The End of Registered Land Titles in Washington
In 1907, the state of Washington adopted the Torrens land registration system as an optional alternative to the recording system. The recording system required documents relating to real estate to be recorded with the county auditor of the county in which the real estate was located. (In King County, the county recorder, not the county auditor, is the recording officer). The recording system also allowed certain other types of documents to be recorded. The auditor was required to maintain certain indices that would allow searching for documents such as deeds, mortgages, deeds of trust, liens, etc. affecting parcels of real estate. The Torrens land registration system was also maintained by the county auditor as a separate system from the recording system, but the registration process also involved the courts and a court-appointed attorney known as the examiner of titles. Once a parcel of real estate was registered, any transaction affecting the land had to be registered rather than recorded.
In 2022, for a number of reasons, the state of Washington repealed the land registration statute, RCW 65.12, and abolished the Torrens land registration system in the state. Out of over three million parcels of real estate in the state, only about 4,000 were registered under the Torrens system. Of those, approximately 3,000 were located in King County. Only five of Washington’s thirty-nine counties still had the land registration system at that time. Testimony before the legislature in support of abolishing the system stated that the system was procedurally inefficient and an outdated system of guaranteeing ownership and debt. The system disadvantaged tradespeople wanting to file liens on real estate because a court would be involved. The system was costly and time-consuming to complete transactions. Few people had the skills necessary to register land. King County had only one staff member who could do the necessary research and perform the transactions.
The law repealing the land registration system gave property owners with registered land the opportunity to voluntarily withdraw their property from the system without charge. Any property not voluntarily withdrawn by July 1, 2023 was automatically withdrawn as of that date. In addition, withdrawal from the land registration system did not affect the validity and priority of lien interests and ownership of the property that arose under the land registration statute prior to its repeal.
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To learn more about The End of Registered Land Titles in Washington, please contact Beresford Booth at info@beresfordlaw.com or by phone at (425) 776-4100.
