By Pepper Fisher

PORT ANGELES – The cost of filing certain documents with the Clallam County Auditor’s Office is going up next month thanks to a new statewide $100 surcharge.

House Bill 1227, which was passed during the 2021 Legislative Session, adds the surcharge to pay for affordable housing, rental assistance, eviction prevention, and landlord mitigation programs. It goes into effect on July 25.

Clallam County Auditor Shoona Riggs says the $100 surcharge will affect many recorded documents such as a Deeds of Trust, Quit Claim Deeds, Land Surveys and Name Changes. Exemptions to the fee will include sewer-water district liens, wage liens and marriage licenses.

Counties will collect the revenues and then pass them on the State Treasurer’s Office.