District of Columbia Code Division VIII. General Laws. § 50-1211. Satisfaction of liens--Duties of Recorder; procedure when certificate lost.

The Recorder, upon receipt of a certificate whereon a lien is marked ‘Satisfied‘ as set forth in § 50-1210, shall enter on the face of the certificate and on the instrument, if any, filed in the Recorder's office as hereinafter provided, his said record number, or, if no such instrument is on file, a brief description sufficient to identify the lien, and in either case the word ‘released,‘ a facsimile of his signature and the date. Where for any reason a lien-holder upon satisfaction of his lien has failed to mark the certificate as herein provided and the lien-holder cannot be located, or where the certificate after being so marked has been lost or destroyed and a duplicate certificate issued, the Recorder upon receipt of evidence satisfactory to him that the lien has been satisfied shall release it upon the certificate or duplicate certificate, and instrument, if any, as above set forth. Whenever any lien has been released as provided in this section for a period of more than 3 years, the Recorder of Deeds may destroy the instrument that created the lien.