Assessor’s Staff In Oracle for PAL Registration
SBINSIDER EXCLUSIVE REPORTING| April 27th, 2025
Douglas Wolf, Pinal County Assessor, has announced that several of his staff will be in Oracle on Tuesday, May 6th to take registrations for the PAL program. “We had over 900 people come to the registration event in SaddleBrooke and continued interest from this area lead me to conclude another registration event was warranted, ” said Wolf.
The event will be held at the Oracle Justice Court at :
1470 N Justice Dr. Oracle, AZ 85623
Doors open at 8AM and you must be in line before 2:45PM to register as the staff leaves at 3PM.
The PAL program is the first of it kind nationwide. “It tags your parcel so if a transfer document is submitted, the Assessor’s staff will attempt to reach you to confirm that you as the owner are intending to transfer the property. In looking at the rise in this type of crime, I decided our office had to get more involved in trying to stop it,” said Wolf. People have asked why we cannot take a registration on-line. But that would open the door to even more thievery, so the PAL registration must be in person.
“At a recent meeting of all the Arizona Assessor’s we heard stories from across the state that fraudulent Quit Claim deeds were being processed. In fact, one of the Assessor’s did a records search for a week’s worth of transfers and identified a dozen transfer that appear to be from forged documents, ” said Wolf. “Our goal is to deter fraudsters from trying to steal Pinal properties using the APL alert system, ” added Wolf. “We cannot guarantee a false transfer might not occur, but if it is in the PAL system the chances are extremely reduced. ” By law the Assessor cannot on his own, cancel a transfer even if fraud is suspected.
Nationally, title theft has been on the rise and several commercial programs that advertise that their alert systems can help you if you are targeted. “Pinal County now has a free two-step system where our Recorder will email you if any document is recorded with you name. “My office went further and decided that an actual transfer alert needs to be in place. “But, you have to register to put it into effect, said Wolf.
The prime target of fraudsters are homes with no mortgage and owned by the elderly, or vacant land with no liens.
“One problem is that the crime is currently only a misdemeanor. The Assessor’s are working with the Arizona State Legislature to elevate this crime to a felony and a bill is likely to be passed this session. Our County Attorney, Brad Miller, has pledged to prosecute anyone who commits this crime,” Wolf said.
Recently, the Arizona Supreme Court that if a period of five years has elapsed since the fraud occurred, the owner has no recourse and loses the property. “This ruling changes the game dramatically and property owners need to take action to protect themselves, added Wolf.
Wolf has been a resident of SaddleBrooke for 8 years and was elected to the Assessor’s office in 2012.
