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Senate Bill 442 recently went into effect and Annette Smith, Washington County's Clerk, said the legislation increases their preservation fee.

Through the Registrar of Deeds, the cost to preserve a document went from $5 to $10 per document. Smith said the money goes into a reserve account so they can preserve all records.

Many of Washington County's old records are online at okcountyrecords.com. The old books from when Oklahoma became a state in 1907 are in a salt mine in Hutchinson, Kansas, and Smith said the increase in fees helps them pay for the reserve.

Washington County also has an old microfiche machine, but it is not maintained because it is costly. It is also expensive to purchase a new one. With everything moving towards an online platform, she said they do not have to worry about buying a new one.

Everything has been online from 1977 to present. Smith said all you have to do is provide a name and the documents are normally easy to trace. She said there are still some documents online that they need legal descriptions for, but everything operates smoothly regardless.

There are images for documents from 1907 to 1976, but they are a little bit harder to find. Smith said they are, however, online. She said Senate Bill 442 will help all 77 counties in Oklahoma preserve and keep track of documents.