As Introduced

136th General Assembly

Regular Session H. B. No. 749

2025-2026

To amend sections 317.22 and 4735.141 and to enact section 317.43 of the Revised Code regarding deed and title fraud prevention.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF OHIO:

Section 1. That sections 317.22 and 4735.141 be amended and section 317.43 of the Revised Code be enacted to read as follows:

Sec. 317.22. No deed of absolute conveyance of land or any conveyance, absolute or otherwise, of minerals or mineral rights shall be recorded by the county recorder until:

(A) The conveyance presented to the county recorder bears the stamp of the county auditor stating the conveyance has been examined and the grantor has complied with section 319.202 of the Revised Code;

(B) Such conveyance has been presented to the county auditor, and by the county auditor indorsed "transferred," or "transfer not necessary."

(C)(1) Subject to division (C)(2) of this section, an individual presenting a conveyance to the county recorder for recording shall provide photo identification.

(2) The photo identification requirement in division (C)(1) of this section does not apply to real estate agents or real estate brokers licensed under Chapter 4735. of the Revised Code or title insurance agents licensed under Chapter 3953. of the Revised Code.

(3) As used in this section, "photo identification" means a passport, driver's license, government-issued nondriver identification card, or other form of government-issued identification with the signature or photograph of the individual, which is not expired.

Before any real estate, the title to which has passed under the laws of descent, is transferred from the name of the ancestor to the heir at law or next of kin of such ancestor, or to any grantee of such heir or next of kin; and before any deed or conveyance of real estate made by any such heir or next of kin is presented to or filed for record by the recorder, the heir or next of kin, or that person's grantee, agent, or attorney shall present to the auditor the affidavit of such heir or next of kin, or of two persons resident of this state, each of whom has personal knowledge of the facts. Such affidavit shall set forth the date of the ancestor's death, and the place of residence at the time of death; the fact that the ancestor died intestate; the names, ages, and addresses, so far as known and can be ascertained, of each of such ancestor's heirs at law and next of kin, who, by the ancestor's death, inherited such real estate, the relationship of each to the ancestor, and the part or portion of such real estate inherited by each. Such transfers shall be made by the auditor in accordance with the statement contained in the affidavit, and the auditor shall indorse upon the deed or conveyance the fact that such transfer was made by affidavit. The affidavit shall be filed with the county recorder of the county in which such real estate is situated, at or before the time such deed or conveyance is filed with the county recorder, and shall be recorded by the county recorder of the county in the official records and indexed in the direct and reverse indexes in the county recorder's office, in the name of such ancestor as grantor and of each such heir or next of kin as grantee, in the same manner as if such names occurred in a deed of conveyance from the ancestor to such heirs at law. The county recorder shall receive the same fees for such indexing and recording as provided by section 317.32 of the Revised Code.

~~(C)~~(D) The record of such affidavit shall, in the trial of any cause, so far as competent, be prima-facie evidence.

~~(D)~~(E) No county recorder shall record a conveyance if the indorsement, indorsements, or stamps of indorsement of a county auditor indicating compliance with section 319.202 of the Revised Code on the conveyance are in whole or in part defaced, illegible, or incomplete.

Sec. 317.43. (A) As used in this section, "evidence of residence" means any of the following documents:

(1) A utility bill or receipt of utility installation issued within ninety days of registration;

(2) A paycheck or paystub issued to the applicant within ninety days of the date of application that includes the address of the applicant's residence;

(3) The most current available bank statement issued to the applicant that includes the address of the applicant's residence;

(4) Any other official document issued to the applicant that includes the address of the applicant's residence. The county auditor shall develop guidelines for determining what qualifies as an "official document" under this division.

(B) Each county auditor may establish and maintain a property protection program that includes an automated system to inform property owners by electronic mail, telephone, or mail when a deed conveying title to a registered property is presented to the county auditor for transfer. The system may be run by a county or by a third-party vendor.

(C)(1) The county auditor shall prescribe a form for registering a property with the program and for removing a property from the program. The form shall require all of the following information:

(a) The applicant's name, electronic mail address, and telephone number;

(b) The parcel number and address of the property to be registered with the program.

(2) A form shall be delivered in person to the office of the county auditor along with photo identification and evidence of residence.

(D) For twenty-four hours following notice by the property protection program to the owner of a registered property, the county auditor shall not transfer the registered property, unless the owner subsequently authorizes the transfer.

(E) This section does not create a new cause of action or substantive legal right against a county auditor.

Sec. 4735.141. (A) Except as otherwise provided in this division and in section 4735.13 of the Revised Code and except for a licensee who has placed the licensee's license in resigned status pursuant to section 4735.142 of the Revised Code, each person licensed under section 4735.07 or 4735.09 of the Revised Code shall submit proof satisfactory to the superintendent of real estate that the licensee has satisfactorily completed thirty hours of continuing education, as prescribed by the Ohio real estate commission pursuant to section 4735.10 of the Revised Code, on or before the licensee's birthday occurring three years after the licensee's date of initial licensure, and on or before the licensee's birthday every three years thereafter. The continuing education shall include at least one hour of instruction focused on deed and title fraud prevention, identification, response, and reporting. If the person is licensed as a broker or broker on deposit, or acts as a management level licensee, the continuing education shall include a three-hour course on the duties of a principal broker and other issues involved in operating a real estate brokerage. The continuing education may be completed by either classroom instruction or distance education.

Persons licensed as real estate salespersons who subsequently become licensed real estate brokers shall continue to submit proof of continuing education in accordance with the time period established in this section.

The requirements of this section shall not apply to any disabled licensee as provided in division (E) of this section.

Each licensee who is seventy years of age or older, within a continuing education reporting period, shall submit proof satisfactory to the superintendent of real estate that the licensee has satisfactorily completed both of the following:

(1) A total of nine hours of continuing education, including instruction in Ohio real estate law; recently enacted state and federal laws affecting the real estate industry; municipal, state, and federal civil rights law; ~~and~~ canons of ethics for the real estate industry as adopted by the commission; and at least one hour focused on deed and title fraud prevention, identification, response, and reporting;

(2) If licensed as a broker, broker on deposit, or acting as a management level licensee, a three-hour continuing education course on the duties of a principal broker and other issues involved in operating a real estate brokerage.

The continuing education may be completed by either classroom instruction or distance education. The required proof of completion shall be submitted on or before the licensee's birthday that falls in the third year of that continuing education reporting period. A licensee who is seventy years of age or older whose license is in an inactive status is exempt from the continuing education requirements specified in this section. The commission shall adopt reasonable rules in accordance with Chapter 119. of the Revised Code to carry out the purposes of this paragraph.

(B) The continuing education requirements of this section shall be completed in schools, seminars, and educational institutions approved by the commission. Such approval shall be given according to rules established by the commission under the procedures of Chapter 119. of the Revised Code, and shall not be limited to institutions providing two-year or four-year degrees. Each school, seminar, or educational institution approved under this division shall be open to all licensees on an equal basis.

(C) If the requirements of this section are not met by a licensee within the period specified, the licensee's license shall be suspended automatically without the taking of any action by the superintendent. The superintendent shall notify the licensee of the license suspension, and such notification shall be sent by regular mail to the personal residence address of the licensee that is on file with the division. Any license so suspended shall remain suspended until it is reactivated by the superintendent. No such license shall be reactivated until it is established, to the satisfaction of the superintendent, that the requirements of this section have been met. If the requirements of this section are not met within twelve months from the date the license was suspended, the license shall be revoked automatically without the taking of any action by the superintendent.

(D) If the license of a real estate broker is suspended pursuant to division (C) of this section, the license of a real estate salesperson associated with that broker correspondingly is suspended pursuant to division (H) of section 4735.20 of the Revised Code. A sole broker shall notify affiliated salespersons of the suspension in writing within three days of receiving the notice required by division (C) of this section.

(1) The suspended license of the associated real estate salesperson shall be reactivated and no fee shall be charged or collected for that reactivation if that broker subsequently submits proof to the superintendent that the broker has complied with the requirements of this section and requests that the broker's license as a real estate broker be reactivated, and the superintendent then reactivates the broker's license as a real estate broker.

(2) If the real estate salesperson submits an application to leave the association of the suspended broker in order to associate with a different broker, the suspended license of the associated real estate salesperson shall be reactivated and no fee shall be charged or collected for that reactivation. The superintendent may process the application regardless of whether the licensee's license is returned to the superintendent.

Any person whose license is reactivated pursuant to this division shall comply with the requirements of this section and otherwise be in compliance with this chapter.

(E) Any licensee who is a disabled licensee at any time during the last three months of the third year of the licensee's continuing education reporting period may receive an extension of time as deemed appropriate by the superintendent to submit proof to the superintendent that the licensee has satisfactorily completed the required thirty hours of continuing education. To receive an extension of time, the licensee shall submit a request to the division of real estate for the extension and proof satisfactory to the commission that the licensee was a disabled licensee at some time during the last three months of the three-year reporting period. The proof shall include, but is not limited to, a signed statement by the licensee's attending physician describing the disability, certifying that the licensee's disability is of such a nature as to prevent the licensee from attending any instruction lasting at least three hours in duration, and stating the expected duration of the disability. The licensee shall request the extension and provide the physician's statement to the division no later than one month prior to the end of the licensee's three-year continuing education reporting period, unless the disability did not arise until the last month of the three-year reporting period, in which event the licensee shall request the extension and provide the physician's statement as soon as practical after the occurrence of the disability. A licensee granted an extension pursuant to this division who is no longer a disabled licensee and who submits proof of completion of the continuing education during the extension period, shall submit, for future continuing education reporting periods, proof of completion of the continuing education requirements according to the schedule established in division (A) of this section.

(F) The superintendent shall not renew a license if the licensee fails to comply with this section, and the licensee shall be required to pay the penalty fee provided in section 4735.14 of the Revised Code.

(G) A licensee shall submit proof of completion of the required continuing education with the licensee's notice of renewal. The proof shall be submitted in the manner provided by the superintendent.

Section 2. That existing sections 317.22 and 4735.141 of the Revised Code are hereby repealed.

Section 3. The amendment by this act of section 4735.141 of the Revised Code takes effect six months after the effective date of this section.