reglab/statecodes huggingface dataset:
2023 Oklahoma Statutes › Title 16. Conveyances › §16-34. Execution by mark.

When real estate is conveyed or encumbered by an instrument in writing by a person who cannot write his or her name, the person shall execute the same by a mark, and the person’s name shall be written near the mark by one of two persons who saw the mark made, who shall write their names on the instrument as witnesses. In case the instrument is acknowledged, then the officer taking the acknowledgment shall, in addition to the other necessary recitals in the acknowledgment, state that the grantor executed the instrument, by inserting in the form of acknowledgment provided in Section 33 of this title by individuals after the words "foregoing instrument" the words "by the person’s mark, in my presence and in the presence of ____ and ____ as witnesses".
R.L.1910, § 1180. Amended by Laws 1999, c. 104, § 2, emerg. eff. April 19, 1999.
2023 Oklahoma Statutes › Title 16. Conveyances › §16-35. Acknowledgment to be under seal - Before whom taken.

Every acknowledgment must be under seal of the officer taking the same; and when taken in this state, it may be taken before any notary public, county clerk, clerk of the district court, clerk of the county court, or county judge; and when taken elsewhere in the United States, or United States possessions, or Canada (including Newfoundland), it may be taken before any notary public, clerk of a court of record, or commissioner of deeds duly appointed by the Governor of the state for the county, state or territory where the same is taken; and when taken in any other foreign country, it may be taken before any court of record or clerk of such court, or before any Consul of the United States, provided, that acknowledgments relating to military business of the state may be taken before an officer in charge of any summary Court-Martial appointed under the provisions of Section 157, Title 44, Oklahoma Statutes, 1941, a certified copy of whose appointment is placed of record in the office of the Secretary of State by the Adjutant General.
R.L.1910, § 1181. Amended by Laws 1913, c. 226, p. 604, § 1, emerg. eff. July 1, 1913; Laws 1935, p. 200, § 1, emerg. eff. March 23, 1935; Laws 1945, p. 41, § 1, emerg. eff. April 16, 1945.
2023 Oklahoma Statutes › Title 16. Conveyances › §16-36. Legalizing acknowledgments heretofore taken.

In all cases where heretofore any county judge, register of deeds, United States commissioner, or United States court commissioner has taken acknowledgment of deeds or other conveyances of real estate in their respective counties, that the same be and are hereby legalized and made valid and binding; and such action shall have the same force and effect as if taken before some officer heretofore empowered by the statute to take acknowledgments.
R.L.1910, § 1182.
2023 Oklahoma Statutes › Title 16. Conveyances › §16-37. Foreign acknowledgments legalized.

All deeds, mortgages, oil and gas leases, powers of attorney and other instruments of writing for the conveyance or encumbrance of any lands, tenements, or hereditaments situated within this state, heretofore executed and acknowledged or proved in any state, territory, District of Columbia or country in conformity with the law of such state, territory, District of Columbia or country, shall be as valid as if executed within this state in conformity with the provisions of the laws of this state. Provided this act shall not validate any acknowledgemts fraudulently obtained.
Added by Laws 1929, c. 12, p. 11, § 1.
2023 Oklahoma Statutes › Title 16. Conveyances › §16-37a. Foreign acknowledgments validated.

All deeds, mortgages, releases, oil and gas leases, powers of attorney and other instruments of writing for the conveyance or encumbrance of any lands, tenements, or hereditaments situated within this state, heretofore executed and acknowledged or proved in any state, territory, District of Columbia or foreign country in conformity with the law of such state, territory, District of Columbia or foreign country, shall be as valid as to execution and acknowledgment thereof, only, as if executed and acknowledged within this state in conformity with the provisions of the laws of this state. Provided this act shall not validate any execution or acknowledgment fraudulently obtained.
Laws 1941, p. 56, § 1.
2023 Oklahoma Statutes › Title 16. Conveyances › §16-37b. Foreign execution and acknowledgments validated - Exceptions.

All deeds, mortgages, releases, oil and gas leases, powers of attorney and other instruments of writing for the conveyance or encumbrance of any lands, tenements or hereditaments situated within this state, now of record or hereafter recorded which are executed and acknowledged or proved in any state, territory, District of Columbia or foreign country, in conformity with the law of such state, territory, District of Columbia or foreign country, or in conformity with the Federal Statutes, shall be as valid as to execution and acknowledgment thereof, only, as if executed and acknowledged within this state in conformity with the provisions of the laws of this state. Provided this act shall not validate any deed, mortgage, releases, oil and gas leases, powers of attorney, and other instruments of writing for the conveyance of any lands, tenements, or hereditaments, the validity of which is in litigation upon the effective date of this act. Provided this act shall not validate any execution or acknowledgment fraudulently obtained.
Laws 1949, p. 112, § 1; Laws 1963, c. 74, § 1, emerg. eff. May 21, 1963.
2023 Oklahoma Statutes › Title 16. Conveyances › §16-38. Acknowledgments before deputy clerk of district court validated.

In all cases where heretofore any deputy clerk of the district court has taken acknowledgments of deeds, or other conveyances of real estate, in their respective counties, the same are hereby legalized and made binding, and such action shall have the same force and effect as if taken before some officer heretofore empowered by the statute to take acknowledgments.
Laws 1915, c. 270, § 1.
2023 Oklahoma Statutes › Title 16. Conveyances › §16-39. Justice of the Peace - Acknowledgments validated.

In all cases where, prior to May 16th, 1913, any Justice of the Peace has taken acknowledgments of deeds or other conveyances of real estate affecting and relating to real estate located in a county or counties other than the county in which such Justice of the Peace resided, such acknowledgments are hereby legalized and made binding, and such acknowledgments shall have the same force and effect as if taken before some Justice of the Peace, a resident of the county in which the land sought to be deeded or conveyed was situated.
Laws 1923, c. 153, p. 253, § 1.
2023 Oklahoma Statutes › Title 16. Conveyances › §16-39a. Record of deeds, mortgages, etc., where acknowledgment defective - Validation.

All deeds, mortgages, conveyances, or other instruments affecting the title to real property in the state, the acknowledgment of which was taken and certificate of acknowledgment executed by a Justice of the Peace of the county wherein such real property is situated, and/or where any notarial acknowledgment was taken before a notary public of any county in this state or of any other state where the certificate of acknowledgment is defective in form, and where any such instrument has actually been filed and recorded or copied into the permanent volumes of public title records in the office of the county clerk of the county in which said property is situated for a period of five or more years and has not been canceled of record, the recording of any such instrument is and shall be and become a valid public record in all respects and for all purposes as fully as if the same had been originally acknowledged before and certificate executed by an authorized officer and in the manner and form required by law at the time of the execution thereof.
Laws 1937, p. 313, § 1.
2023 Oklahoma Statutes › Title 16. Conveyances › §16-40. Form of warranty deed.

A warranty deed to real estate may be substantially in the following form, towit:
Know all men by these Presents:
That____part__ of the first part, in consideration of the sum of ____ dollars, in hand paid, the receipt of which is hereby acknowledged, do hereby grant, bargain, sell and convey unto ____ the following described real property and premises, situate in ____ County, State of Oklahoma, to-wit: ____ together with all the improvements thereon and the appurtenances thereunto belonging, and warrant the title to the same.
To have and to hold said described premises unto the said part__ of the second part, ____ heirs and assigns forever, free, clear and discharged of and from all former grants, charges, taxes, judgments, mortgages and other liens and encumbrances of whatsoever nature;
Signed and delivered this ____ day of ____ 191_.
________________________.
R.L.1910, § 1184.
2023 Oklahoma Statutes › Title 16. Conveyances › §16-41. Form of quitclaim deed.

A quitclaim deed to real estate may be substantially the same as a warranty deed, with the word "quitclaim" inserted in connection with the words "do hereby grant, bargain, sell and convey," as follows: "Do hereby quitclaim, grant, bargain, sell and convey," and by omitting the words, "and warrant the title to the same."
R.L.1910, § 1185. 8
2023 Oklahoma Statutes › Title 16. Conveyances › §16-42. Form of sheriff's deed.

That from and after the passage of this act, a sheriff's deed issued upon the sale of real estate sold by virtue of an execution, judgment or decree of foreclosure of mortgage, or partition of real estate, may be in the following form, towit:
Whereas____ did, at the ____ term of the ____ court of ____ County, State of Oklahoma, on the ____day of ____, A.D. 19__ in an action in said court, wherein____ was plaintiff and ____ was defendant, same being cause NO ____, recover a judgment (or decree) against ____ for the sum of ____, and costs of suit, upon which an execution or order of sale was issued, dated the ____ day of ____ A.D. 19__ directed to ____, to execute, by virtue of which the said ____ levied upon the premises hereinafter described, and the time and place of sale thereof having been duly advertised according to law, the same were struck off and sold to ____ he being the highest and best bidder therefor, and the later said sale was duly confirmed by the District Court and deed ordered to issue.
Now, Therefore, Know All Men By These Presents, that I, ____ Sheriff, of the County of ____, State of Oklahoma, in consideration of the premises, do hereby convey to the said ____, his heirs and assigns, the following described lot or parcel of land (here describe the premises).
To Have and To Hold The Same with all the appurtenances thereto belonging to the said ____ his heirs and assigns, forever.
Witness my hand and seal, this ____ day of ____ 19__.
__________________________
Sheriff.
State of Oklahoma
____ County ss.
Be it remembered that on this ____ day of ____ in the year one thousand nine hundred and ____, before me, ____, a notary public, personally appeared ____, Sheriff of ____ County, Oklahoma, well known to me to be the same person who is described in and who executed the within and foregoing instrument, and acknowledged to me that he executed the same as sheriff of____ County, Oklahoma, and as his free and voluntary act and deed, for the uses and purposes therein set forth.
In witness whereof, I have hereunto set my hand and official seal, at said county, the day and year last above written.
______________________
Notary Public, State of
Oklahoma, ________.
Oklahoma.
My Commission expires _____.
Said deed may be issued in this form and no further recitals therein are necessary.
Laws 1941, p. 56, § 1.
2023 Oklahoma Statutes › Title 16. Conveyances › §16-43. Recording of instruments and judgments affecting real estate situated in more than one county.

When any instrument or judgment, affecting the title to or possession of real property, situated in more than one county in this state, has been filed for record in either of such counties, a copy thereof, certified to by the county clerk of the county in which it has been filed for record, may be recorded in any other county in this state wherein any portion of the real property affected by such instrument or judgment is situated, and such records will have the same effect as if the original instrument or judgment had been so recorded.
Laws 1971, c. 80, § 1.
2023 Oklahoma Statutes › Title 16. Conveyances › §16-54. Discriminatory restrictive covenants — Filling declaration for removal.

A person who owns real property or an interest in real property for which the title includes a recorded conveyance instrument containing an illegal discriminatory restrictive covenant pursuant to the Fair Housing Act, 42 U.S.C., Section 3601 et seq., or another person with the written and notarized permission of the owner, may declare that the discriminatory restrictive covenant is illegal and unenforceable and should be removed. The declaration shall be filed with the clerk of the county where the property is located.
An illegal discriminatory restrictive covenant is not enforceable in this state, and all discriminatory restrictive covenants contained in any real estate conveyance or instrument recorded in this state are unlawful, are unenforceable, and are declared null and void. Any discriminatory restrictive covenant contained in a previously recorded real estate conveyance or instrument is extinguished and severed from the recorded real estate conveyance or instrument and the remainder of the title transaction remains enforceable and effective.
Added by Laws 2023, c. 267, § 1, eff. Nov. 1, 2023.
2023 Oklahoma Statutes › Title 16. Conveyances › §16-55. Recording declaration to remove discriminatory restrictive covenants — Form.

All discriminatory restrictive covenants prohibited by Section 1 of this act may be declared illegal and unenforceable and considered removed from the instrument by the owner of real property subject to such restrictive covenants by recording a declaration to remove the discriminatory restrictive covenants. The real property owner may record such declaration:
1. Prior to recordation of a deed conveying real property to a purchaser; or
2. When such real property owner discovers that such discriminatory restrictive covenants exist.
Such declaration may be prepared without assistance of an attorney, but such declaration to remove the discriminatory restrictive covenants shall conform substantially to the following form:
DECLARATION TO REMOVE DISCRIMINATORY RESTRICTIVE COVENANTS
County where property is located: ____________________
Date of Instrument containing discriminatory restrictive covenants(s): ______________
Instrument Type: ____________________
Instrument recorded in Book ______ Page _______
Name(s) of Grantor(s): ____________________
Name(s) of Current Owner(s): ____________________
Real Property Description: ____________________
The discriminatory restrictive covenants contained in the above-mentioned instrument are declared to be illegal and unlawful and shall be considered removed from the instrument to the extent that it contains terms purporting to restrict the ownership or use of the property as prohibited by Section 1 of this act.
The undersigned is/are the legal owner(s) of the property described herein.
Signed and delivered this ___ day of__________, ____.
_____________________________
________________________
_____________________________
________________________
State of Oklahoma, )
) ss.
__________ County. )
Before me, ____ in and for this state, on this ____ day of ____, ________ personally appeared ________ to me known to be the identical person(s) who executed the within and foregoing instrument, and acknowledged to me that ____ executed the same as ____ free and voluntary act and deed for the uses and purposes therein set forth.
Added by Laws 2023, c. 267, § 2, eff. Nov. 1, 2023.
2023 Oklahoma Statutes › Title 16. Conveyances › §16-61. Definitions.

For the purposes of this act: (a) An interest in real estate shall include, but not be limited to mortgage liens, interests of purchasers under contract of sale, leases, easements, oil and gas leases, and mineral and royalty interests. (b) A purchaser for value shall include one who has actual or constructive notice of the invalidity of the conveyance, decree or judgment under which his grantor claims immediately or remotely.
Laws 1961, p. 192, § 1.
2023 Oklahoma Statutes › Title 16. Conveyances › §16-63. Notice of claim.

(a) The notice of claim required to be filed in Section 2 hereof shall contain an accurate and full description of all land affected by such notice, which description shall be set forth in particular terms and not by general inclusions; but, if said claim is founded upon a recorded instrument, then the description in such notice may be the same as that contained in such recorded instrument. The notice shall set forth clearly the basis for and the extent or nature of the claimant's alledged interest, and be signed, acknowledged and filed for record in the county clerk's office of the county or counties where the land described therein is situated. The county clerk of each county shall accept all such notices presented to him which describe land located in the county in which he serves, and shall enter, record, and index the same in the same way that deeds are recorded, and each county clerk shall be entitled to charge the same fees for the recording thereof as are charged for recording deeds. In indexing such notices in his office, each county clerk shall enter such notices in the index of deeds and in the numerical index of deeds. The names of the claimants appearing in such notices are to be entered as grantees in such indexes. (b) Recording of such notice after a purchase for value has been effected shall not impair the rights of the purchaser for value or the rights of the heirs, successors and assigns of such purchaser. (c) If any person required under this act to file a notice to protect his rights as against a purchaser for value is a minor or incompetent or unborn contingent remainderman, such notice may be filed by his guardian, person having custody of him, his next friend or any person interested in his estate or any person who represents him as attorney, agent, or in another capacity. Minority, incompetency or other disability shall not suspend the operation of this act.
Laws 1961, p. 193, § 3.
2023 Oklahoma Statutes › Title 16. Conveyances › §16-66. Purpose.

The Legislature deems that the needs of the society of this state require that persons claiming interests in real estate contrary to the apparent title as shown by the county records and decrees and judgments of the county courts and courts of general jurisdiction come forward and make public their claims and the basis thereof by filing of record a notice of such claim. This act shall be liberally construed to effect the legislative purpose of simplifying real estate transactions by permitting purchasers to rely upon the status of title as reflected by the county records and by the decrees and judgments of the aforementioned courts.
Laws 1961, p. 194, § 7.
2023 Oklahoma Statutes › Title 16. Conveyances › §16-67. Claim and purchase of severed mineral interest through recorded affidavit of death and heirship.

A. After the date of death of a person who was an owner of a severed mineral interest in real estate, a person who claims such interest, immediately or remotely, through an affidavit of death and heirship recorded pursuant to Sections 82 and 83 of this title, shall acquire a valid and marketable title to such interest as against any person claiming adversely to such recorded affidavit on the conditions set forth in subsection C of this section.
B. Any purchaser for value acquiring a severed mineral interest in real estate from a person who claims such interest, immediately or remotely, through a recorded affidavit of death and heirship or a recital of death and heirship in a recorded title transaction, as that term is defined in Section 78 of Title 16 of the Oklahoma Statutes, shall acquire a valid and marketable title to such interest as against any person claiming adversely to such recorded affidavit or recital on the conditions set forth in subsection C of this section.
C. In order to establish marketable title pursuant to this section:
1. The affidavit or recital must state that the decedent died without a will, or if the decedent had a will, that the will was never probated in Oklahoma and a copy of the will is attached to the affidavit or recital, or if the will was probated that the severed mineral interest was omitted from the final decree of the decedent and a copy of the will and final decree is attached to the affidavit or recital;
2. The affidavit or recital must list the names of the decedent’s heirs and their relationship to the decedent;
3. The affidavit or recital must state that the maker is related to the decedent or otherwise has personal knowledge of the facts stated therein;
4. The affidavit or the title transaction that contains the recital must have been recorded for at least ten (10) years in the office of the county clerk in the county in which the real property is located; and
5. During the ten-year period following the recording of the affidavit or the title transaction that contains the recital, no instrument inconsistent with the heirship alleged in the affidavit or recital was filed in the office of the county clerk in the county in which the real property is located.
This section shall apply to affidavits recorded before November 1, 1999, as well as to those recorded thereafter, except that, with respect to those recorded before such date, the ten-year period specified above shall not expire until one (1) year after November 1, 1999. This section shall not apply as against any person in possession of the land, by occupancy or by occupancy of a tenant, at the time such purchaser acquires an interest in such land.
Added by Laws 1999, c. 84, § 2, eff. Nov. 1, 1999. Amended by Laws 2010, c. 223, § 1, emerg. eff. May 10, 2010.
2023 Oklahoma Statutes › Title 16. Conveyances › §16-68. Abolition of doctrine of constructive possession.

The doctrine of constructive possession is abolished only insofar as it applies to the Simplification of Land Titles Act, Section 61 et seq. of Title 16 of the Oklahoma Statutes. Any claims based upon constructive possession before the effective date of this act shall be extinguished unless a notice of the claim is filed with the county clerk of the county where the land or interest is located within one (1) year from the effective date of this act. The notice of the claim shall set forth basis thereof and specifically refer to this section.
Added by Laws 1999, c. 84, § 3, eff. Nov. 1, 1999.
2023 Oklahoma Statutes › Title 16. Conveyances › §16-71. Marketable record title defined.

Any person having the legal capacity to own land in this state, who has an unbroken chain of title of record to any interest in land for thirty (30) years or more, shall be deemed to have a marketable record title to such interest as defined in Section 78 of this title, subject only to the matters stated in Section 72 of this title. A person shall be deemed to have such an unbroken chain of title when the official public records disclose a conveyance or other title transaction, of record not less than thirty (30) years at the time the marketability is to be determined, which said conveyance or other title transaction purports to create such interest, either in
(a) the person claiming such interest, or
(b) some other person from whom, by one or more conveyances or other title transactions of record, such purported interest has become vested in the person claiming such interest; with nothing appearing of record, in either case, purporting to divest such claimant of such purported interest.
Laws 1963, c. 31, § 1; Laws 1970, c. 92, § 1, eff. July 1, 1972.
2023 Oklahoma Statutes › Title 16. Conveyances › §16-72. Title subject to certain interests and defects.

Such marketable record title shall be subject to:
(a) All interests and defects which are inherent in the muniments of which such chain of record title is formed; provided, however, that a general reference in such muniments, or any of them, to interests created prior to the root of title shall not be sufficient to preserve them, unless specific identification be made therein of a recorded title transaction which creates such interest.
(b) All interests preserved by the filing of proper notice or by possession by the same owner continuously for a period of thirty (30) years or more, in accordance with Section 74 of this title.
(c) The rights of any person arising from a period of adverse possession or user, which was in whole or in part subsequent to the effective date of the root of title.
(d) Any interest relating to a title transaction which has been recorded subsequent to the effective date of the root of title from which the unbroken chain of title of record is started; provided, however, that such recording shall not revive or give validity to any interest which has been extinguished prior to the time of the recording by the operation of Section 73 of this title.
(e) The exceptions stated in Section 76 of this title as to rights of reversioners in leases, as to severed mineral or royalty interests, as to easements and interests in the nature of easements, and rights granted, reserved or excepted by instruments creating such easements or interests, or restrictions or agreements which are part of a subdivision development plan, and as to interests of the United States.
Added by Laws 1963, c. 31, § 2. Amended by Laws 1970, c. 92, § 2, eff. July 1, 1972.
2023 Oklahoma Statutes › Title 16. Conveyances › §16-73. Claims prior to date of root title as null and void.

Subject to matters stated in Section 2 hereof, such marketable record title shall be held by its owner and shall be taken by any person dealing with the land free and clear of all interests, claims or charges whatsoever, the existence of which depends upon any act, transaction, event or omission that occurred prior to the effective date of the root of title. All such interests, claims or charges, however denominated, whether legal or equitable, present or future, whether such interests, claims or charges are asserted by a person sui juris or under a disability, whether such person is within or without the state, whether such person is natural or corporate, or is private or governmental, are hereby declared to be null and void.
Added by Laws 1963, c. 31, § 3.
2023 Oklahoma Statutes › Title 16. Conveyances › §16-74. Filing of notice of claim - Disability or lack of knowledge - Thirty-year possession as deemed equivalent to filing notice.

(a) Any person claiming an interest in land may preserve and keep effective such interest by filing for record during the thirty-year period immediately following the effective date of the root of title of the person whose record title would otherwise be marketable, a notice in writing, duly verified by oath, setting forth the nature of the claim. No disability or lack of knowledge of any kind on the part of anyone shall suspend the running of said thirty-year period. Such notice may be filed for record by the claimant or by any other person acting on behalf of any claimant who is
(1) under a disability,
(2) unable to assert a claim on his own behalf, or
(3) one of a class, but whose identity cannot be established or is uncertain at the time of filing such notice of claim for record.
(b) If the same record owner of any possessory interest in land has been in possession of such land continuously for a period of thirty (30) years or more, during which period no title transaction with respect to such interest appears of record in his chain of title, and no notice has been filed by him or on his behalf as provided in subsection (a), and such possession continues to the time when marketability is being determined, such period of possession shall be deemed equivalent to the filing of the notice immediately preceding the termination of the thirty-year period described in subsection (a).
Added by Laws 1963, c. 31, § 4. Amended by Laws 1970, c. 92, § 3, eff. July 1, 1972.
2023 Oklahoma Statutes › Title 16. Conveyances › §16-76. Exceptions to application of act - Stray instruments - Root of title - Severed mineral interests.

A. Sections 71 through 80 of this title shall not be applied to bar any lessor or his successor as a reversioner of his right to possession on the expiration of any lease; or to bar or extinguish any mineral or royalty interest which has been severed from the fee simple title of the land; or to bar or extinguish any easement or interest in the nature of an easement, or any rights granted, reserved or excepted by any instrument creating such easement or interest; or use restrictions or area agreements which are part of a plan for subdivision development or to bar any right, title or interest of the United States by reason of failure to file the notice herein required.
B. As used in this section, "stray instrument" means an instrument executed by a person or entity, or a decree of distribution entered in the estate of a decedent, who or which does not otherwise appear in the chain of record title to a tract of real property. A stray instrument shall not create a root of title pursuant to Sections 71 through 80 of this title if the following conditions exist:
1. There is apparent from the record an otherwise valid, uninterrupted chain of record title traceable to an instrument which is a root of title as defined by Sections 71 through 80 of this title; and
2. A current owner of the property under the chain of title referred to in paragraph 1 of this subsection records an affidavit that alleges that the current owner or owners are in possession of the property and that the parties claiming under the stray instrument own no interest in the property. If there are multiple owners, any one or more of the owners may execute the affidavit on behalf of all owners.
C. An instrument executed by a person or entity, or a decree of distribution entered in the estate of a decedent who or which does not otherwise appear in the chain of record title to a tract of real property, except as an owner of a severed mineral interest therein, shall not create a root of title pursuant to Sections 71 through 80 of this title.
D. As used in this section "severed mineral interest" includes mineral leasehold interests or working interests, mineral royalty interests and overriding royalty interests, and ownership of minerals without any ownership interest in the surface estate other than the rights of ingress and egress and for use of the surface for mineral development and exploration.
E. This section shall not apply to the interest of any person or entity who or which claims a valid interest under any such stray instrument as defined herein and who shall, no later than November 1, 1996, file with the county clerk of the county where the land or interest is located, a notice of such claim, setting forth the basis thereof, and specifically referring to this section.
Added by Laws 1963, c. 31, § 6. Amended by Laws 1995, c. 232, § 4, eff. Nov. 1, 1995.
2023 Oklahoma Statutes › Title 16. Conveyances › §16-77. Operation of statutes of limitations or recording statutes unaffected.

Nothing contained in this act shall be construed to extend the period for the bringing of an action or for the doing of any other required act under any statutes of limitations, nor, except as herein specifically provided, to affect the operation of any statutes governing the effect of the recording or the failure to record any instrument affecting land.
Laws 1963, c. 31, § 7.
2023 Oklahoma Statutes › Title 16. Conveyances › §16-78. Definitions.

(a) "Marketable record title" means a title of record as indicated in Section 71 of this title, which operates to extinguish such interests and claims, existing prior to the effective date of the root of title, as are stated in Section 73 of this title.
(b) "Records" includes probate and other official public records, as well as records in the county clerk's office.
(c) "Recording," when applied to the official public records of any office or court, includes filing.
(d) "Person dealing with land" includes a purchaser of any estate or interest therein, a mortgagee, a levying or attaching creditor, a land contract vendee, or any other person seeking to acquire an estate or interest therein, or impose a lien thereon.
(e) "Root of title" means that conveyance or other title transaction in the chain of title of a person, purporting to create the interest claimed by such person, upon which he relies as a basis for the marketability of his title, and which was the most recent to be recorded as of a date thirty (30) years prior to the time when marketability is being determined. The effective date of the "root of title" is the date on which it is recorded.
(f) "Title transaction" means any transaction affecting title to any interest in land, including title by will or descent, title by tax deed, mineral deed, lease or reservation, or by trustee's, referee's, guardian's, executor's, administrator's, master in chancery's, sheriff's or marshal's deed, or decree of any court, as well as warranty deed, quitclaim deed, or mortgage.
Laws 1963, c. 31, § 8; Laws 1970, c. 92, § 4, eff. July 1, 1972.
2023 Oklahoma Statutes › Title 16. Conveyances › §16-79. Penalties for filing slanderous notices of claims - Quiet title action independent of criminal action.

A. No person shall use the privilege of filing notices hereunder for the purpose of slandering the title to land and, in any action brought for the purpose of quieting title to land, if the court shall find that any person has filed a claim for that reason, he shall award the plaintiff all the costs of such action, including such attorney fees as the court may allow to the plaintiff, and, in addition, shall decree that the defendant asserting such claim shall pay to plaintiff three times the damages that plaintiff may have sustained as the result of such notice of claim having been so filed for record.
B. A quiet title action shall be independent of any criminal action that may be filed against the defendant, and there shall be no requirement that the defendant in a quiet title action be convicted of any criminal act.
Added by Laws 1963, c. 31, § 9. Amended by Laws 1997, c. 405, § 7, emerg. eff. June 13, 1997.
2023 Oklahoma Statutes › Title 16. Conveyances › §16-82. Recording of affidavit - Rebuttable presumption.

An affidavit covering matters named in Section 83 of this title may be recorded in the office of the county clerk in the county in which the real property is situated. There shall be a rebuttable presumption that facts stated in a recorded affidavit are true as they relate to real estate, its use, or its ownership.
Added by Laws 1985, c. 233, § 1, eff. Nov. 1, 1985. Amended by Laws 1994, c. 238, § 3, eff. Sept. 1, 1994.
2023 Oklahoma Statutes › Title 16. Conveyances › §16-83. Matters to which affidavit may relate.

The affidavit may relate to the following matters: Age, sex, birth, death, relationship, family history, heirship, names, and identity of parties, whether individual, corporate, partnership or trust; identity of officers of corporations; membership of partnerships, joint ventures and other unincorporated associations; identity of trustees of trusts, and their respective terms of services; history of the organization of corporations, partnerships, joint ventures and trusts; marital status; possession; residence; service in the Armed Forces; and conflicts and ambiguities in descriptions of land in recorded instruments.
Added by Laws 1985, c. 233, § 2, eff. Nov. 1, 1985.
2023 Oklahoma Statutes › Title 16. Conveyances › §16-84. Description of land - Recording fee - Indexing.

Every affidavit prescribed in Section 2 of this act shall include a description of the land for which the title may be affected by matters covered in the affidavit. The county clerk shall record the affidavit for such fees as provided by law and indicate the land affected on the numerical tract index in the county clerk's office.
Added by Laws 1985, c. 233, § 3, eff. Nov. 1, 1985.
2023 Oklahoma Statutes › Title 16. Conveyances › §16-85. False statements - Penalties.

Any person who knowingly makes or causes to be made a false statement in an affidavit shall be guilty of perjury and be liable for actual damages suffered or incurred by any person or other entity as a result or consequence of the making of or reliance upon such false affidavit. The court may award punitive damages, costs and attorney fees.
Added by Laws 1985, c. 233, § 4, eff. Nov. 1, 1985.
2023 Oklahoma Statutes › Title 16. Conveyances › §16-86.2. Definitions.

DEFINITIONS. In the Uniform Real Property Electronic Recording Act:
(1) “Document” means information that is:
(A)
inscribed on a tangible medium or that is stored in an electronic or other medium and is retrievable in perceivable form; and
(B)
eligible to be recorded in the land records maintained by the county clerk.
(2) “Electronic” means relating to technology having electrical, digital, magnetic, wireless, optical, electromagnetic, or similar capabilities.
(3) “Electronic document” means a document that is received by the county clerk in an electronic form.
(4) “Electronic signature” means an electronic sound, symbol, or process attached to or logically associated with a document and executed or adopted by a person with the intent to sign the document. “Electronic signature” includes a digital image or electronic copy of an original signature affixed to an original or certified copy of an original paper document or instrument, provided that the person submitting the digital image or electronic copy of the document or instrument complies with all other requirements, rules or regulations concerning electronic recordings under the Uniform Real Property Electronic Recording Act.
(5) “Person” means an individual, corporation, business trust, estate, trust, partnership, limited liability company, association, joint venture, public corporation, government, or governmental subdivision, agency, or instrumentality, or any other legal or commercial entity.
(6) “State” means a state of the United States, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the United States Virgin Islands, or any territory or insular possession subject to the jurisdiction of the United States.
Added by Laws 2008, c. 295, § 2, eff. Nov. 1, 2008. Amended by Laws 2012, c. 37, § 1, eff. Nov. 1, 2012.
2023 Oklahoma Statutes › Title 16. Conveyances › §16-86.3. Validity of electronic documents.

VALIDITY OF ELECTRONIC DOCUMENTS.
(a) If a law requires, as a condition for recording, that a document be an original, be on paper or another tangible medium, or be in writing, the requirement is satisfied by an electronic document satisfying the Uniform Real Property Electronic Recording Act.
(b) If a law requires, as a condition for recording, that a document be signed, the requirement is satisfied by an electronic signature.
(c) A requirement that a document or a signature associated with a document be notarized, acknowledged, verified, witnessed, or made under oath is satisfied if the electronic signature of the person authorized to perform that act, and all other information required to be included, is attached to or logically associated with the document or signature. A physical or electronic image of a stamp, impression, or seal need not accompany an electronic signature.
Added by Laws 2008, c. 295, § 3, eff. Nov. 1, 2008.
2023 Oklahoma Statutes › Title 16. Conveyances › §16-86.4. Recording of documents.

RECORDING OF DOCUMENTS.
(a) In this section, “paper document” means a document that is received by the county clerk in a form that is not electronic.
(b) A county clerk:
(1) Who implements any of the functions listed in this section shall do so in compliance with standards established by the Archives and Records Commission;
(2) May receive, index, store, archive, and transmit electronic documents;
(3) May provide for access to, and for search and retrieval of, documents and information by electronic means;
(4) Who accepts electronic documents for recording shall continue to accept paper documents as authorized by state law and shall place entries for both types of documents in the same index;
(5) May convert paper documents accepted for recording into electronic form;
(6) May convert into electronic form information recorded before the county clerk began to record electronic documents;
(7) May accept electronically any fee that the county clerk is authorized to collect; and
(8) May agree with other officials of a state or a political subdivision thereof, or of the United States, on procedures or processes to facilitate the electronic satisfaction of prior approvals and conditions precedent to recording and the electronic payment of fees.
Added by Laws 2008, c. 295, § 4, eff. Nov. 1, 2008.
2023 Oklahoma Statutes › Title 16. Conveyances › §16-86.5. Administration and standards.

ADMINISTRATION AND STANDARDS.
(a) The Archives and Records Commission shall adopt standards to implement the Uniform Real Property Electronic Recording Act.
(b) To keep the standards and practices of county clerks in this state in harmony with the standards and practices of recording offices in other jurisdictions that enact substantially the Uniform Real Property Electronic Recording Act and to keep the technology used by county clerks in this state compatible with technology used by recording offices in other jurisdictions that enact substantially the Uniform Real Property Electronic Recording Act, the Archives and Records Commission, so far as is consistent with the purposes, policies, and provisions of the Uniform Real Property Electronic Recording Act, in adopting, amending, and repealing standards shall consider:
(1) Standards and practices of other jurisdictions;
(2) The most recent standards promulgated by national standard-setting bodies, such as the Property Records Industry Association;
(3) The views of interested persons and governmental officials and entities;
(4) The needs of counties of varying size, population, and resources; and
(5) Standards requiring adequate information security protection to ensure that electronic documents are accurate, authentic, adequately preserved, and resistant to tampering.
Added by Laws 2008, c. 295, § 5, eff. Nov. 1, 2008.
2023 Oklahoma Statutes › Title 16. Conveyances › §16-86.6. Uniformity of application and construction.

UNIFORMITY OF APPLICATION AND CONSTRUCTION. In applying and construing the Uniform Real Property Electronic Recording Act, consideration must be given to the need to promote uniformity of the law with respect to its subject matter among states that enact it.
Added by Laws 2008, c. 295, § 6, eff. Nov. 1, 2008.
2023 Oklahoma Statutes › Title 16. Conveyances › §16-86.7. Relation to Electronic Signatures in Global and National Commerce Act.

RELATION TO ELECTRONIC SIGNATURES IN GLOBAL AND NATIONAL COMMERCE ACT. The Uniform Real Property Electronic Recording Act modifies, limits, and supersedes the federal Electronic Signatures in Global and National Commerce Act (15 U.S.C. Section 7001, et seq.) but does not modify, limit, or supersede Section 101(c) of that act (15 U.S.C. Section 7001(c)) or authorize electronic delivery of any of the notices described in Section 103(b) of that act (15 U.S.C. Section 7003(b)).
Added by Laws 2008, c. 295, § 7, eff. Nov. 1, 2008.
2023 Oklahoma Statutes › Title 16. Conveyances › §16-92. Instrument by corporation valid.

Every instrument affecting real estate or authorizing the execution of any deed, mortgage or other instrument relating thereto, executed and acknowledged by a corporation or its attorney in fact in substantial compliance with this chapter, shall be valid and binding upon the grantor, notwithstanding any omission or irregularity in the proceedings of such corporation or any of its officers or members, and without reference to any provision in its constitution or by-laws.
R.L.1910, § 1173.
2023 Oklahoma Statutes › Title 16. Conveyances › §16-93. Manner of execution by corporation.

Every deed or other instrument affecting real estate made by a corporation must have the name of such corporation subscribed thereto either by an attorney-in-fact, president, vice-president, chairman or vice-chairman of the board of directors of such corporation.
R.L. 1910, § 1186; Laws 1987, c. 146, § 26, emerg. eff. June 24, 1987; Laws 1994, c. 238, § 4, eff. Sept. 1, 1994.
2023 Oklahoma Statutes › Title 16. Conveyances › §16-95. Acknowledgment by corporation - Form.

Every deed or other instrument affecting real estate, executed by a corporation, must be acknowledged by an officer or attorney-in-fact subscribing the name of the corporation thereto, which acknowledgment may be in substantially a form as provided for in the Uniform Law on Notarial Acts or in substantially the following form:
State of Oklahoma, )
) ss.
__________ County. )
Before me, a ____ in and for this state, on this ____ day of ____, ____ personally appeared ____ to me known to be the identical person who subscribed the name of the maker thereof to the foregoing instrument as its (attorney-in-fact, president, vice-president, chair, or vice-chair of the board of directors or mayor, as the case may be) and acknowledged to me that ________ executed the same as ______ free and voluntary act and deed, and as the free and voluntary act and deed of the corporation, for the uses and purposes therein set forth.
R.L. 1910, § 1188; Laws 1994, c. 238, § 5, eff. Sept. 1, 1994; Laws 1999, c. 104, § 3, emerg. eff. April 19, 1999.
2023 Oklahoma Statutes › Title 16. Conveyances › §16-96. Mechanic's materialman's lien statement - Execution, attestation, seal or acknowledgement not required - Release.

Any lien statement authorized pursuant to the provisions of Sections 141 through 164 of Title 42 of the Oklahoma Statutes when executed on behalf of a corporation may be signed and verified by any officer or agent of said corporation without the necessity of attestation, seal, or acknowledgement and any release of such lien when executed on behalf of a corporation may be signed by any officer or agent of such corporation without the necessity of attestation, seal, or acknowledgement.
With respect to the execution and release of lien statements in accordance with this section the provisions of Sections 15, 93, 94 and 95 of Title 16 of the Oklahoma Statutes shall not apply.
Added by Laws 1984, c. 257, § 2, emerg. eff. May 30, 1984.
2023 Oklahoma Statutes › Title 16. Conveyances › §16-202. Rights and duties of parties.

Any contract hereafter made in this state for the purchase and sale of realty shall be interpreted as including an agreement that the parties shall have the following rights and duties, unless the contract expressly provides otherwise;
(a) if, when neither the legal title nor the possession of the subject matter of the contract has been transferred, all or a material part thereof is destroyed without fault of this purchaser or is taken by eminent domain, the vendor cannot enforce the contract, and the purchaser is entitled to recover any portion of the price that he has paid; or
(b) if, when either the legal title or the possession of the subject matter of the contract has been transferred, all or any part thereof is destroyed without fault of the vendor or is taken by eminent domain, the purchaser is not thereby relieved from a duty to pay the price, nor is he entitled to recover any portion thereof that he has paid.
Laws 1965, c. 92, § 2.