November 12, 1952 Hon. George M. Kelton Opinion No. V-1537 County Attorney Ector County Re: Authority of the county Odessa, Texas clerk to refuse to return instruments filed for re- cording but not yet actual- Dear Sir: ly recorded. Your request for an opinion of this office reads in part as follows: 'pour office is requested to render an opiriionas to ,whether or not the County Clerk of Ector County should or should not return instruments without recording same which have been filed or deposited with her for recording and which have been endorsed as filed but which are requested to be re- turned by the depositor pr;iorto the time said instruments have actually been recorded by the County Clerk. Our County Clerk is concerned with this matter inasmuch as it complicates her book-work when instruments are returned without recording after same have been filed." Articles 6591, 6594, 6595, and 6596, V.C.S., are pertinent to your inquiry and provide as follows: "County clerks shall be the recorders for their respective counties; they shall provide and keep in their offices well bound books in which they shall record all instruments of writing authorized or required to be recorded in the county clerk's office In the.manner hereinafter provided." "When any instrument of writing author- ized by law to be recorded shall be deposited in the county clerk's office for record, if the same is acknowledged or proved in the manner prescribed by law for record, the clerk .. , Hon. George M. Kelton, page 2 (V-1537) shall enter in a book to be provided for that purpose, in alphabetical order, the names of the parties and date and nature thereof, and the time of delivery for record; and shall give to the person de- positing the same, if required, a receipt specifying the particulars thereof." "Each recorder shall, without delay record every instrument of writing authoc- ized to be recorded by him, which is de- posited with him for record, with the ac- knowledgements. vroofs. affidavits and certificates thereto actached, in the order deposited for record by entering them word for word and letter for letter, and noting at the foot of the record the hour and the day of the month and year when the instrument so recorded was deposited in his office for record." (Emphasis added throughout.) "Every such instrument shall be con- sidered as recorded from time it was de- posited for record; and the clerk shall certify under his hand and seal of office to every such instrument of writing so rec- orded,: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 en- titled thereto., The above statutes require the county clerk to record without delay every instrument of writing authorized to be recorded by him which is deposited with him for record. Article 6596 provides that the instrument shall be considered as recorded from the time it is deposited for recording, and when recorded it shall be delivered to the party entitled thereto. Therefore, we agree with you that the county clerk is not authorized to return an instrument in such a case until it has been recorded. Hon. George M. Kelton, Page 3 (V-1537) SUMMARY The county clerk is nbt authorized to return instruments, filed with him recording, until they have been recorded in the county clerk's office. Yours very truly, APPROVED: PRICE DANIEL Attorney General J. C. Davis, Jr. County Affairs Division E. Jacobson BY @d&a- Executive Assistant & uce Allen Assistant Charles D. Mathews First Assistant BA:am