Untitled Texas Attorney General Opinion

R-565

June 28, 1947

Honorable V. H. Sagebiel Opinion No. V-275
County Attorney
Gillespie County Re: Authority of County
Fredericksburg, Texas Clerk to correct the
record of an instru-
ment improperly re-
corded in the records
of his office.

Dear Sir:

We refer to your letter of June 11, 1947, in which you
submit the following:

“The county clerk of this county has requested informa-
tion regarding his authority, if any, to make corrections in
the county ‘reaords of deeds, deeds of trust, etc., where it
appears that at the tune an instrument was recorded an omis-
sion of words, mames or signatures was made, presumably
through clerical error, and the error is discovered some
years later.”

We believe the correct rule is stated in 45 American Ju-
risprudence, page 459, section 71, where it is said:

*No custodian of records is authorized to tamper with
them. Even where a record is defettively made, the record-
er cannot correct the mistake on his own motion, especially
where he acts at the suggestion of one not a party to the in-
strument; the alteration is to be disregarded. and the record
is to be regarded as it stood before it was tampered with...”

The rule as stated in 53 Corpus Juris, page 618, Section
29, is:

“Although there is authority that the correction or al-
teration of a public record by the recording officer is with-
out authority of law, it is generally held that a recording
officer while in office may alter or amend his record by
correcting mistakes or supplying omissmns so a6 to make
it conform to the facts; in fact, it has been held that it is
the duty of the recording officer to correct mistakes and to
Hon. Y. H. Sagebiel, Page 2

supply omissions in records whenever he discovers them
from data in his office. Changes in a public record may be
made only by or under official authority. It has been stated
that the correction must be made by thk officer who com-
mitted the error. One who IS no loneer m offlee cannot.
without statutory authority, amend a”record made by him
while in office, or complete a record which he had begun
but which was incomplete at the time he ceased to hold of-
fice; but an officer who is re-elected to the same office
may amend a record made by him If in a former year
while in office under a different el%tion.“(Emphssis added)

There is no Texas statute authorizing such corrections.

We .no$? your reference to Article 6595. R,C,S., which
requires recorders to “record every instrument of writing au-
thorized to be recorded by him, which is deposited with him for
record, with the acknowledgement, proofs, affidavits and certifi-
cates thereto attached, in the order deposited for record by enter-
ing them word for word and letter for letter. . ~ .*

Article 6596, R.C.S., reads:

‘Every such instrument shall be cansidered as r&cord-
ed from the time it was deposited for record; and the clerk
shall certify under his hand and seal of office to every such
instrument of writing so recorded, the hour, day, month and
year when he recorded it, and the book and page or pages in
which it is recorded; and when recorded deliver the same
to the party entitled thereto.”

Articles 6595 and 6596, when read together, mean that
the instrument which bears the certificate reqaired by Article
6596 is the instrument as recorded.

We are of the opinion that a county clerk is not author-
ized to make any change or correct any error in any deed or deed
of trust record of his office which was made by any officer other
than himself or his deputies. We do not mean to hold that any
party may not have an improperly recorded instrument re-recorded
omitting the former clerk’s certificate. Possibly that procedure
would serve the desired purpose in this case.

SUMMARY

A county clerk is not authortned to correct errors
in the record of a deed or deed of trust which has been
improperly recorded by a predecessor in office, but may
 .

Hon. V. k. Sagebiel, Page 3

correctly re-record eueh iartrumemt in the proper
I records of his office.

Yuurr’ve~y truly,

ATTORNEY GE

BY

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