From the Office of the Richmond County Clerk

Stephen J. Fiala

County Clerk and Commissioner of Jurors

UPDATED: August 1, 2024

This Office has been made aware that the New York City Department of Finance is not requiring the filing of transfer documents when a Transfer on Death “Deed” [Real Property Law § § 424] (hereinafter “TODD”) is presented to the City Register for recording.

Guided by the policy of the New York City Department of Finance, this Office—as County Register for Richmond County—likewise will not require transfer documents for the recording of TODD.

Whereas Real Property Law § § 424 appears to not create a present conveyance of an interest in real property, the TODD should be submitted as document type “other” when preparing a Richmond County Endorsement Page. Doing so will require the payment of statutorily mandated recording fees only .

Lastly, as it has been the long-standing policy and practice of the Office of the Richmond County Clerk that we will not substitute our legal judgement for the legal judgment of attorneys representing the parties to a transaction, persons intending to record the instrument as a “deed” should select document type “deed” when preparing a Richmond County Endorsement Page. However, doing so will require the submission of all transfer documents typically associated with a deed (along with the filing fees and taxes—if any-- for those associated documents) and statutorily mandated recording fees.