Recording a deed, mortgage, construction lien, or Notice of Commencement once meant delivering paper documents to a county recording office in person, through a courier, or by mail. Electronic recording, usually shortened to eRecording, moves that submission process online.
With eRecording, an eligible document is transmitted securely to the appropriate Florida county recorder. The recorder reviews it under the same legal and technical standards that apply to a paper filing. If the document is accepted, the county adds its official recording information, indexes the instrument in the Official Records, and returns the recorded image electronically.
The result is a faster, more trackable workflow without a routine trip to the courthouse. However, eRecording does not eliminate signatures, notarization, witnesses, taxes, fees, formatting rules, or county review. It changes how the document reaches the recorder, not what makes the instrument legally recordable.
The Property Records Industry Association defines eRecording as electronically registering recordable documents with a recorder or similar jurisdictional authority.
In practical terms, eRecording replaces this traditional workflow:
With an electronic workflow, the process generally becomes:
The county recorder remains the government authority responsible for determining whether the document can be recorded. An eRecording provider supplies the secure connection and workflow between the submitter and participating recording offices.
In Florida, the clerk of the circuit court generally serves as the county recorder. Under Section 28.222 of the Florida Statutes, the recorder maintains a series called the Official Records.
These records can include:
Recording places an eligible instrument in the public record and can provide legal notice to other parties. The county assigns identifying information, usually an instrument number or an Official Records book and page, and indexes the document under the relevant parties’ names.
eRecording delivers a document into this same Official Records system. It does not create a separate or lesser electronic record. Florida law requires electronically and traditionally submitted instruments to be placed in the same county index.
Yes. Florida law expressly authorizes electronic real-property recording.
The state adopted the Uniform Real Property Electronic Recording Act, commonly called URPERA, in Section 695.27 of the Florida Statutes.
Among other things, the law provides that:
Section 695.28 further addresses the validity of electronic documents accepted for recording.
However, these statutes do not make every document automatically recordable. The instrument must still be legally entitled to recording and meet the requirements that apply to its content and execution.
The easiest way to understand eRecording is to separate the document from the delivery method.
A Notice of Commencement remains a Notice of Commencement whether it is:
Similarly, a deed remains a deed, and a construction lien remains a construction lien. eRecording changes the path to the county recorder; it does not change the document’s legal purpose.
This distinction matters because eRecording cannot cure an instrument that is:
| Term | What it means |
|---|---|
| eRecording | Electronically delivering a document to the county recorder and receiving the county’s response. |
| Electronic signature | A sound, symbol, or process adopted with the intent to sign an electronic document. |
| Electronic notarization | A notary performs a notarial act involving electronic records and signatures. |
| Remote online notarization | The signer and online notary communicate through approved audio-video technology rather than meeting in the same physical location. |
| Electronic filing or e-filing | Usually refers to submitting documents in a court case, commonly through a court filing system. It is different from recording an instrument in the county’s Official Records. |
| Electronic certified copy | A copy issued and electronically certified by the clerk after the underlying document has been recorded. |
A document does not have to be signed electronically to be eRecorded. Many eRecorded instruments begin as paper documents with wet-ink signatures and traditional notarizations. The completed paper instrument is scanned and electronically transmitted to the county.
Likewise, an electronic signature does not mean a document has been recorded. Signing, notarizing, submitting, accepting, and recording are separate events.
Florida’s electronic-recording standards recognize three general submission models.
A document is signed and notarized on paper. The submitter scans the completed instrument and transmits the image electronically.
The county examines the scanned image, records it if acceptable, applies the recording information, indexes it, and returns the recorded image electronically.
This is the form of eRecording many contractors, permit expeditors, property managers, and small businesses are most likely to encounter.
A scanned or electronically executed document is transmitted with structured information used to process and index it.
That information can include:
The additional data can reduce repetitive entry and help streamline processing.
The document is created, signed, notarized, and transmitted electronically. Its data may be structured so the receiving system can extract information directly.
Not every county, provider, or document type necessarily supports every model or form of electronic signature. County-specific business rules still control what the recorder’s technology can accept.
A real-property document is generally recorded in the county where the property is located.
The correct recording destination is not necessarily the county where the owner, attorney, title company, contractor, or lender maintains an office. If a document affects properties in more than one county, separate recordings may be required.
Before submitting, confirm that the county participates in eRecording and accepts the relevant document type. Swift supports electronic submissions in participating Florida counties, including:
County coverage and document eligibility should be confirmed before relying on electronic submission for a deadline.
The parties prepare the instrument and complete the signatures, witnessing, and notarization required for that type of document.
The eRecording provider generally does not decide:
Those are preparation and legal-compliance questions. An attorney should be consulted when the correct form or legal effect is uncertain.
Before uploading, confirm that the document satisfies Florida law and the county’s business rules.
For many instruments affecting real property, Section 695.26 requires items such as:
Additional requirements can apply to specific documents. A deed, mortgage, construction lien, judgment, Notice of Commencement, and association lien do not all have identical execution or tax rules.
A wet-signed document is normally scanned into an accepted file format. A document created and signed electronically may be uploaded in the format supported by the provider and county.
The file should be:
Every exhibit, legal description, rider, and required bond should be included.
The submitter selects the county and document type, then enters the information the provider and recorder need to route, index, and charge for the instrument.
Depending on the document, this may include:
This data should match the document. A spelling discrepancy or incorrect document type can delay processing or create indexing problems.
An eRecording transaction may include several separate costs:
Recording electronically does not eliminate taxes or clerk charges. The final total depends on the document, page count, number of indexed names, transaction value, county requirements, and provider.
The provider transmits the document, indexing data, and payment information through a secure connection to the county recorder.
At this point, the transaction is submitted, but it is not necessarily recorded.
This distinction is especially important when:
Florida law generally treats an instrument as officially recorded when the recorder accepts it and assigns the required official number, not when the user clicks “Submit.” The Lee County Clerk’s eRecording guidance, for example, expressly warns that electronic submission through a provider does not itself mean the document has been recorded.
The recorder reviews the package for recordability.
This review can include:
The recorder is not ordinarily determining whether the underlying transaction is wise, fair, enforceable, or free from every possible legal defect. County staff also cannot provide legal advice or select a document for the submitter.
If the document meets the applicable requirements, the county accepts and records it.
The clerk adds information such as:
If the document cannot be recorded, it is returned electronically with a rejection explanation.
The recorded image or rejection notice is returned through the eRecording account.
For an accepted document, the submitter should verify:
The document can then be saved to the transaction, permit, closing, legal, or property-management file.
Document eligibility varies by county and provider. A county may accept a document in person or by mail but not through every electronic channel.
Commonly eRecorded instruments include:
Swift provides electronic recording support for real-estate professionals, title and escrow companies, and lending and financial organizations.
Contractors and permit expeditors can use eRecording to manage eligible construction filings without routinely traveling to county recording offices.
For a closer look at one frequently recorded construction document, see the guide to Notices of Commencement in Palm Beach County.
Depending on the county and instrument, eligible documents may include:
Legal professionals should confirm whether the document belongs in the Official Records or a court case. eRecording is not a substitute for filing pleadings through the Florida Courts E-Filing Portal.
Eligible instruments can include:
Swift offers eRecording workflows for HOAs and property-management companies.
Participating agencies may electronically submit supported liens, releases, notices, and other official instruments. More information is available for government agencies.
Yes. Restrictions vary by county.
For example, the Palm Beach County Clerk identifies certain instruments that cannot be processed through its eRecording system, including specified bond-related documents, foreign judgments, military discharge documents, plats, and transfers of liens or judgments to security.
Another county may maintain a different list. Eligibility can also vary among providers serving the same county.
Before submitting an unfamiliar document, confirm:
eRecording usually removes mail and travel time, but it does not guarantee immediate or same-day recording.
The total turnaround depends on:
The Palm Beach County Clerk states that eRecording submissions may be made 24 hours a day but does not guarantee same-day recording. Miami-Dade similarly explains that recorded images become available after county processing.
A portal may accept an upload at night or on a weekend, but the county may not review it until its next processing period.
For a deadline-sensitive instrument, do not equate:
They may be different timestamps.
Rejection does not necessarily mean the document’s purpose is invalid. It means the recorder could not accept the instrument as submitted.
Common causes include:
Potential problems include:
A required signature may be absent, or the printed name and address associated with a signer or witness may be incomplete.
Many real-property instruments must identify the natural person who prepared the document or supervised its preparation.
The recorder needs clear space for its electronic endorsement. Content extending into the recording area can cause rejection.
A scan may be too dark, too light, skewed, blurred, incomplete, or reduced to an unreadable size. A notary seal that was legible on paper may disappear in a low-quality scan.
The submission may refer to a legal description, rider, bond, schedule, or other exhibit that is not included.
The selected category or party information may not match the instrument.
Deeds, mortgages, and other instruments may require documentary stamp tax, intangible tax, or special fees in addition to ordinary recording charges.
A real-property instrument submitted to a county where the property is not located may not be recordable there.
The county may accept the instrument on paper but not through eRecording, or the selected provider may not support that combination of county and document type.
When a submission is rejected:
Do not alter a signed or notarized instrument in a way that makes the acknowledgment inaccurate. If a substantive correction is needed, consult the document preparer or an attorney.
A rejected transaction does not reserve the original submission’s place in the Official Records. This makes pre-submission review particularly important when priority or a statutory deadline is involved.
Florida’s electronic-recording framework includes security requirements.
Under Section 695.27, state standards must require safeguards designed to keep electronic documents accurate, authentic, preserved, and resistant to tampering. Florida Administrative Code Rule 1B-31.002 further requires transmitting and receiving parties to be able to authenticate each other and protect documents from unauthorized viewing or alteration during transmission, processing, and delivery.
A properly designed eRecording workflow can provide:
Security does not eliminate the need for internal controls. Organizations should still:
Businesses evaluating a provider can also review its security practices.
Electronic transmission eliminates postal transit, courier scheduling, and travel to the recording office.
Submitters can track whether a transaction is pending, accepted, recorded, or rejected.
The recorded image returns to the account without waiting for the physical original to come back by mail.
The workflow calculates or collects applicable charges electronically, reducing issues associated with checks in an incorrect amount. The submitter remains responsible for accurate transaction data.
Recorded documents and county responses can be retained with the corresponding client, permit, closing, loan, or property file.
In a scanned-document workflow, the wet-signed original generally remains with the submitter instead of traveling through the mail.
Authorized users can submit documents from an office, jobsite, or another location with appropriate internet access.
A business serving several Florida counties can manage supported transactions through one process instead of maintaining a separate courthouse-delivery routine for each jurisdiction.
eRecording is efficient, but it is not automatic recordation.
It does not:
The county controls recordability and final processing time. The submitter remains responsible for the document’s accuracy, legal sufficiency, timeliness, and destination.
eRecording is useful for organizations that regularly create, process, or record property-related documents, including:
High-volume users benefit from centralized tracking, while occasional users can avoid a courthouse trip for a single time-sensitive document when supported.
Before clicking “Submit,” verify the following.
Swift E-Recording supports eligible construction and property documents for contractors, permit expeditors, legal professionals, title and escrow companies, HOAs and property management companies, and government agencies. The industries we serve page lists the document types available to each, and our security practices explain how submissions are protected in transit.
eRecording replaces a paper-delivery process with a secure, trackable electronic workflow:
The central legal principle is simple: electronic submission is not the same as official recording. The process is complete only when the county accepts the document and returns the assigned recording information.
Swift E-Recording helps businesses submit eligible real-estate, construction, legal, lending, association, and other documents to supported Florida county recorders. Create an account or contact us to confirm county and document availability.
