Copies of Documents (7-6, 7-16)

Standard 7-6 prohibits the recording of non-certified copies of documents. Standard 7-16 (Multiple Documents) states in part that "a document otherwise recordable on its own (or a photocopy of such a document) shall not be recorded as an attachment to another document but must be recorded on its own." The comment:

under items 7-6 and 7-16, I have recorded copies of papers for which the original is lost as an attachment to a 183 5 (b) affidavit..I believe that this is proper, but 7-6 seems to prohibit it

These two standards would not prohibit the practice described in this comment. First, 7-16 specifically states "This rule does not apply to Affidavits filed in accordance with MGL c 183, s 5B." So you would still have that as a mechanism for making the document described part of the record. Standard 7-16 is intended to curtail the practice of attaching ancillary documents to a primary document, presumably in an effort to reduce the recording fee. An example of what is prohibited would be attaching an original Death Certificate to a Deed. They should be recorded as separate documents. Standard 7-6 is intended to prevent someone from trying to record a photocopy of a document arguing that the Uniform Electronic Transactions Act makes a photocopy as good as the original - we don't agree with that argument. But both of these rules should contain some supplemental instructions so that everyone clearly understands the intent. As currently written, they are open to several interpretations, a situation that we're certainly trying to avoid.