How to Record a Deed and Avoid Rejections

Failure to provide completed documents and forms will cause your documents to be rejected.

You may obtain a deed form from your attorney, through the internet or from a stationery store that sells legal forms. A deed is a legal form and is not supplied by our office. This form must be complete with the names and addresses (P.O. Boxes are unacceptable) of all parties to the document. The grantor must sign the deed form and that signature must be properly acknowledged by a notary public. All signatures must be original; we cannot accept photocopies. A complete description of the property including the village, town, county and state where the property is located must also be included on the form.

It is the policy of the Clerk's Office to examine documents for recording and determine its legal sufficiency. Even if a correctable defect or deficiency is discovered, the staff cannot change, alter, add to or eliminate any content of documents presented. Nor can our office assist in filling out any legal forms.

Your deed must be accompanied with the following completed forms.

These fill-in PDF forms are available on our website by clicking the links below.

Additional forms and Form Completion Instructions are accessible at http://www.suffolkcountyny.gov/Elected-Officials/Clerk/Recording/Forms.

Suffolk County Recording and Endorsement page (cover sheet) print on legal size 8 ½ x 14 inch paper.

RP-5217 NYS Real Property Transfer Report is required on all deeds dated November 1, 1980 and later. Must complete the fill-in PDF form online, must be printed on legal size paper (8 ½ x 14) and signed. If the form will not open, save the form to the computer by right clicking the form and save the file to desktop. Once the file is on your desktop, right click the file and Open with Adobe Reader.

The fee for this form is as follows:

TP-584 Combined Real Estate Transfer Tax Return, Credit Line Mortgage Certificate, and Certification of Exemption from the Payment of Estimated Personal Income Tax.

If referenced, a TP-584.1 New York State Real Estate Transfer Tax Return Supplemental Schedules must also be attached. Both the TP-584 and TP-584.1 form require Social Security/Federal ID numbers for ALL parties to the deed.

If required, IT-2663 Nonresident Real Property Estimated Income Tax Payment Form must be completed and attached. If any tax is due, it is payable to NYS INCOME TAX. This form is year specific. The form year at the top must be the same as the year the transaction took place. If signed by an attorney-in-fact you must attach a NYS Dept. of Taxation & Finance Power of Attorney (POA-1) to this form.

The Peconic Bay Region Community Preservation Form is required for the 5 East End Towns only. These towns are Riverhead, Southampton, East Hampton, Shelter Island and Southold. This form requires Social Security/Federal ID numbers for ALL parties to the deed. This must also be signed by both parties.

The forms above must be signed and must be original signatures. If signed by an attorney-in-fact, you must attach a copy of the power of attorney to this form. Tax matters must be a granted power.

Transfer tax is due on all conveyances with consideration (selling price) greater than $500.00. The amount of tax is computed at $2.00 per $500.00, or any fraction thereof. (Example: $750.00 consideration = $4.00 tax).

If the consideration is one million dollars or greater, an additional "Mansion Tax" of 1% of the consideration is due on residential property and is collected at the time of recording.

Fees Associated with Recording your Deed

Check List for Recording Documents And Avoiding REJECTIONS

In general, all documents require the following basic information:

 Please submit the original documents, dated and signed. No photocopies

 Page sizes are 8 ½ x 11 or 8 ½ x 14

 Minimum size for type is 8 points

 Documents must be legible for our Optical Imaging System. Use black ink on white paper, no contrast or colors. Any portion of a document that is not legible will be cause for rejection. Absolutely no taping or white out tape over any written text

 Do not enlarge or reduce the form size

 Complete boxes 6 & 8 on Suffolk County Recording and Endorsement Page

 Must contain name and street address (no P.O. Boxes) of ALL parties to the instrument

 Legal property description including State, County, Township & Village that the property is located in

 All signatures must be properly acknowledged by a qualified notary according to NYS requirements under Real Property Law section 309, 309-a, 309-b

 Signatures and acknowledgement must match (i.e. if using an initial or a.k.a. it must be used throughout the entire document and any accompanying paperwork)

 Any and all attachments, schedules, riders, or exhibits must be referenced as attached and marked as such

 If you are recording documents in consecutive order simultaneously, number them record 1st, 2nd, etc., and make sure all documents are included

 Recording fees may be paid by check, cash, or money order. Name, address & telephone number is requested on checks. Mortgage Tax and NYS Transfer Tax must be paid by certified check, cash, money order, Title company checks with prior approval from an underwriter, Suffolk County Attorney check up to $1,000.00, or NYS attorney's escrow or IOLA account up to $5,000.00.

 All checks are made payable to the SUFFOLK COUNTY CLERK.