Request By:
Mr. J. U. Grow
Simpson County Clerk
Franklin, Kentucky 42134
Opinion
Opinion By: David L. Armstrong, Attorney General; By: Charles W. Runyan, Assistant Deputy Attorney General
The question of whether or not the county clerk has the authority to fill in and complete blanks left in deeds, mortgages, etc., for recording, is raised in your letter. We assume you refer to blanks involving substantive matters or concepts in the body of such instruments. See, for example, KRS 382.110, relating to the precise showing of the next immediate source of title involved in a deed.
The clerk has no statutory authority to fill in such blank spaces, which relate to the substantive part of the instrument. In
Rodley's Adm'r v. Jack Morris, 6 Ky. Op. 151, 152 (1872), the court wrote:
"The interests of the individuals, as well as the whole public requires that public records should never be altered, or their veracity questioned unless the power as well as the right to alter or amend is clearly shown."
The view has been advanced in cases that records could become unreliable if the recording officer were permitted to alter them at will. 66 Am.Jur.2d, Records and Recording Laws, § 87, pages 393-394.
In Kentucky, the burden of correcting an instrument of record is upon the parties to the instrument in seeking appropriate court relief where necessary. See
Hiatt v. Calloway, 7 B. Mon. 178. See also 76 C.J.S., Records, § 25, page 127.
The public must understand that the county clerk cannot alter instruments to be recorded, even if requested by the parties to the instrument, in the absence of specific statutory authority. We are aware of no such authority. We hope this will be helpful to you in the discharge of your official duties.