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Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 155 / Monday, August 16, 2021 / Rules and Regulations
misconception that the record of title for all lands, including Indian lands, is maintained at the State or local level.
Response: The final rule clarifies in 150.202 that LTRO maintains current and historical title documents to Indian land in the system of record.
A homeownership organization suggested that 150.202 should give examples of circumstances in which due diligence may require examination in other records of title.
Response: Examples of circumstances in which due diligence may require examination in other records of title include: Archives for original land patents may require examination in other Federal records of titles; and feeto-trust transactions for undivided fee interests in a tract in which other undivided interests are owned in trust or restricted status may require examination in State and local records of title. The final rule does not include these examples in the regulatory text because doing so may give the impression that these examples constitute the entire universe of documents for which due diligence may require examination in other records of title.

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3. Who May Submit for Recording 150.203
Two title insurance company commenters requested the regulations include a timeframe for recording upon submission.
Response: As mentioned above, the LTRO does abide by internal timeframes. LTRO has an internal timeframe of two business days for recording any document upon receipt from the Agency, Region, or OHA. The timeframe for the Agency, Region, or OHA to prepare and transmit a document to LTRO is outside the scope of this rule.
4. Delegation of the Recording Function 150.204
One Tribe commented on 150.204, which states that the BIA Director may delegate authority to record title documents to another BIA office by documenting the delegation and types of transactions to which it applies in the Indian Affairs Manual. The Tribe stated their support for the flexibility to allow workload sharing across LTRO offices, so long as the primary LTRO primarily maintains the record of title. The Tribe also requested that Tribes be given notice of any long-term delegations so the Tribe may discuss the delegation with the Regional Director. An individual commenter expressed concern with allowing BIA to delegate authority to another office.

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Response: The final rule retains this provision to provide flexibility for workload sharing. Any long-term delegation that has potential Tribal implications would be subject to Executive Order 13175 requirements for Tribal consultation.
A Tribe asked that privacy concerns be addressed through best practices to ensure that documents are only accessed by designated and authorized personnel for BIA purposes.
Response: The Privacy Act applies to records within the record of title and, under its system of record, access to the record of title is limited to designated and authorized personnel for official purposes.
5. Minimum Requirements for Recording 150.205
An individual commenter described past sales that reserved part of the interests such as the mineral rights for transfer at a later date, and stated they require affirmative title actions.
Response: This section, 150.205b, sets out the minimum requirements for recording documents. Actions required to obtain BIA approval of a transfer are addressed in separate regulations.
A title insurance company commenter requested clarification as to whether the proper notarization or other acknowledgment of the signatures of the parties must be pursuant to State law.
Response: The applicable law depends upon the document, and where it was signed. Notaries are commissioned under State law. Other acknowledgments may include those authorized for military members to acknowledge other military members signatures, social workers or wardens to acknowledge the signatures of incarcerated individuals, and foreign country notary equivalents. The LTRO
does not scrutinize the notary commission authority, beyond checking to ensure notarys name appears on the stamp and the commission has not expired.
Another commenter asked whether notarization pursuant to remote online notarization laws is considered proper notarization or other acknowledgment of the signatures of the parties.
Response: Notarial acts follow State laws where the notary is physically located. While the Department of the Interior continues to monitor remote online notarization capabilities, the Department does not currently recognize remote online notarization for Federal purposes, even when permitted under State notarial laws. Some State laws have included language that simultaneous live audio/video would constitute in-person
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acknowledgment. For these reasons, the final rule specifies in 150.205a3
that traditional in-person notarization or other in-person acknowledgment of the parties signatures, if appropriate, is a minimum requirement for recording.
Two title insurance company commenters requested more specificity about when a tract number is required in addition to the legal description to record a document.
Response: The final rule revises the proposed rule by stating that the tract number should be included if available, rather than if required. See 150.205a1.
A Tribe pointed out that the current Part 150 states that title documents must be submitted to the appropriate LTRO
for recording immediately after final approval, issuance, or acceptance, but the new proposed rule at 150.205
deletes any reference to a timeframe.
This Tribe also asked whether the requirement to record documents that may not have been recorded in the past is retroactive.
Response: Any applicable timeframes for agencies to submit documents for recording are found in the regulations governing the underlying realty transactions. For example, regulations governing leasing provide that BIA will record the lease documents immediately upon approval of the transaction. See, e.g., 25 CFR 162.217, 162.246, 162.343, 162.443, 162.533, 162.568.
6. Title Defects 150.206
An individual commenter requested that a statement be added to 150.206
to clarify that corrections to title documents are made after the BIA
adjudicates the defect under appropriate regulations, including notice to potential owners/heirs or impacted lenders regarding the corrections that are being requested or proposed. Several title insurance company commenters had similar comments, stating that there is no process to notify the parties of a need for correction and asked how they would know that a document is being corrected.
Response: This regulation focuses on LTROs role, which is to record title documents. The BIA Region or Agency is the liaison to the parties to the transaction and is responsible for notifying them. The responsibility to notify potential owners/heirs of corrections is outside the scope of this regulation.
Title insurance company commenters asked whether a document will be disclosed on a TSR if LTRO has discovered a title defect during a title examination, requested the originating
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