E-Recording FAQ
E-Record Documents Nationwide
Your e-record questions answered
Getting Started
Direct eRecording is a nationwide electronic document recording service that submits your legal documents to county recorder offices on your behalf — without you needing to visit a courthouse. You upload an order through our portal, mail us your original documents, and we verify, scan, and submit them electronically to the appropriate county recorder. You are notified by email when the document is recorded or rejected.
Account setup is free and takes just a few minutes. Visit our portal at directlegal.legalconnect.com/registration to register. There are no subscription or membership fees — you only pay when you place a recording order.
Our service is used by attorneys, title companies, real estate professionals, paralegals, and legal support staff who need reliable, fast document recording without managing individual county submission processes. We have served 10,000+ firms nationwide.
No. There are no monthly fees, subscriptions, or memberships required. You pay a one-time service fee per eRecording order, plus the county’s actual recording fees. The portal is available 24/7 at no cost to access.
Submitting Documents
1. Create a free account on the portal.
2. Place a recording order to generate a tracking number.
3. Receive an order confirmation via email.
4. Mail your original documents to: 901 Corporate Center Dr., Ste. 400, Monterey Park, CA 91754.
5. Our team verifies, scans, and submits the documents to the county recorder.
6. You receive an email notification when your document is recorded or rejected.
You need to mail your original documents to our processing office. Once received, our team scans and electronically submits them to the county. The portal is used to place and track your order, not to upload document files directly.
Yes. Multiple documents may be included in a single order as long as they relate to the same property (APN) or case number. Each document should be uploaded as a separate attachment, and you can specify the order in which you want them recorded. Additional documents in the same submission are charged at $35 each.
Yes — include them, but as a separate attachment within the same order. Preliminary Change of Ownership Reports (PCORs) and Transfer Tax Affidavits are not recordable documents themselves, but they should accompany the recordable instrument when submitted to the county.
Yes. Documents must be received by a cut-off time to qualify for the selected service level (Routine, Priority, or Urgent). Contact us at (800) 675-5376 or recordings@directlegal.com to confirm current cut-off times before sending time-sensitive filings.
E-Recording Fees & Payment
Our service fees are as follows:
– Routine (submitted within 3 business days of receiving documents): $55
– Priority (submitted within 1 business day): $75
– Urgent (submitted same day documents are received): $95
– Out-of-state eRecording, Routine (where permissible): $95
– Additional documents in the same submission (same APN or case number): $35 each
All fees are in addition to county recording fees and any applicable taxes.
We accept credit cards and ACH checking (subject to approval). Debit cards are not accepted. County recording fees are advanced by Direct Legal Support and charged upon order completion using the payment method on file. Payment receipts and itemized invoices are emailed to your designated accounting contact.
No. County recording fees are separate from our service fee. We advance the county fees on your behalf and charge them to your payment method on file once the order is complete. Your invoice will itemize both the service fee and the county’s actual recording fees.
Yes. Our service fee applies regardless of whether the county records or rejects the document. This is because our work — verifying, scanning, and submitting — is completed either way. You will receive a clear explanation of the rejection reason and what corrections are needed.
Documents & Coverage
We record a wide range of legal documents, including:
Real property/ownership documents: Grant Deeds, Quitclaim Deeds, Warranty Deeds, Deeds of Trust, Reconveyances, TOD Deeds, Easements, CC&Rs, Lot Line Adjustments, and more.
Liens & security interests: Abstracts of Judgment, Mechanic’s Liens, Tax Liens, HOA Assessment Liens, UCC Fixture Filings, and releases of the above.
Foreclosure/default documents: Notice of Default, Notice of Trustee Sale, Notice of Rescission, Trustee’s Deed Upon Sale.
Court/judgment enforcement: Lis Pendens, Notice of Attachment, judgment-related property filings.
Probate/trust/estate documents: Affidavits of Death of Trustee or Joint Tenant, Certification of Trust, Probate Orders affecting real property.
Business/miscellaneous notices: Notice of Completion, Notice of Cessation, Environmental Restrictions, Encroachment Agreements.
Government/public agency filings: Tax Deeds, Eminent Domain Documents, Government Easements.
Family law documents affecting property: Community Property Agreements, Divorce Judgments affecting title, Homestead Declarations.
We offer eRecording nationwide in all jurisdictions where it is permissible. The service fee for Routine recording outside of California is $95. Contact us to confirm availability for a specific state or county before placing an out-of-state order.
Not all counties accept electronic filings. If your target county does not support eRecording, contact us at (800) 675-5376 and we can advise on available alternatives or traditional filing options through Direct Legal Support, Inc.
Rejections & Corrections
You will receive an immediate email notification explaining the rejection reason and what corrections are required. Our service fee still applies since the verification, scanning, and submission work was completed. Once you make the necessary corrections, you can place a new order to resubmit.
Common rejection reasons include: missing or incorrect notarization, illegible signatures, missing or incorrect legal descriptions, missing required attachments (such as a PCOR), incorrect recording fees, and documents that do not meet the county’s formatting or margin requirements. Our team performs a pre-submission verification to catch many of these issues before they reach the recorder.
Yes. Our specialists perform a verification step to check for accuracy and completeness before submitting to the county. However, our team does not provide legal review — we verify that documents appear complete and ready for recording, not that they are legally correct. Any legal questions about document content should be directed to your attorney.
Direct E-Record Account & Support
You can track orders at any time through our 24/7 portal at directlegal.legalconnect.com. You will also receive proactive email notifications at key stages: order confirmation, recording completion, or rejection with details.
Contact us at (800) 675-5376 or recordings@directlegal.com to discuss multi-user account options for your firm. We work with law firms, title companies, and legal teams of all sizes and can help set up a workflow that fits your organization.
When your document is successfully recorded, you will receive an email with a direct link to the stamped digital copy, which includes the county’s official stamp, recording number, and date. You can also access recorded copies through your portal account at any time.
You can reach us at:
Phone: (800) 675-5376
Email: recordings@directlegal.com
Mail: 901 Corporate Center Dr., Ste. 400, Monterey Park, CA 91754
