National Standards for Document Formatting


  1. Clean white 20 pound paper without any watermarks. (Neither sheer copy nor onionskin is suitable).

  2. Clean typewriter or printer with ribbon in good condition which will produce sharp, clear black print in a minimum of 10 point Times New Roman font.

  3. Signatures executed in dark black ink. Dark blue ink may be accepted.

  4. Seals impressed firmly and clearly. Justice & Notary expiration printed clearly in black ink.

  5. Name of Justice must be printed legibly or typed under the signature.

  6. ORIGINAL DOCUMENTS with ORIGINAL SIGNATURES ONLY, no machine or carbon copies, no fax copies or copies of fax documents allowed. A certified copy MAY be accepted at the Register's discretion, when the original document is on record in another governmental office.

  7. The First page top margin must be 3 inches to allow space for docket markings. All other margins must be a minimum of 1 inch to allow for complete capture of all information within the parameters of either letter or legal size paper.

  8. No foreign objects attached or glued to pages. No continuous forms or bound sheets. Do not use colored markers to highlight text. Stamps and seals should not cover or overlap pertinent information. It is usually better to add a new page, referring to "See Exhibit A' or See attachment".

  9. Paper size not to exceed legal size of 8 ½ x 14, letter size paper of 8 ½ x 11 preferred, but not required.

  10. Reduced print is not acceptable. These are reduced even further when microfilmed. Font size no smaller than 10 point size in Times New Roman.