Requires notaries public and commissioners of deeds to complete and retain certain documents relating to the transfer of residential real property

Latest action Apr 27, 2026

Requires notaries public and commissioners of deeds to complete and retain certain documents relating to the transfer of residential real property; relates to forgery and offering a false document concerning residential real property.

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Where it stands

Passed one of the two chambers; it still needs the other.

Introduced
In committee
Up for a vote
Passed one chamber
Passed
Enacted

New York State Senate

Same as A6441, the matching bill in the Assembly.

Amends the Executive Law.

Committee

Finance · New York State Senate

Also referred to Judiciary · New York State Assembly, Judiciary · New York State Senate.

Purpose, from the sponsor's memo

The purpose of this bill is to prevent fraudulent deed transfers by increasing the accountability of notaries who place their seal on docu- ments of conveyance that transfer ownership of residential real proper- ty. This bill establishes that notaries and commissioners of deeds who are not employed by a title insurance agency, law firm or financial institu- tion, and who are involved in executing a document of conveyance, must file a notarial record of the notarial act. The bill provides a template of the notarial record, which includes, among other information, a description of the nature of the property, the names of the parties involved in the transfer, and the form of identification that was presented. The notary is required to file the notarial record with the County Clerk or the Recorder of Deeds.

Filed with the bill. Read it on nysenate.gov (opens in a new tab)

Recorded votes

Vote: Floor vote
NY SenateApr 27, 2026Result: passed
(52) (8) (0) (3)
Vote: Committee vote · Finance
Senate FinanceMar 5, 2026Result: passed
(19) (3) (0) (0)
Vote: Floor vote
NY SenateMar 20, 2025Result: passed
(51) (8) (0) (4)
Vote: Committee vote · Finance
Senate FinanceMar 11, 2025Result: passed
(18) (3) (0) (1)

Cosponsors

Lea Webb, Rebecca Seawright and 2 more on Agora

Democratic3
Republican1

See the full list on nysenate.gov

The sponsor's argument

Why Leroy Comrie says this is needed

Huge spikes in real estate values and lax standards for property trans- fers have left many homeowners vulnerable to deceptive practices by individuals and entities seeking to defraud homeowners out of their title to the home to make a profit. The two most common mechanisms of deed theft are through forged deeds and fraudulently transferred deeds. In the instances of a forged deed, the forger signs the document convey- ing real property as both the seller and buyer without any right to it. This type of theft typically affects properties in which ownership has recently passed through inheritance and these deed scammers quickly file the forged deed, which legitimizes their title, and enables them to take possession of the premises. In the case of fraudulently transferred deeds, homeowners sign over their deeds, either knowingly or unknowing- ly, under the false pretenses proffered by scammers. These individuals target homes in or nearing foreclosure by approaching the vulnerable homeowners with promises of refinancing, preventing foreclosure or some other financial relief, and some even manipulate the homeowners to do a short sale, by which they promise to pay homeowners a sum of money to satisfy the outstanding mortgage in exchange for short term title to the property which they in turn promise to give back after the loan is repaid. Unwitting homeowners are often left without a home and still owing their mortgages. This bill seeks to prevent both scenarios by requiring the notary who is present at the signing of the document of conveyance to fill out and file a notarial record. This record will indicate among other things the parties to the conveyance, the documents of identification that are presented to the notary, and the relationship the grantee and grantor have to one another. The rationale is that the creation of such a docu- ment will encourage the notary to be vigilant in identifying who the grantor and grantee are and the legitimacy of the transaction. Further more, the filing of the record will assist in the subsequent investi- gation and prosecution of fraudulent deed transfers by identifying any pattern of fraudulent actors.

This is the sponsor's own case for the bill, quoted from their memorandum. It is not Agora's description of what the bill does.

Full history

Apr 27, 2026
Sent to the executive
DELIVERED TO ASSEMBLY
NY Senate
Apr 27, 2026
Passed a chamber
PASSED SENATE
NY Senate
Apr 27, 2026
Referred to committee
REFERRED TO JUDICIARY
NY Assembly
Mar 10, 2026
Advanced to Third Reading
ADVANCED TO THIRD READING
NY Senate
Mar 9, 2026
2ND Report CAL.
2ND REPORT CAL.
NY Senate

Show full history (12 earlier events)

Mar 5, 2026
1ST Report CAL.468
1ST REPORT CAL.468
NY Senate
Jan 7, 2026
Died in Assembly
DIED IN ASSEMBLY
NY Assembly
Jan 7, 2026
Referred to committee
REFERRED TO FINANCE
NY Senate
Jan 7, 2026
Referred to committee
REFERRED TO JUDICIARY
NY Assembly
Mar 20, 2025
Sent to the executive
DELIVERED TO ASSEMBLY
NY Senate
Mar 20, 2025
Passed a chamber
PASSED SENATE
NY Senate
Mar 20, 2025
Referred to committee
REFERRED TO JUDICIARY
NY Assembly
Mar 13, 2025
Advanced to Third Reading
ADVANCED TO THIRD READING
NY Senate
Mar 12, 2025
2ND Report CAL.
2ND REPORT CAL.
NY Senate
Mar 11, 2025
1ST Report CAL.532
1ST REPORT CAL.532
NY Senate
Mar 4, 2025
Referred to committee
REFERRED TO JUDICIARY
NY Assembly
Feb 19, 2025
Referred to committee
REFERRED TO FINANCE
NY Senate

About this record

Summary: The summary comes from NY Open Legislation, the New York State Senate's public record. For more, see How we handle summaries.
Cosponsors: The list shows the cosponsors who are on Agora, A to Z. The official record may list more.
Party colors: Parties are shown in the same neutral colors.
Source: From NY Open Legislation, the NY Senate and Assembly, and official rosters. This record was last updated Nov 2, 2026. About our data

Read the record

Read on NY Senate (opens in a new tab) The official record on nysenate.gov.

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