Hi all,

Town clerks cannot perform their statutory duties if a PTR is not signed.

Section 9606(b) of Title 32 of the Vermont Statutes Annotated requires a PTR to be signed by each party. Section 9607 requires a PTR to be complete and regular on its face for a town clerk to issue a signed and written acknowledgment to the transferee and to affix an acknowledgment on the deed. If the PTR is not signed, it is not complete and the town clerk cannot issue an acknowledgment to the transferee or affix an acknowledgment on the deed.

In addition, per 32 V.S.A. §9608 a town clerk cannot record a deed unless it is affixed with an acknowledgment of return and tax payment under Section 9607 and a signed certificate that the conveyance is in compliance with or exempt from the provisions of chapter 151 of Title 10. The required certificate is on page two of the PTR. Therefore, a town clerk cannot enter the required acknowledgment on a deed or record a deed until he/she receives a signed PTR.

Suzanne M. Monte
Assistant Attorney General
Vermont Department of Taxes,
Division of Property Valuation and Review
P.O. Box 429
Montpelier, VT  05601-0429
Phone: (802) 828-2731
Fax: (802) 828-5873
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From: Vermont Municipal Government Discussion Network [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Linda L. Spence, CMC/CVC
Sent: Monday, April 23, 2007 4:06 PM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: Signatures on PTTR's

Hi Toni,
 
While I can understand your frustration at the lack of thoroughness of the PTTR's being completed by Attorneys etc.,  no where in state statute are we authorized to refuse anything for recording, barring the total absence of a PTTR or a survey mentioned in the deed.
 
It would appear that your issue is with those preparing the PTTRs themselves, and not the Town Clerks.
 
Linda
----- Original Message -----
From: [log in to unmask] href="mailto:[log in to unmask]">May, Toni
To: [log in to unmask] href="mailto:[log in to unmask]">[log in to unmask]
Sent: Monday, April 23, 2007 10:26 AM
Subject: Signatures on PTTR's


Many PTTR's are being submitted to the Tax Dept. without both sellers and buyers signatures.
I would like to remind all town clerks that when a PTTR is filed, signatures by each of the parties or their legal representatives are required. 32 V.S.A 9606 (b).

To avoid any confusion in the future, I ask that town clerks please double check PTTR's when they are submitted to their office. If they do not contain the required signatures, please send them back to the preparer to be filled out properly.

I appreciate your time and cooperation in this matter.

Thank You
Toni May,Tax Examiner
Vermont Property Transfer Tax