HB 535 North Carolina House · 2025-2026 Session

Title Fraud Prevention Act.

House Bill 535, known as the "Title Fraud Prevention Act," aims to combat property title fraud by increasing penalties for filing fraudulent deeds and enhancing recording procedures. The bill requires Registers of Deeds to verify the identity of individuals, who are not designated "trusted submitters" (such as attorneys or title companies), presenting certain property instruments for recording by requiring a government-issued photographic identification card. It also authorizes Registers of Deeds to refuse to register instruments deemed "suspicious" or if identity verification requirements are not met. Additionally, the bill escalates the criminal penalties for filing fraudulent deeds, making it a felony offense.

Bill status passed 3 of 5 stages cleared

Introduction

Mar 2025

Committee Review

May 2025

House Passage

May 2025

Senate Passage

Governor

Introduced Mar 26, 2025 Last action May 7, 2025

Maddy AI version diff · 2 comparisons

What changed between versions

Edition 1 → Edition 2 · 6 edits

MODERATE

This bill was revised to expand its scope and strengthen fraud prevention measures. The changes include adding a legislative study on statewide fraud detection systems, modifying criminal penalties for property fraud, and updating definitions of suspicious instruments and trusted submitters. The bill also clarifies identity verification requirements for non-trusted submitters presenting deeds to county registers.

Scope change

The bill's scope was expanded to include a requirement for the Legislative Research Commission to study a statewide fraud detection alert system, and the criminal penalties for fraudulent property transactions were increased from Class G to Class H felonies for certain violations.

REQUIREMENT

Added a requirement for the Legislative Research Commission to study the feasibility of a statewide fraud detection alert system.

Added requirements for tax office certification of listed owner and delinquent tax status on county tax records.

ENFORCEMENT

Changed criminal penalties for fraudulent deed filing from Class G felony to Class H felony for properties under $100,000, and made all fraudulent deed filings Class H felonies regardless of property value.

DEFINITION

Expanded the definition of 'instrument' to include additional property-related documents like financing statements, affidavits, and contracts establishing interests in real property.

Updated the definition of 'trusted submitter' to remove specific categories (title insurance companies, attorneys, financial institutions) from the original list.

TECHNICAL

Corrected formatting inconsistencies and removed redundant text throughout the bill.

Floor votes · House May 7, 2025

How they voted

111–0

Passed · 9 other

Total votes 120

May 7, 2025

D Democratic46

41 Yea 5

89% Yea

I Independent2

2 Yea

100% Yea

R Republican72

68 Yea 4

94% Yea

Vote distribution

All Yea All Nay Mixed No data

Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions

Key actions

Committee

May 7, 2025

Committee

Ref To Com On Rules and Operations of the Senate

upper

May 7, 2025

Lower · Passed

Passed 3rd Reading

lower

May 6, 2025

Lower · Passed

Reptd Fav

lower

May 6, 2025

Committee

Re-ref Com On Rules, Calendar, and Operations of the House

lower

May 6, 2025

Lower · Passed

Reptd Fav Com Substitute

lower

Apr 10, 2025

Committee

Re-ref Com On Judiciary 2

lower

Apr 10, 2025

Lower · Passed

Reptd Fav

lower

Mar 27, 2025

Committee

Ref to the Com on Housing and Development, if favorable, Judiciary 2, if favorable, Rules, Calendar, and Operations of the House

lower

Mar 26, 2025

Introduced

Filed

lower

3 primary · 15 co-sponsors