§ 394. Certificate of registration. The registrar shall make, in the form prescribed by section four hundred and thirtyfive of this chapter, an original certificate of registration of every title, right or interest registered by him pursuant to this article. Said certificate shall bear the date of its issue (the day and year), and be under the hand and official seal of the registrar, and be numbered in the order of its issue. Except in case of a corporation, it shall state whether the owner of the property, right, or interest registered is married or unmarried, and if married, the name of the husband or wife. If the owner is a minor, it shall state his age; if he is under any other disability, it shall state the nature of such disability. The registrar shall make proper memorials. or notations on the certificate, showing in such manner as to set forth and preserve their priorities the particulars of all the estates, mortgages, trusts, liens and charges, to which such owner's title is subject. No such memorial or notation shall be more than one folio (one hundred words), in length; but it may refer to covenants, restrictions and forms recorded in the "book of covenants, restrictions and forms" provided for by this article. The form of the first certificate of title, as set forth in section four hundred and thirty-five of this article, shall be subject to such changes as may be required in any case. All subsequent certificates. shall be in like form, except that in place of the words “first certificate," et cetera, shall be the words "transfer from number * * (the number of the next previous certificate); also the words "first registered * * * "" (date of first registration). On the back or reverse side of every certificate shall be printed, in plain legible type, the whole of section four hundred of this chapter.

Formerly section 26, chapter 444, Laws of 1908.90

Comment. The registrar is directed by this section to make the certificate in a certain form prescribed. The difficulty does not lie with the form of the certificate, but that some of the other directions in this section call for the exercise by him of all the 90 Repealed. See § 460, infra.

art of the conveyancer and all the learning of the most skillful counsel to conveyancers. An abstract of restrictions, equities, latent equities and charges required by this section certainly calls for no ordinary professional attainment.91 If the registrar is not known to possess it, purchasers and lenders will naturally feel forced to re-examine all the proceedings leading up to the registration of title. Such a necessity defeats one object of a Torrens law. Yet experience shows that in most communities under "Torrens laws" such professional re-examination is expedient if not necessary.

91 And see § 408, infra.

§ 395. Registration book. The registrar shall keep a book or books to be known respectively as the "registration book," wherein he shall enter all first and subsequent "original" certificates of title by binding or recording them therein, with appropriate blanks for the entry of memorials and notations prescribed by this article. Said book shall be of about the size of the conveyance libers, now used in county clerks' and registrars' offices. Each certificate shall constitute a separate leaf of such book. About two inches of each leaf on the binding edge shall be kept blank on both sides, to facilitate rebinding. At such times as may be proper, the registrar may rebind the certificates in new volumes or registration books, containing respectively cancelled and uncancelled certificates. All memorials and notations, that may be entered in the registration book under the terms of this article, shall be entered upon the leaf constituting the last certificate of title of the property to which they relate. Whenever the term "certificate of title" is used in this article it shall be deemed as including all memorials or notations thereupon noted.

Formerly section 27, chapter 444, Laws of 1908.92

Comment. It has been stated, that the office of the registrar is the central administrative office of the Torrens system, and that upon its efficiency much depends. The original certificates of title are the theoretical starting point of the new system. But in point of fact, the regularity of the proceedings which lead up to such certificates will be the subject of great anxiety to purchasers and lenders for a long time to come, as has already been pointed out under the prior sections of this article. If the "Torrens Law" is to grow in public favor, the condition of the public records must be of the best. Otherwise there is little to fall back upon under the Torrens system of this country. In a good registry office the condition of the title should be shown at a glance. As records. accumulate, and under most "Torrens Laws they must accumulate very rapidly (for all papers are required to be filed), great care and skill are essential upon the part of the registrar, or mistakes of consequence will occur.93 The administrative features of this law are so largely left to the registrar that he may be said to be the central administrator of the entire system. 92 Repealed. See 8 460, infra.

93 See $8 409, 416, infra.

§ 396. Duplicate certificate of title. The registrar shall, at the same time that he makes out his original certificate of title, make out an exact duplicate thereof, with the memorials and notations thereon noted, which shall be delivered to the owner and shall be known as the owner's duplicate. Any duplicate certificate, or certified copy of a certificate, shall be plainly stamped as such across its face. Formerly section 28, chapter 444, Laws of 1908.94

Comment. The duplicate certificate is the owner's evidence of title under the "Torrens Laws." It in theory should show an absolute and indefeasible title in the holder. Under a perfect State system this would be the case; there would be no reservations of any consequence. But under most voluntary Torrens acts a compromise with theory is only too apparent.95 If the certificate is untrue, in the absence of actual State administration, there must be an indemnity fund of some :ind to fall back upon, and the effort of the framers of "Torrens Laws" in general is to protect this fund as far as possible.96 So the ordinary certificate of title has a schedule of memorials and notations thereon noted.97 These are intended to operate as notice to holders and their assigns, and the purchaser must, therefore, take notice of them and have recourse to the registrar's office for that purpose, or he may find himself without remedy against the indemnity fund for 'want of diligence and a neglect of the notice.98

The matter of boundaries is always an important one in this connection, for it must be evident that two persons at once cannot have an indefeasible title to the same land, and yet certificates to adjoining proprietors may, under "Torrens Laws," by some possibility be issued, covering precisely the same area. This result necessarily makes the indemnity fund of the first consequence to holders and transferees of certificates in those States where the State itself has not inaugurated a State-administered system, with absolute liability on its part for such errors and mistakes.99 The indemnity fund, however, always denotes a compromise with theory. That is the weak point of the voluntary registration laws.

94 Repealed. See § 460, infra. 95 See 88 394, 400, 402.

96 §§ 426, 427.

97 See 394, supra.
98 See 8410, infra.

99 See 8426, infra.

§ 397. Owner's receipt for certificate of title. For the purpose of preserving evidence of the handwriting of the owner of any registered property, right, or interest, it shall be the duty of the registrar to take from such owner, in every case where it is practicable so to do, his receipt for the certificate of title, or whatever paper shall be issued to him, signed by such owner in person. When such receipt is signed in the registrar's office it may be witnessed by the registrar or some deputy. If signed elsewhere, it may be acknowledged before any officer authorized to take acknowledgment of deeds. When so signed and witnessed or acknowledged, such receipt shall be prima facie evidence of the genuineness of such signature.

Formerly section 29, chapter 444, Laws of 1908.1

Comment. This section presupposes a literary qualification upon the part of owners of real property which is perhaps not justified by statistics. Small letterless holders are most common. If an owner cannot write, what then? It is true that the section limits the receipt of the owner to practicable cases. But who is to be the final judge of the "practicable "? The act as framed is evidently intended for persons who can write. Now, if such evidence is necessary, it is indispensable, in law, and the consequences of an omission may be serious to a correct administration of the law. The foregoing section implies either that or nothing.

One of the difficulties with most Title Registration, or Torren', Laws is the detail prescribed by the acts and in common with all statutory proceedings, proceedings under the Torrens acts must be followed, with care, to ensure contemplated results.

1 Repealed. See 460, infra.