In compliance with recent State recommendations (see below) this Office is establishing a new Payment for Services Policy. This office will accept cash, personal and business checks as well as money orders in payment of services performed, subject to the following restrictions:
    1. All checks in excess of $10,000.00 in the aggregate (this is violated if more than one check is used to avoid this requirement) must be a certified or bank check.
    2. All checks must bear a name, address and bank account number.
    3. All personal checks must have a personal and business phone number on the front of the check.
    4. All business checks must have a business phone number on the front of the check.
    5. No checks will be accepted from a third party, other than a party involved in the transaction (eg. Seller, buyer, their attorneys, licensed title company, or licensed financial institution).
    6. No checks will be accepted after sixty (60) days of issue date.
    7. Checks returned to this office unpaid by the bank will be subject to a $60.00 service charge.
Thank you for your anticipated cooperation with this policy.
Impact of P.L. 2006 c.33 on County Clerks and
County Finance Offices
P.L. 2006, c. 33 took effect on August 1, 2006. Passed as part of the State's FY 2007 budget, this new law imposes a 1% Realty Transfer Fee (RTF) on commercial property valued in excess of $1,000,000 (these parcels are classified as "C4" property in the MOD IV system). County Clerks or Register of Deeds and Mortgages in each County are charged with collecting and transmitting these fees and documentation to the State.

Recent discussions with the Constitutional Officers Association of New Jersey (representing County Clerks), the New Jersey Association of County Finance Officers, and the State Divisions of Taxation and Local Government Services have jointly reviewed a number of issues related to the short and long-term implications of the law.

The parties consulted on the handling and receipting of funds and the types of instruments and checks that are processed to develop ways of preventing fraud, given the large sums that can be involved in these transactions.

Because commercial property is affected, checks can come from other states and countries and from a range of sellers who are corporate entities outside the state, financial institutions, and attorneys. The statutory requirements of immediately recording deeds upon presentation, offers the potential for repudiation of financial instruments, dishonored, and returned checks if strong policies are not put in place.

While certified checks are the current standard, other means of payment were discussed, such as ACH and wire transfers. Each of these methods has separate concerns related to cost, and timing of receipt of the documents and confirmation of the receipt of funds. It was agreed that additional study on the issues is warranted over the next few months prior to official guidance being issued.

The review has generated a recommended policy to protect the State and counties that can be considered and implemented by each County Clerk as a way of providing uniform and consistent practices in implementing the law statewide.