What This Statute Says
This statute removes two friction points from the cleanup process. The first is uncertainty about whether the recorder will accept the amendment. The second is concern that the recorder or the county might be sued for indexing it.
A. The recorder shall record an amendment submitted under this article, add the amendment to the index and cross reference the amendment to the document containing the unlawful restriction.
B. The recorder and the county are not liable for recording an amendment under this article.
"Shall record" is mandatory. Cross-referencing is also required so that future title searchers can find both documents together.
When This Statute Comes Into Play
This section is a quiet promise to property owners and to the recorder's office. Owners get certainty that a compliant amendment will be accepted. The recorder's office gets certainty that doing its job under the article will not produce a liability claim from a third party who disagrees with the amendment.
What This Means for Arizona Families
When you walk into the county recorder's office, or submit electronically, with a properly prepared amendment, the office is required to accept it. The cross-reference back to the original document is automatic. That means a future title examiner looking at the unlawful restriction will see your amendment next to it without any separate searching.
For families, the value of this section is hidden in the structure. It is what makes the rest of the article reliable. Without a mandatory recording duty, owners would be at the discretion of each county recorder. Without recorder immunity, recorders would have an incentive to refuse anything that looked controversial. Our FAQ on what happens when a deed is not recorded covers the general consequences of failing to record. With this section, the cleanup process gets the same certainty as any other land transaction. The recorded real estate file ends up with a complete picture, both the original document and the amendment.