Idaho Governor Signs Flat Fee Recording Legislation

April 11, 2017

Idaho Gov. C.L. “Butch” Otter on April 4 signed legislation supported by the Idaho Land Title Association (ILTA) that allows for flat recording fees of real estate documents in the state.

House Bill 205 goes into effect July 1, 2017.

About a year ago, ILTA helped draft the bill to help simplify compliance with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s (CFPB) integrated disclosures. Adoption of flat recording fees help settlement agents provide more accurate recording fees upfront and help reduce lender liability if fees change substantially on the Closing Disclosure. Recording fees fall into the bucket of fees that can’t change more than 10 percent from the Loan Estimate to the Closing Disclosure.

To help get support for the bill, the ILTA worked primarily with the Idaho Association of Counties as well as the Idaho Bankers Association, Northwest Credit Union Association and Idaho Association of Realtors. ILTA legislative committee members and the ILTA lobbyist worked closely with the counties regarding document costs and page limits. The ILTA met with the counties on a regular basis, including presenting at its annual clerk’s conference and before its legislative committee.

ILTA presented a strong case regarding the compliance issues as well as the benefits the counties would receive from a more streamlined cost-effective system. ILTA not only focused on the education and benefit side to all parties, but provided statistics from members to develop the flat fee schedule.

Initially, there was reluctance to the legislation and a request to insert language to review the fee structure every four years. Due to political issues with review language, the ILTA decided it would be best to keep the bill as originally drafted. ILTA’s efforts ultimately resulted in the counties formally supporting the legislation even without the additional language. The Idaho Bankers Association, Northwest Credit Union Association and the Idaho Central Credit Union also formally supported the legislation.


Contact ALTA at 202-296-3671 or [email protected].