgments.
(9) Commercial Paper and Related Documents. Commercial paper, a
signature on it, and related documents, to the extent allowed by general
commercial law.
(10) Presumptions Under a Federal Statute. A signature, document, or
anything else that a federal statute declares to be presumptively or prima
facie genuine or authentic.
(11) Certified Domestic Records of a Regularly Conducted Activity.
The original or a copy of a domestic record that meets the requirements of
Rule 803(6)(A)-(C), as shown by a certification of the custodian or

another qualified person that complies with a federal statute or a rule

prescribed by the Supreme Court. Before the trial or hearing, the
proponent must give an adverse party reasonable written notice of the
intent to offer the record and must make the record and certification
available for inspection so that the party has a fair opportunity to
challenge them.
(12) Certified Foreign Records of a Regularly Conducted Activity. In a
civil case, the original or a copy of a foreign record that meets the
requirements of Rule 902(11), modified as follows: the certification, rather
than complying with a federal statute or Supreme Court rule, must be
signed in a manner that, if falsely made, would subject the maker to a
criminal penalty in the country where the certification is signed. The
proponent must also meet the notice requirements of Rule 902(11).
NOTES
(Pub. L. 93595, 1, Jan. 2, 1975, 88 Stat. 1944; Mar. 2, 1987, eff. Oct. 1,
1987; Apr. 25, 1988, eff. Nov. 1, 1988; Apr. 17, 2000, eff. Dec. 1, 2000;
Apr. 26, 2011, eff. Dec. 1, 2011.)
NOTES OF ADVISORY COMMITTEE ON PROPOSED RULES
Case law and statutes have, over the years, developed a substantial body of
instances in which authenticity is taken as sufficiently established for
purposes of admissibility without extrinsic evidence to that effect,
sometimes for reasons of policy but perhaps more often because practical
considerations reduce the possibility of unauthenticity to a very small
dimension. The present rule collects and incorporates these situations, in
some instances expanding them to occupy a larger area which their
underlying considerations justify. In no instance is the opposite party
foreclosed from disputing authenticity.
Paragraph (1). The acceptance of documents bearing a public seal and
signature, most often encountered in practice in the form of
acknowledgments or certificates authenticating copies of public records, is
actually of broad application. Whether theoretically based in whole or in part
upon judicial notice, the practical underlying considerations are that forgery
is a crime and detection is fairly easy and certain. 7 Wigmore 2161, p. 638;
California Evidence Code 1452. More than 50 provisions for judicial notice
of official seals are contained in the United States Code.

Paragraph (2). While statutes are found which raise a presumption of

genuineness of purported official signatures in the absence of an official
seal, 7 Wigmore 2167; California Evidence Code 1453, the greater ease of
effecting a forgery under these circumstances is apparent. Hence this
paragraph of the rule calls for authentication by an officer who has a seal.
Notarial acts by members of the armed forces and other special situations are
covered in paragraph (10).
Paragraph (3) provides a method for extending the presumption of
authenticity to foreign official documents by a procedure of certification. It
is derived from Rule 44(a)(2) of the Rules of Civil Procedure but is broader
in applying to public documents rather than being limited to public records.
Paragraph (4). The common law and innumerable statutes have
recognized the procedure of authenticating copies of public records by
certificate. The certificate qualifies as a public document, receivable as
authentic when in conformity with paragraph (1), (2), or (3). Rule 44(a) of
the Rules of Civil Procedure and Rule 27 of the Rules of Criminal Procedure
have provided authentication procedures of this nature for both domestic and
foreign public records. It will be observed that the certification procedure
here provided extends only to public records, reports, and recorded
documents, all including data compilations, and does not apply to public
documents generally. Hence documents provable when presented in original
form under paragraphs (1), (2), or (3) may not be provable by certified copy
under paragraph (4).
Paragraph (5). Dispensing with preliminary proof of the genuineness of
purportedly official publications, most commonly encountered in connection
with statutes, court reports, rules, and regulations, has been greatly enlarged
by statutes and decisions. 5 Wigmore 1684. Paragraph (5), it will be noted,
does not confer admissibility upon all official publications; it merely
provides a means whereby their authenticity may be taken as established for
purposes of admissibility. Rule 44(a) of the Rules of Civil Procedure has
been to the same effect.
Paragraph (6). The likelihood of forgery of newspapers or periodicals is
slight indeed. Hence no danger is apparent in receiving them. Establishing
the authenticity of the publication may, of course, leave still open questions
of authority and responsibility for items therein contained. See 7 Wigmore
2150. Cf. 39 U.S.C. 4005(b), public advertisement prima facie evidence

of agency of person named, in postal fraud order proceeding; Canadian

Uniform Evidence Act, Draft of 1936, printed copy of newspaper prima
facie evidence that notices or advertisements were authorized.
Paragraph (7). Several factors justify dispensing with preliminary proof
of genuineness of commercial and mercantile labels and the like. The risk of
forgery is minimal. Trademark infringement involves serious penalties.
Great efforts are devoted to inducing the public to buy in reliance on brand
names, and substantial protection is given them. Hence the fairness of this
treatment finds recognition in the cases. Curtiss Candy Co. v. Johnson, 163
Miss. 426, 141 So. 762 (1932), Baby Ruth candy bar; Doyle v. Continental
Baking Co., 262 Mass. 516, 160 N.E. 325 (1928), loaf of bread; Weiner v.
Mager & Throne, Inc., 167 Misc. 338, 3 N.Y.S.2d 918 (1938), same. And
see W.Va.Code 1966, 4735, trade-mark on bottle prima facie evidence of
ownership. Contra, Keegan v. Green Giant Co., 150 Me. 283, 110 A.2d 599
(1954); Murphy v. Campbell Soup Co., 62 F.2d 564 (1st Cir. 1933). Cattle
brands have received similar acceptance in the western states. Rev.Code
Mont.1947, 46606; State v. Wolfley, 75 Kan. 406, 89 P. 1046 (1907);
Annot., 11 L.R.A. (N.S.) 87. Inscriptions on trains and vehicles are held to
be prima facie evidence of ownership or control. Pittsburgh, Ft. W. & C. Ry.
v. Callaghan, 157 Ill. 406, 41 N.E. 909 (1895); 9 Wigmore 2510a. See also
the provision of 19 U.S.C. 1615(2) that marks, labels, brands, or stamps
indicating foreign origin are prima facie evidence of foreign origin of
merchandise.
Paragraph (8). In virtually every state, acknowledged title documents are
receivable in evidence without further proof. Statutes are collected in 5
Wigmore 1676. If this authentication suffices for documents of the
importance of those affecting titles, logic scarcely permits denying this
method when other kinds of documents are involved. Instances of broadly
inclusive statutes are California Evidence Code 1451 and N.Y.CPLR 4538,
McKinney's Consol. Laws 1963.
Paragraph (9). Issues of the authenticity of commercial paper in federal
courts will usually arise in diversity cases, will involve an element of a cause
of action or defense, and with respect to presumptions and burden of proof
will be controlled by Erie Railroad Co. v. Tompkins, 304 U.S. 64, 58 S.Ct.
817, 82 L.Ed. 1188 (1938). Rule 302, supra. There may, however, be
questions of authenticity involving lesser segments of a case or the case may
be one governed by federal common law. Clearfield Trust Co. v. United

States, 318 U.S. 363, 63 S.Ct. 573, 87 L.Ed. 838 (1943). Cf. United States v.
Yazell, 382 U.S. 341, 86 S.Ct. 500, 15 L.Ed.2d 404 (1966). In these
situations, resort to the useful authentication provisions of the Uniform
Commercial Code is provided for. While the phrasing is in terms of general
commercial law, in order to avoid the potential complication inherent in
borrowing local statutes, today one would have difficulty in determining the
general commercial law without referring to the Code. See Williams v.
Walker-Thomas-Furniture Co., 121 U.S.App.D.C. 315, 350 F.2d 445
(1965). Pertinent Code provisions are sections 1202, 3307, and 3510,
dealing with third-party documents, signatures on negotiable instruments,
protests, and statements of dishonor.
Paragraph (10). The paragraph continues in effect dispensations with
preliminary proof of genuineness provided in various Acts of Congress. See,
for example, 10 U.S.C. 936, signature, without seal, together with title,
prima facie evidence of authenticity of acts of certain military personnel who
are given notarial power; 15 U.S.C. 77f(a), signature on SEC registration
presumed genuine; 26 U.S.C. 6064, signature to tax return prima facie
genuine.
NOTES OF COMMITTEE ON THE JUDICIARY, HOUSE REPORT NO. 93650
Rule 902(8) as submitted by the Court referred to certificates of
acknowledgment under the hand and seal of a notary public or other
officer authorized by law to take acknowledgments. The Committee
amended the Rule to eliminate the requirement, believed to be inconsistent
with the law in some States, that a notary public must affix a seal to a
document acknowledged before him. As amended the Rule merely requires
that the document be executed in the manner prescribed by State law.
The Committee approved Rule 902(9) as submitted by the Court. With
respect to the meaning of the phrase general commercial law, the
Committee intends that the Uniform Commercial Code, which has been
adopted in virtually every State, will be followed generally, but that federal
commercial law will apply where federal commercial paper is involved. See
Clearfield Trust Co. v. United States, 318 U.S. 363 (1943). Further, in those
instances in which the issues are governed by Erie R. Co. v. Tompkins, 304
U.S. 64 (1938), State law will apply irrespective of whether it is the Uniform
Commercial Code.

PROCESS OUTLINE

I. Substance and Format

The terminology and deed authentication requirements that comprise the
deed acceptance instrument vary from state to state. The format
requirements for recorded documents vary as well.
You must determine beforehand the correct terminology, deed
authentication and format requirements for recording an
Acknowledgement of Acceptance of Deed in your recording jurisdiction.
The following is not exhaustive but provides the most common variations of
terminology, deed authentication and documentation format used in different
states.

A. Terminology
The following titles are most often used for a Deed Acceptance instrument:
Acceptance of Deed
Acknowledgment of Acceptance of Deed
Affidavit of Acceptance of Deed
Correction of Deed
Re-Recording of Deed
Check your state statutes or with your county recorder for the correct title for
an instrument that pertains to a modification of a deed. A title may not be
necessary. But where a title is used, in all cases it should refer to a Deed
with the objective of being recorded in the book of Deeds.

Acknowledgement or Affidavit?
In jurisdictions that offer resistance to recording an acknowledgment of
the acceptance, it may be necessary to call it an affidavit. The filing of an
affidavit cannot be refused:

[Another viable alternative may be to call your acknowledgement a

declaration. A declaration carries very strong Common Law weight as
seen in the Declaration of Independence, and as still used in respect to
homesteads.]
It is recommended not to title the instrument a certificate or any other title
that will cause it to be recorded anywhere but in the book of deeds.

Regardless of whether the Acknowledgement of Deed Acceptance is

instead called an Affidavit, Correction of Deed, Re-recording of Deed or
anything else in your jurisdiction, for purposes of this outline, we will
refer to it only as the Acknowledgement of Deed Acceptance.

B. Deed Authentication
NOTE: The deed always refers to the grant deed (warranty deed /
quitclaim deed) given to you by the seller. It is not the deed of trust
attached to your mortgage.
In almost all cases it will be necessary to attach a copy of the original deed
to the acknowledging instrument. The form in which the deed copy is
authenticated varies:

Attached certified copy of deed

In most cases, and in accord with the Federal Rules of Evidence 902, a
certified copy of the original grant deed attached to the Acknowledgement is
all that is required to authenticate the deed.
Attached new original deed
In some jurisdictions, the certified copy of the grant deed is deemed
insufficient to stand as an authentic full proof document, and must be
converted to become a new original attached to the Acknowledgement.
Instructions for creating a new original are discussed in point VII.

Deed only referenced without attachment

In some few jurisdictions (e.g, New Hampshire), testimony indicates that the
Acknowledgement alone merely referencing the original deed book / page
may be sufficient to record the acceptance. No copy of the deed need be
attached to the acknowledging instrument.

C. Document Format and Presentation

Sample acknowledgements are provided in the resources folder of this
packet. But due diligence is required ahead of submitting documents for
recording. You must know the document formatting, presentation or other
specifics peculiar to your jurisdiction beforehand. Presentation and
formatting standards will vary.
For instance, in some jurisdictions stapling is not allowed. All documents
must be presented clean. In others it is permitted. In others documents
may be taped. Or may not. In some jurisdictions, a cover sheet is required,
etc.
Specific formatting may also be required, such as to allow a clear left margin
for the inscription of the property address, or to leave a certain box-shaped
space free in one corner for recorder use. For known document formatting
specifics in the fifty states, please see the Administrative Recording
Requirements - 50 States .pdf. You may also consult the Laws and
Regulations section of the Archives Resource Center at the Council of State
Archivists website.

IMPORTANT: In some jurisdictions like Washington state, there may be a

conflict between the legal requirement to maintain stapling of the documents
to preserve the authentication, and the procedural requirement to unstaple
the documents in order to record them. In this event, it is necessary to secure
TWO original copies of the authenticated document packages; one to
preserve the legal authentication stapling, and one to enable the recording
through unstapling. Determine this beforehand for your jurisdiction.

D. Tax Payment Verification

Property Tax
In some jurisdictions, to record any deed one must first show that all
property taxes are paid in full. Tax stamps may be necessary on your
Acknowledgement from the assessors office verifying that no property tax
is due. This may also require a certain type of cover sheet. Be sure to
investigate this possibility.

Real Estate Excise Tax

It has been proven that in Washington state, the Acknowledgment of Deed
Acceptance occurs in conjunction with payment of real estate excise taxes.
This is accompanied by a specific affidavit obtained from the Treasurers
Office, and in turn effected with a stamped cover sheet attached to the
Acknowledgement of Deed Acceptance to be recorded.
The real estate excise tax appears to be a disguised form in which the
original lender may directly pay to the jurisdiction the initial consideration
(usually $10.00) referenced in the standard consideration language in the
Grant Deed (e.g., for $10 and other valuable consideration paid). This
preemptive payment thereby becomes a device by which the lender
establishes and ensures its interest in the Title.
By paying that same excise tax directly in his own behalf in conjunction
with the Acknowledgment of the Deed, the natural man may unseat the
lender from its presumptive interest in the Title, thus removing the lender
from the Title, as demonstrated by this series of homeowners insurance
reports received after submittal of the complete deed acceptance package.
For this cause, it is highly recommended to investigate the real estate excise
tax requirements for your jurisdiction prior to attempting to record your
Acknowledgement. The inclusion of verification of such a payment with
your Acknowledge may be a key to the successful recording of your
Acknowledgement with evidence of removal of the lender from interest in
the Title.

II. Writing the Acknowledgment of Acceptance

No single form of an Acknowledgement of Deed Acceptance exists. But the
Acknowledgment will identify the grantor, grantee, property description
and/or book/page reference, and will contain a simple declaration of
Acceptance of the Deed by the grantee with a request (legal demand) of the
recorder to update the deed records to that effect. The core declaration will
say in so many words:
It is my freewill act and deed, to execute this
acknowledgement of my acceptance of the deed and lawfull
ownership of the property under the terms of the deed. I ask
that the record on file in the office of register of deeds be
updated to show my acceptance of the deed, as lawfull owner
of the real estate.
The Acknowledgement may or may not also include a statement holding the
recorder to his/her oath as an officer of the public in service of the people.
Following is a sample acknowledgement of deed acceptance recently filed in
the state of Rhode Island:

The resource folder provides templates and samples of acknowledgements of

deed acceptance including corrections of deed.
Most of the templates highlight in yellow the form fields that need to be
filled in specifically to you. The font formatting should be the same as in the
examples. Use Title Case or UPPER CASE for names where indicated.
The Document Number where required refers to the original recording
number of your Grant Deed, not the Deed of Trust.
For your convenience a MASTER TEMPLATE has been provided which
you can fill in directly. The final document appears at the bottom of the form
fields after you save it. A source code file is also included if you want to
change the main body of wording in the master template.

III. Sign and Seal

Once you have written your acknowledgement of acceptance, you must sign
and seal it in the presence of a notary. In Common Law, a seal provides the
ultimate mark of authenticity of a signatory to any document. In modern
times, a red inked thumbprint is often used as an individuals seal. Proceed
as follows:

A. Sign Your Document

Handwrite your signature (autograph) on the signature line.

B. Seal Your Document

Handwrite the word SEAL in ALL CAPS about your signature. Then
using a red ink pad, place your red ink thumbprint over the end of your
signature and across the handwritten word SEAL, similar to this black &
white example:

(SEAL)

C. Witnesses
If possible have three witnesses sign your Acknowledgement of Deed
Acceptance. This is regardless of whether they are required in your
jurisdiction. For Common Law purposes, it is important to have three
witnesses. Be sure that all signing takes place in the presence of the Notary.

IV. Obtain Notary Acknowledgement

A Notary Acknowledgement is the notarys declaration witnessing to the
live signing of a document (not to be confused with the Acknowledgement
of Acceptance document being signed.) It may sometimes be called a
Certificate of Notary Acknowledgement.

The notary acknowledgement may immediately follow your signature on the

same page as your Acknowledgement of Acceptance, or it may appear on a
separate page immediately after the Acknowledgement of Acceptance.
The Notary Acknowledgement may or may not be titled and often is not:

Check with your state / jurisdiction for the normal protocol.

Sometimes a Notary Acknowledgment may take a more formal, solemn

format in which the notary attests under oath to the signing of the document.
The choice is yours:

 Pointers
When using any of the templates in the resource folder, be sure to
change the gender to proper form in the paragraph of attestation of
Notary as witness
Use the current date when filling in the Day and Month on which you
are executing the document.

Have the Notary sign the signature line with blue ink, adding nothing
to the signature other than normal form of signing. No title!

The Notary enters signature and stamp for the Jurat in normal
location. (The Jurat is the name given to the clause at the foot of the
Acknowledgement showing when, where, and before whom the actual
oath was sworn or affirmation was made. See the previous example).

Be sure that the Notary stamp does not cover any part of your wet ink
signature. Your signature must be entirely unaltered, clear of all other
marks.

V. Obtain Authentication Certificate for the Notary

After obtaining notarization of your Acknowledgement of Deed Acceptance,
you must obtain an Authentication Certificate from the office that keeps the
official record of the Notarys oath on file. The Authentication Certificate
provides official verification that the Notary is current and in compliance
with all the requirements of a Notary in that state at the time of the
notarization.
The purpose of the Authentication is:
1) to protect your Acknowledgement of Deed Acceptance should it ever be
legally scrutinized in an attempt to invalidate it on the technicality of notary
incompliance; and
2) to provide a second state seal on your Acknowledgement from an
authority higher than that of the Recorder of Deeds in your jurisdiction. In
Common Law, the more official seals a document carries the more authority
it has. A minimum of two seals provides the basic double witness required in
biblical law. The additional authority above that of the Recorder also makes
it difficult for the Recorder to refuse to record your Acknowledgement.

A. Single Authentication
The Authentication Certificate for the Notary will usually be obtained from
your County Court or from the Secretary of States office. (In an unusual
situation, as has been reported in Arizona, the Notary may maintain
possession of his/her current state Authentication Certificate and a
photocopy of it may suffice as witness.)

B. Double Authentication
If the Notary Authentication is obtained at the County Clerk level, and you
wish to further authenticate the document with an additional seal, you may
go to the next higher authority such as the Secretary of State to obtain the

Authentication Certificate for the County Clerk who authenticated the

Notary.
Below are two examples of a single authentication. Here, the Notarys
authentication certificate is obtained directly from the Secretary of State:

The next 3 pages provide an example of a double authentication, wherein an

authentication is received from the Secretary of State for the County Clerk
who authenticates the Notary who notarizes the Acknowledgement:

VI. Obtain Certified Copy of Grant Deed

In almost all cases, it will be necessary to attach a certified copy of your

original Grant Deed as an exhibit to your Acknowledgement of Deed
Acceptance. This deed may also be called a Warrantee Deed or Quitclaim
Deed. It is NOT the Deed of Trust associated with your mortgage. The
certified copy will in most cases be held equal in authority to the original.
Obtain the certified copy from your local Recorder or Court as designated
for your jurisdiction. You may do this at any time in the process prior to
your creating the complete package for recording (See IX. below).
You will also want to obtain extra certified copies for personal records.
The next page shows a certified copy of a Warrantee Deed. The deed was
originally recorded in 2003 evidenced at the top. It was also stamped to
verify that all land conveyance taxes were paid.
The certified copy was obtained in 2011 evidenced by the certification at the
bottom left by the Court Clerk. Note also the SEAL of the court over the
certification.

VII. Obtain (as required) a New Original Deed by Conversion

Some jurisdictions are unwilling to record a certified copy of a Grant Deed
as an original. They will only record an authentic original. Where a new
original deed is required, it can be created by converting a certified copy into
an authentic original. There are two ways to do this:

Obtain Authentication Certificate of Certifying Clerk

This process is identical to the process for obtaining a single authentication
certificate for the Notary (see V. above). Here however, the authentication
certificate is obtained for the Clerk of Court or Recording Clerk who made
the certified copy of the Grant Deed. It will be obtained either from the
Court or from the Secretary of State.
If the oath holding authority for the Recorder or Court Clerk is lower than
the Secretary of State, you may wish to obtain a double authentication (see
V B. above).
NOTE: VERY IMPORTANT
To save time in obtaining authentication certificates, determine ahead of
time whether you will need authentications for a Clerk as well as for the
Notary in step V. Then obtain these at the same time from the same
authority. This applies to Double Authentications as well.
Once obtained, the Authentication Certificate(s) is attached or placed
immediately behind the certified copy of the Grant Deed. The seal of the
Court or the Secretary of State on the Authentication Certificate attached to
the certified deed copy establishes the certified copy as a new selfauthenticating original under the Federal Rules of Evidence 902.
Additionally, adding the authentication of the clerk who certified the deed
copy gives authority to the document that supersedes that of the local
recording authority. This makes it additionally difficult for the recording
authority to reject and places a refusing clerk into a position of committing
treason against the people.

VIII. Inserting the Exhibit Page

Insert a blank cover page between the (last) Notary Authentication
Certificate and the Certified Copy / New Original of the Deed
Label the page EXHIBIT A in large font near the bottom center of the
page. This keeps the following certified copy of the deed clean without any
alteration while simultaneously identifying it as the Exhibit A.
The following page may be printed off as an Exhibit page:

EXHIBIT A

IX. Recording
You are now ready to record the entire Deed Acceptance package!
The documents in your package should be arranged in the following order:
Cover Sheet (as required or possible verifying all property and
real estate excise tax payments)
Acknowledgement of Deed Acceptance
Notary Acknowledgement (if separate page)
Notary Authentication (single or double)
Exhibit A cover page
Certified copy / Converted Original of Grant Deed
(Clerk Authentication(s) for Converted Original)
At the recorders office, proceed as follows:
Bring in two copies of your deed acceptance package. Have one
recorded. Have one stamped as filed and remaining stapled,
providing you an official copy of what you submitted to record,
especially should there be a time delay between your submittal
and your receiving back of the original.
Once recorded, obtain one or more certified copies of the
recorded package and keep for your records.

Congratulations! You have now accepted your Grant Deed.

X. Verifying Title Status

After completing your Acknowledgement of Deed Acceptance, you will
want to begin watching for possible evidences that any lender has lost its
interest in your title. This may be discovered in one of two ways:

A. Unexpected Notices
Prepare to receive unexpected notices, including congratulatory
announcements to the effect that you are now the total and sole owner of
your property or that your lender(s) are no longer found as parties of interest
in your title.
Such notices may appear any time between a few days and several weeks
after your Acknowledgment is recorded.

B. Conduct a New Title Search

Conducting a Title search several weeks after the recording of your
Acknowledgement will verify whether all prior interests as liens and
mortgages have been removed from your Title back to the time of the
original Grant Deed.
It may be possible to secure a free or drastically reduced Title search cost by
filing an alternate standard property interest document such as a Homestead
Declaration into the record. By this means, the recorders may perform their
own immediate free Title search of your property prior to filing the
Declaration.

PROTOCOLS
In the process of recording your Acknowledgement of Deed Acceptance
there are prudent pointers to observe. These measures will help avoid
unnecessary delay, questioning and stress over your documents that can lead
to rejection of your lawfull request.
1. Know your jurisdictions formatting requirements and have all of your
documents in order and conformity before you go to the recording office. Do
not try to assemble your documents at the recording office desk, leading to a
delay for those behind you in line.
2. Remember that as one of we the people, you are to be in command of
the recording process. Demonstrate confidence and certitude in your words
and manners. Even though recording clerks must follow certain procedures
by statute and regulation, they are ultimately the servants of the people. If
you demonstrate poise and command of presence, they will be more likely to
comply with your wishes as a sovereign. If you demonstrate ignorance and
helplessness, they will be more likely to treat you as a slave, dictate their
terms and ultimately reject your document.
3. Bring at least one witness of legal age with you. Two or three would be
better. Witnesses can help bolster confidence if you are timid. They can also
provide affidavits should that become necessary.
4. Approach clerks with respect in peace. Find ways to disarm them in
advance with pleasant chit-chat. Be patient and courteous throughout the
recording process. Confidence combined with an attitude of patient respect
and affability is a powerful combination in winning compliance.
5. Make NO attempt to explain your process to ANYONE at the recording
office, whether to a clerk or to a bystander.
6. If asked by a clerk why you want to record your Acknowledgement,
you can simply say you are doing this for a Modification. You do not have
to explain what kind of Modification. If they question your process,
documents, reason, say only that the people helping you with your
Modification say that you really need to do it. Defend no further beyond
this. According to Hale v. Henkel, it is ultimately not a clerks business to
ask why one wants to record an instrument.

ENFORCEMENT STRATEGIES & MEASURES

Though based in principles of Common Law, recording an

Acknowledgement of Deed Acceptance is rare in the current administrative
court and recording system. Anything attempted outside the normal confines
of administrative procedure is prone to be viewed with suspicion by clerks
trained only in administrative procedural thinking.
Not infrequently, despite being approached in the spirit of the protocols
above, clerks will simply refuse to record your documenteither out of fear
or out of a need to demonstrate control and authority. In this event, it
becomes necessary to implement certain enforcement strategies and
measures. This section discusses these approaches.
When implementing the following strategies and measures, it is important at
all times to remember who you are above the line. No matter how
obstinately or even belligerently a clerk behaves, at all times stand on the
constitutionally-backed ground of who you are above administrative statute,
regulation and procedural technicality, none of which may ever be lawfully
used to abridge the fifth amendment right of the people to completely
own their own property or the Article 1, section 10 proscription against
impairment of contract (affirmed in Hale v. Henkel). These clauses are
at the heart of the constitutionally-backed natural right to acknowledge
Acceptance of a Deed.
It is also extremely helpful to know that administrative law is ultimately
subject to Common Law, that the administrative court and recording system
finds its roots in Common Law, and merely acts as a veil over it. As such,
hidden Common Law remedy may be sought behind the administrative veil.
The following strategies are presented in order from least to most
confrontational. Select your strategy wisely and prudently in the sight of
God.

1. Formatting Technicality
If your Acknowledgement is refused, it is first imperative to establish that
the refusal is not due to a formatting technicality, including the title of the
document or the absence of any tax stamp from the assessors office. Ask
the clerk if there is a formatting or procedural technicality that is out of
compliance. If the clerk confirms that this is so, ask what the technicality is
and go back and rectify the technical issue. If the clerk says s/he cannot
answer on the grounds that s/he cannot offer legal advice, ask the clerk to
direct you to the written source that will allow you to remedy the technical
issue, then remedy it.
[Important: you should already know in advance whether your document
must be titled as an affidavit to circumvent any other naming deficiency.]
If the clerk refuses to offer any further answer regarding the technicality
under the color of not offering legal advice, challenge the clerks assertion
that a formatting or administrative procedural technicality is a legal issue
and continue to request the technical remedy.
If the clerk still holds to the position that s/he cannot offer legal advice, or
if this is the clerks initial position because the clerk has confirmed it is not a
technicality or procedural issue, rebut with the assertion that neither then
may a clerk pass legal evaluation on your document and must record it
at your lawfull request.
At this point, you should also remind the clerk that s/he has taken an
oath to support the right of the people to complete property ownership,
to unimpaired contract, to due process of law, and to honor the full faith
and credit of public documents that conform to the standards for public
records outlined by Congress and the Federal Rules of Evidence.
Pointedly tell the clerk I accept your oath.

2. Appeal to the Clerks Superior

If the above strategy fails to persuade the initial clerk to record your
Acknowledgement, immediately appeal to the clerks superior if there is
one. Appeal as necessary to the highest office in the Recorders / Registrars
/ Clerk of Courts office. Repeat the same procedure above.

In the process of unsuccessful encounters, obtain the business card of every

clerk and supervisor for future reference.
At all points of rights violations to this time and hencforth, maintain a
factual record of all events for the creating of affidavits ahead of a potential
law suit.

3. File by Certified Mail

It has been demonstrated that where recording in person has failed, obtaining
a recording through a written submittal may succeed. If the first two
strategies fail to obtain your recording, submit your package for recording
by Certified Mail to the highest official in the Recorders / Registrars /
Clerk of Courts office. Include a polite but firm cover letter that outlines as
follows:
A. Your lawfull request for the recording of the enclosed
documentation
B. Reminder to the Recorder of his/her Oath to support the right of the
people to complete property ownership, to unimpaired contract, to due
process of law, and to honor the full faith and credit of public
documents that conform to the standards for public records defined by
Congress and the Federal Rules of Evidence.
C. Your lawful expectation to be informed within 30 days of any
formatting or procedural technicality that precludes the possibility of
recording and which must be remedied, and that, in lieu of such
response within the stipulated time, the document package will be
presumed lawful and statutorily compliant.
If no response is received within thirty days and the document package has
not been recorded, you can make a call or return to the recording office to
inquiry as to the status of your written request. If there is still no satisfactory
response, proceed to the next strategy, or you may skip to Step 7.

4. File with Pinal County, Arizona or Other Cash-Strapped

Jurisdiction
The County of Pinal in Arizona is reputed to accept any land document for
recording from any jurisdiction in America. Similarly, in the current severe
economic downturn, some recording offices in especially cash-strapped
municipalities and states may lower their normal recording standards to the
point of willingness to record land documents from outside their
jurisdictions.
Once you secure a recording of your Acknowledgement package in Pinal
County or any other jurisdiction that will record it, then bring a certified
copy of the recorded package back to the refusing recording office in the
jurisdiction of your property and submit it again for recording. The fact that
it has already been recorded in another jurisdiction puts your
Acknowledgement directly and indisputably under the purview of the Article
IV Full Faith and Credit Clause of the U.S. Constitution.

5. Exhaust Administrative Remedies

Failing to secure resolution at the immediate recording office, discover the
administrative chain of command and make appeal up that chain. Always
ask for supervisors and press to discover the top dog in the organization.
Also familiarize yourself with any other administrative remedy agencies that
may be available to your through state statute. This may include human
resources departments, ethics commissions, etc. Appeal to these departments
for resolution.

6. Appeal to the Equivalent of the Court of Inquiry

Alluded to earlier, the administrative court system is rooted in the Common
Law court system and still retains the shadow of that system within its
structure, although disguised as if by a veil. This means that various
administrative courts have dual titlesan administrative title, and a hidden
Common Law title.

In Common Law, when the normal court of due process failed to provide
justice, relief for many unsettled civil and criminal claims was sought and
provided through the Court of Inquiry. Today, various courts in the
administrative court structure secretly function equally as a modern Court of
Inquiry.
It has been discovered that in many jurisdictions, the administrative Court of
Probate also functions as the Common Law Court of Inquiry. In early 2012,
one of the People in the Atlanta area successfully appealed the rejection of
his Acknowledgement to the Probate Court. The Probate Court enforced the
lawfull request for the recording of the Acknowledgment at the Registry of
Deeds.
If the previous strategies have still failed, seek to determine what
administrative court in your jurisdiction also functions as a Court of
Inquiry. (Begin with the Court of Probate.) Then make your appeal through
the Clerk of that court.

7. Send a Lawful Notification Letter to the Recorder /

Registrar / Clerk of Court
In follow up to Step 3, and especially if Steps 4, 5 and 6 have not availed,
proceed to submit a Lawful Notification Letter to the head recording officer
in your jurisdiction. This letter is in advance of a Title 42 action. (See a
sample here.)
The Lawful Notification Letter will
A. identify the Constitutional rights violations already incurred
through the officers refusal to record the Acknowledgement. These
include the violation of the right to completely own property, the right
to unimpaired contract, the right to due process of law, and the right to
the honoring of the full faith and credit of public documents in
compliance with the Acts of Congress and the Federal Rules of
Evidence.
B. identify the steps already taken to gain satisfaction of recording and
to conform to administrative format and procedure, including a listing
of all correspondences and phone conversations.

C. notice the officer of his/her personal liability under Constitutional

oath and surety bond subject to Title 42.
D. Allow 15 - 30 days to record or to respond with notice to remedy
any formatting or procedural defect.
In consort with the Lawful Notification Letter, using the identity information
on the business cards you have collected, obtain copies of the oaths of office
for the recording clerk(s) / supervisor(s) involved. These will be found in the
location prescribed by state statute and will often be the same offices from
which you obtained the notary authentications. Also endeavor to find the
surety bond information on each individual. Where underlings are not
covered by individual surety bonds, you want to be sure to address the first
official in rank that is so covered.
Also obtain the job description(s) of the clerk(s) involved, usually available
by public posting, reference or website. You may proceed to serve the head
clerk with the Lawful Notification Letter, issuing copies to all staff involved,
and include copies of all the oaths and job descriptions. The effect of this is
to present a mirror to all the officials of their collective responsibility and
liability for violating your due process and full faith and credit rights by their
failure to record your documents.
If a certified copy of your Acknowledgement previously recorded elsewhere
has not been left in the possession of the recording office to this time, then
include it with the Letter so to be recorded, adjusting your Letter
accordingly. Otherwise all reference remains to the Acknowledgement
originally submitted in Step 3 and which remains in possession of the
recording office. You may also elect to submit a copy of your Affidavit of
Status with our filing.
At this time, you may also elect to open a miscellaneous file with the Clerk
of Court and enter an affidavit into the record ahead of a Title 42 action. Or
you may choose to wait and do this concurrently with Step 9.

8. Final In-Person Submission

After 30 days, if the Lawful Notification Letter package remains ignored,
return to the recording office with two or three additional witnesses. The

more the better. Offer the recording officer a final opportunity to comply
with your lawfull request to record your Acknowledgement, pending police
action and a Title 42 lawsuit.
If the recording agent continues to refuse to record the Acknowledgement,
call for the police to come to the office and serve a complaint on the
recording agent.
If the police fail to serve the complaint, collect their identities, name of
supervisor(s), badge numbers, remind them of their oath of office and notice
them of their subjection to a Title 42 action.
Have the witnesses write up affidavits of the entire proceedings. As well,
one or more may video the proceedings.

9. Serving a Title 42 Action

If the final in-person submission fails to gain compliance and the recording
of your Acknowledgement, and the police have failed to serve a complaint,
proceed to draw up the papers necessary to serve a Title 42 action. This
action will cover both the recording officer and the police. (Follow the
TITLE 42 BLOG at www.HisAdvocates.Org for details on how to file a Title
42 action. [Where evidence of collusion between the lender(s) and the
recording office exists, you may alternatively consider an action under the
Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO).]
Return to the recording office 14-21 days following the in-person
submission attempt with a process server and video the serving of the Title
42 action on the recording officer. Proceed as necessary to repeat this action
by conducting service on the police.
As the Title 42 action proceeds, insist on the recording of your
Acknowledgement as a stipulation in any offer of settlement.