Accepting Q2 2026 filings · 5-day standard turnaround Scapular Engineering, P.E. MO · AR · IL · KS · IA · NE · IN (573) 275-7647
From request to recorded

Five days,
end to end.

Standard tier is five business days from intake to recorded instrument. Rush tier delivers in three for active closings. Each stage has a defined SLA, a defined deliverable, and one person on the hook — our P.E.

Standard tier5 days
Rush tier3 days
Acknowledgment SLA1 hr
Recorded copy returned24 hr
01 / Standard tier 5 business days · default

The standard five days.

The default tier for ~85% of files. Five business days from intake to recorded instrument, with one deliverable per day. Each stage has a defined SLA and a clear handoff to the next.

01day

Intake & quote

Submit the request form or email the closing attorney's intake packet. Acknowledgment within one business hour. Written quote returned same business day with line-item breakdown (engineering fee, recording fee, courier if applicable). Field-visit scheduling confirmed before EOD.

From youAddress, county, target close
02days

Field visit

Inspector on site 45–90 minutes. Foundation measurements, photo documentation, HUD label and serial verification, parcel confirmation. Scheduling coordinated with listing agent, seller, or lockbox — we handle access logistics directly with whoever has the keys.

From youAccess contact
03days

Documents drafted

Foundation cert and Affidavit drafted, formatted to the destination county's specific recording specifications. Margin widths, font sizes, indexing-stamp clearance, signature-block placement — all set to the destination county before drafting closes. Sealed PDF prepared.

OutputDraft PDF
04days

Sworn & sealed

Affidavit notarized by a Missouri-commissioned notary. Both instruments PE-sealed by our P.E. personally — digital seal on PDF, wet-ink with embossed impression on originals. Sealed PDFs delivered to your file; wet-ink originals couriered to the destination recorder or to your office.

OutputSealed + notarized
05days

Filed at the county

Originals recorded at the destination county recorder. Book and page (or instrument number) issues same business day. Recorded copies returned to your file within 24 hours of recording — sealed PDF with the recorder's stamp, and the original returned by mail.

OutputBook & page
02 / Rush tier 3 business days · surcharge

Three days when the closing won't wait.

Rush tier compresses the standard process to three business days. Same deliverables, same PE seal, same county acceptance — accelerated scheduling and prioritized drafting time.

When to use rush

Active closing,
tight calendar

Rush tier fits files where the closing is already on the calendar within the next week and the affixation hasn't started yet. Common scenarios:

  • Closing scheduled, title clear, affixation just identified as missing
  • Underwriter request late in the file — PFGMH needed before commitment
  • Replacement filing on a rejected affidavit from another firm
  • Refinance with rate-lock expiration in the next 10 days
Surcharge+40% on engineering fee
How it's compressed

Same work,
prioritized

Rush isn't faster engineering — it's prioritized scheduling. The work happens in the same order, but each stage moves to the top of the queue:

  • Day 1: intake + field visit same day (scheduling permitting)
  • Day 2: drafting + notarization + sealing
  • Day 3: hand-delivered to recorder, book/page same business day
Volume · 202538 of 412 files
Constraint

Rush requires same-day site access for the field visit. If access can't be coordinated with the listing agent, seller, or lockbox on Day 1, the rush window slips. We confirm field-visit access before accepting the rush surcharge.

03 / Concierge filing We walk it to the recorder

We walk it to the
recorder.

Default delivery is sealed PDFs and wet-ink originals to your office. Concierge filing means we take the originals to the recorder ourselves, pay the recording fee, retrieve the recorded copy, and return book/page to your file. One less errand on closing day.

What concierge does
We hand-deliver wet-ink originals to the destination recorder, pay the recording fee at the counter (billed back on your settlement statement), wait for the recorder's stamp, and return the recorded copy to your file via sealed PDF same business day plus the wet-ink original by mail within 24 hours.
Flagship counties (★)
Concierge is included free in the 11 flagship counties where we file weekly. We're already walking files to those recorders multiple times per week — adding yours costs us nothing. St. Louis, St. Charles, Jackson, Greene (MO) · Pulaski, Benton, Washington (AR) · Sangamon, Peoria (IL) · Sedgwick, Johnson (KS).
Non-flagship counties
For counties outside the flagship list, concierge adds a courier line item to the quote — typically $35–$80 depending on distance from St. Louis. Most title companies find this cheaper than dispatching their own runner; we already know the recorder's clerks and indexing conventions.
What you give up
Nothing material. You don't physically hold the wet-ink originals before recording — but the sealed PDF reaches your file on Day 4, and the recorded copy reaches your file within 24 hours of recording, so the closing file is never empty.
04 / After recording What lands in your file

What lands in your file.

Within 24 hours of recording, your closing file receives the full set of deliverables. Below: exactly what arrives, in what format, and on what schedule.

Within 24 hr

Recorded sealed
PDF

The sealed PDF Affidavit and PFGMH cert, with the recorder's stamp and book/page (or instrument number) on the Affidavit's recording page. Delivered to your file by secure email or closing-software portal.

FormatPDF · sealed
Within 24 hr

Wet-ink
originals returned

The original recorded Affidavit with the recorder's stamp returns to your office by mail. The PFGMH original (which doesn't get recorded) lives in your file from Day 4 onward.

FormatWet-ink · mailed
7-year retention

Archive
on file here

We retain the sealed PDF and a courtesy paper copy for seven years. If a future underwriter, refinance lender, or refi insurer needs a duplicate, we can re-issue from archive for a nominal fee.

Retention7 years
05 / Escalation When the path doesn't go straight

When something doesn't fit.

Two paths can deviate from the standard five-day flow: the recorder rejects formatting, or the foundation fails PFGMH. Both are addressable — and both are visible to you in real time, not surfaced at the last hour.

Recorder rejection

If the recorder
rejects formatting

Rare — our 2025 first-walk-up acceptance rate was 100% across 38 recorder offices. But if a county changes formatting requirements without notice (it happens) and an original is rejected:

  • You're notified within the hour, with photos of the rejection notice
  • Reformatted instrument drafted same day
  • Re-notarized, re-sealed, walked back to the recorder within 24 hours
  • No additional charge — reformatting on our error or recorder change is at our cost
2025 rejections0 of 412
PFGMH non-compliance

If the foundation
doesn't meet § 3

About 8% of 2025 foundations needed remediation before PFGMH would certify. Common deficiencies are addressable:

  • Insufficient pier footings — re-poured to spec
  • Missing or damaged skirting — added or repaired
  • Drainage / grading issues — regraded
  • Anchor strap count below requirement — supplemented

We deliver a written deficiency report with photos and specific remediation requirements. Once the work is done, we revisit and re-certify. All 8% of remediation cases ultimately certified.

Remediation · 2025~33 of 412
!

Pre-1976 homes don't certify

The one path that doesn't have a remediation answer is pre-1976 homes (built before the HUD code). They can't satisfy PFGMH § 3, which means the foundation cert fails permanently, which means the package isn't bankable. We tell you this on Day 1 — before the field visit — when the year of manufacture comes in on intake.

Convert chattel
to real property.

Submit the address, the recording county, the target close. Acknowledgment within an hour. Quote same business day. Recorded within five business days — and the title officer chases none of it.