3 

1 OFFICE OF THE AlTORNEY GENERAL OF TEXAS 

0 

AUSTIN 

.:. : 

‘.. 

H~&able'St&sell Rean ' :, 

. 

District Attorney 

Yiaoo,Texas 

Dear Sir: 

/ 

Attentlonr Mr. ROY 

erk of ~03.mnar1 

case tha NotsrJ Public has failed 

his &me under his signature." 
Honorable Stana@ll Bryan, page 2 

Seation 1 of House Bill No. S99, Aots of the 

47th Legislature, read8 In part as tollowsa 

*Notaries Publlo shall have the same authorfty 

to take aoknowledgents or proofs of written fnstru-: 

.ments,- protests Instruments .pem.lnitted by lrrw,:t.o be ., 

protested, administer oaths, a%? t ake depositions, 

as is non or may hereafter be cohferred by law qon 

County Clerks-, and .provlded further that all Notariee~ 

Bublio shall print or stamp their nams under their 

signatures on all such written izstrucehta, protests 

instruments, oaths, or depositions; provided that 

failure to so print or stazp t!mir naxes under 

their s.ignature+ shall not invalidate such eoknowledgnreqt.” : 

By ~v.lrtti~~.‘b~. ?eqti6n’.aO,,;;8rtla~e i of :&e ‘State 

.c0nst~tw&& .titiol:es 2941 a&659&, %&io$S ‘Ann~t.&ed ..; 

Civil Statutes, county olerke are aade the recorders ot 

their respective oouatias. krtlcle 6592, Vernon’s Annotated 

,Cltil Statutes, provides that the seal oi the county court 

ohall be: the s&al or the ‘recorder, and shall be used. to 

.qul;hehti~.atie~, all .his;.o.~~rfioial:,actr,’ 

.~. &&~dnzire of the rhirder a$ii%iniste&i;~ 

(First Uati‘onal Ba& v. blcElroy,’ 112 S. b’. 801). The 

statutes ( Artiolee 1941 and 6591, Vernon’s Annotated 

Civil Statutes) provide thet each recorder shall record 

all instnments of wrltlng authorized or required to be 

reoorded in his of’flce without delpy, a&d in the order 

in which they have been ds,oslted. It is the duty of the 

clerk to see t&i% instruments presented fm reoord are 

properly aoknowledged or proved for reoord, and to reoord 

all instrmehts so aoknovled@d or. proved ,whl,oh. are entitled 

to be recorded in his offioa and. are presented to hia for 

that purp~ose. Be may be ~ooqelled by nmdemm to reoord 

suoh ah instrmeat . (Hollie Y. Tlkland Corp., 40 3. W. (2d) 63; 

Texas Jurisprudenoe, Vat, 36, page 418). 

Upon preseat:tlon of an lnstrumeat for reoord, the 

olerk must see that it is properly aoknou:ladged; and where 

the lnatrment hss bean recorded it wlll be gesuxed, prima 

faoie, that he did hl.s duty in this res?eot nhd that the 

writing was so aoknovrledged as properly to authorize its 

registration. Texas Jurisprudence, Vol. 36, page 440. 
-9. 

Bonomble Stanaell Bryan, page 3 

It will be noted that Bouae Bill !io. 369, eupra, 

speolrloally provldea that failure to print or at-p the 

name or the notary publfo under his algaature shall not ~~mid~te smh aoknowledgmnt. As above etated, the 

duties of the reoorder are ninlaterial , a.?d it i 6 his 

further duty to see that 1nstruzzent.s presented for reoord, 

ese properly eoknowlea~ed~ or proved for record, and to 

reoord all lnstruuenta so aolzowledged w3ic:i are entitled 

to be recorded 13 his orflce and are presented to bin ror 

that purpose. 

Therefore, in view of the foregoing authorities, 

we respeotfullp snewsr the above stated quastion In the 

arrirziative.