§ 153A-436. Photographic reproduction of county records.
§ 153A‑436. Photographic reproduction of county records.
(a) A county may provide for the reproduction, by photocopy,photograph, microphotograph, or any other method of reproduction that giveslegible and permanent copies, of instruments, documents, and other papers filedwith the register of deeds and of any other county records. The county shallkeep each reproduction of an instrument, document, paper, or other record in afire‑resistant file, vault, or similar container. If a duplicatereproduction is made to provide a security‑copy, the county shall keepthe duplicate in a fire‑resistant file, vault, or similar containerseparate from that housing the principal reproduction.
If a county has provided for reproducing records, any custodian ofpublic records of the county may cause to be reproduced any of the recordsunder, or coming under, his custody.
(b) If a county has provided for reproducing some or all countyrecords, the custodian of any instrument, document, paper, or other record maypermit it to be removed from its regular repository for up to 24 hours in orderto be reproduced. An instrument, document, paper or other record may be removedfrom the county in order to be reproduced. The board of commissioners maypermit an instrument, document, paper, or other record to be removed for longerthan 24 hours if a longer period is necessary to complete the process ofreproduction.
(c) The original of any instrument, document, or other paperreceived by the register of deeds and reproduced pursuant to this Article shallbe filed, maintained, and disposed of in accordance with G.S. 161‑17 andG.S. 121‑5. The original of any other county record that is reproducedpursuant to this Article may be kept by the county or disposed of pursuant toG.S. 121‑5.
(d) If an instrument, document, or other paper received by theregister of deeds is reproduced pursuant to this Article, the recording of thereproduction is a sufficient recording for all purposes.
(e) A reproduction, made pursuant to this Article, of an instrument,document, paper, or other record is as admissible in evidence in any judicialor administrative proceeding as the original itself, whether the original isextant or not. An enlargement or other facsimile of the reproduction is alsoadmissible in evidence if the original reproduction is extant and available forinspection under the direction of the court or administrative agency.
(f) The provisions of this section shall apply to recordsstored on any form of permanent, computer‑readable media, such as a CD‑ROM,if the medium is not subject to erasure or alteration. Nonerasable, computer‑readablestorage media shall not be used for preservation duplicates, as defined in G.S.132‑8.2, or for the preservation of permanently valuable records asprovided in G.S. 121‑5(d), except to the extent expressly approved by theDepartment of Cultural Resources pursuant to standards and conditionsestablished by the Department. (1945, c. 286, ss. 1‑7; c. 944; 1951, c. 19, ss. 1‑6; 1953,c. 675, ss. 23, 24; 1957, c. 330, s. 3; 1973, c. 822, s. 1; 1999‑131, s.4; 1999‑456, s. 47(d).)