Underwriting Q & A | Does Texas have a statute of limitations for errors in a defective notary acknowledgment?

Q: Does Texas have a statute of limitations for errors in a defective notary acknowledgment?

A: Yes, under Section 16.033(a)(8) of the Texas Civil Practices & Remedies Code, a person with a right of action for the recovery of real property or an interest in real property conveyed by an instrument containing a defective certificate of acknowledgement, on a document recorded after August 31, 2007, must bring suit within 2 years after the date of recording. For documents recorded prior to September 1, 2007, the limitations period is 4 years from the date of recording.

One of the most common errors we see with certificates of acknowledgment is when the acknowledgment is dated prior to the document being signed. However, once the document has been recorded for 2 years, the passage of time is deemed to have cured the problem. The same is true for others defects to an acknowledgment, such as a missing seal and/or wrong capacity stated or no capacity.