29-1-81 - Issuance of patents and contracts.
§ 29-1-81. Issuance of patents and contracts.
(1) All conveyances of land by the state in fee shall be by patent issued from the Secretary of State's office; every patent issued shall be under the great seal, signed by the Secretary of State.
(2) (a) The patent shall be issued in triplicate by the Office of the Secretary of State, the original of which shall be delivered to the patentee, one (1) copy thereof retained by the Secretary of State among the records of his office, and the third copy shall be mailed to the tax assessor of the county in which the land so patented is located on or before the fifteenth day of the month succeeding the date upon which the patent was issued.
(b) The Secretary of State may file the original patent with the chancery clerk and such filing shall constitute the delivery of the patent to the patentee. Prior to filing the original patent, the Secretary of State shall collect from the patentee the sum of Twenty Dollars ($20.00) to cover the cost of filing the patent. Failure of the Secretary of State to file the patent shall not affect its validity.
(3) All contracts of sale of public lands shall be issued from the Secretary of State's office in duplicate; and every contract issued shall be under the great seal, signed by the Secretary of State and countersigned by the Governor.
(4) No more than one-quarter (1/4) section of land shall be embraced in the same patent or contract, except as otherwise provided by law.
Sources: Codes, 1892, § 2561; 1906, § 2899; Hemingway's 1917, § 5234; 1930, § 6024; 1942, § 4106; Laws, 1936, ch. 174; Laws, 1942, ch. 235; Laws, 1978, ch. 458, § 22; Laws, 1990, ch. 420, § 2; Laws, 2003, ch. 331, § 2, eff from and after July 1, 2003.