Get Ready & Take Action: New FinCEN Rule & Lee County Pilot

Hello Members!

I have been feeling out of touch and left out so I decided to play around with AI and found the cause for my lethargy, discomfort and increased irritability.  The Dog Days of Summer!  AI said as much so it must be true!  Now I can tell people it is not my natural personality….it's the DDOS.

FinCEN Resource Page.  I can't help with the heat but I can help with getting ready for the new Residential Real Estate Rule that goes into effect December 1, 2025.  I don't need to put anything else on the page here.  Just go to our new Big, Beautiful, Resource Page.  Here's a link. https://www.thefund.com/fincen

Call to Action REMINDER.  This is about the Lee County pilot program requiring ID from grantor, grantee and the person presenting the deed for recordation.  Please be patient and read through this call to action.  It's important.  (This is a replay from a blog back in June but if you didn't take action, please do so now.)

In 2023, the Florida Legislature passed HB 1419, authorizing the Lee County Clerk to launch the Title Fraud Prevention Through Identity Verification Pilot Program. The bill was enacted as Fla. Stat. § 28.2225. This initiative requires parties presenting instruments for recordation to provide government-issued IDs for the grantor, grantee, and the presenting party, and allows the Clerk to store copies of these identifications when an instrument is recorded electronically.  The Clerk may suspend or refuse to record a deed or instrument if the required identification is not provided.

The bill’s section creating the pilot program is set to repeal on July 1, 2025. The Clerk must submit a report to the Governor, President of the Senate, and Speaker of the House of Representatives by December 31, 2025, to address various program aspects, including the potential for statewide expansion.  Because the  2026 legislative session begins in January, the Clerk has been asked to submit his report by October 1, 2025.  It is important to provide the Clerk with your feedback so that it can be included in his report. You might want to consider the following questions when providing your feedback:

• Were the requirements imposed by the pilot program unduly burdensome?
• Were the pilot program’s requirements appropriately within the parameters of Fla. Stat. § 28.225?
• Were there any concerns about providing copies of government-issued IDs?
• Did you form any opinions on the pilot program’s impact on preventing fraud?
• Are you in favor of expanding the pilot program statewide?

Please send your feedback via email to deedpilot@leeclerk.org by August 1, 2025. If you are willing, please also send me a copy at feedback@thefund.com. 

This is a simple way for you to have a voice in any future action taken by the legislature. I hope you will participate.

Let me know how we can help you.

 

Melissa Jay Murphy
Executive Vice President, Chief Legal Officer,
and General Counsel