§ 28-121 — Fees for printing legal notices.

A. In all cases where publication of legal notices is required or allowed by law, the person or official desiring publication shall be required to pay: 1. For all matters other than tabular matter, twenty-two cents ($0.22) per word for first insertion, and twenty cents ($0.20) per word for each subsequent insertion, with each separate group of letters or numerals included in the matter to be counted as one word, regardless of the number of digits involved. Elimination of space between words or numeric descriptions or the use of hyphenation to combine words or numeric descriptions is prohibited; and 2. For all tabular matter, including, but not limited to, graphics, maps, seals, signature blocks, forms, spreadsheets, lists of persons, firms, and corporations whose personal property taxes are delinquent and lists of lands and town lots upon which taxes are delinquent, One Dollar and ten cents ($1.10) per line per newspaper column in width, for first insertion, and One Dollar ($1.00) per line per newspaper column in width, for each subsequent insertion. A standard tabular line shall be a minimum of one and one-half (1 1/2) inches in width. B. A newspaper qualified to publish notices under the laws of this state has the authority to publish all notices in a format readable to a reasonable person. Type size used for notices shall be no less than eight-point noncondensed type, with a maximum of ten-point noncondensed type, unless a larger type size is requested in writing by the person desiring the notice. Any notice submitted to a newspaper which is unreadable or intended to be unreadable may be rejected or typeset by the newspaper in a readable format. C. Newspapers providing affidavits or proof of publication are permitted to charge and collect a fee for a notarial act as defined in Section 5 of Title 49 of the Oklahoma Statutes or Section 209 of Title 49 of the Oklahoma Statutes as applicable. D. For any notice placed in a newspaper, there shall be a minimum charge of Twenty-five Dollars ($25.00) for such notice if the total calculated cost of words and lines described in paragraphs 1 and 2 of this subsection is less than Twenty-five Dollars ($25.00). E. When notice by publication in a newspaper is required by law, order of court, or other means, the newspaper publishing the notice shall, at no additional cost to the person or official desiring the notice, cause the notice to be placed on the newspaper website if the newspaper operates a website, in front of any paywall or paid access to the website. Additionally, the newspaper shall upload notices to a statewide website established and maintained as a joint venture of a majority of Oklahoma newspapers qualified to publish notices by the laws of this state. Posting of notices on the newspaper website and statewide website shall be performed in a timely manner but shall not invalidate the publication of a notice otherwise valid when published in the newspaper. Temporary outages or service interruptions prohibiting the posting or display of such notice shall be considered harmless error and the proper legal notice requirements shall be considered met if the notice published in the newspaper otherwise complies with the requirements for publication. Access to the statewide website shall be free to the public. F. Any person or official required to publish a notice shall submit the notice in writing or by electronic means by the deadline established by the newspaper for such notices. No deadline shall be set by the newspaper that is more than five (5) business days prior to the date of publication, excluding the date of publication, Saturdays, Sundays, and legal holidays in the State of Oklahoma. Upon request, the newspaper shall confirm receipt of the notice and notify the person or official in writing or by electronic means of the dates of the issue or issues in which the notice shall appear. If the newspaper fails to publish the notice in the issue specified in the confirmation, the newspaper shall publish the notice in a future issue specified by the person or official desiring the notice at no charge. If the notice has multiple insertions, only the first notice omitted by the newspaper shall be required to run at no charge. G. The county treasurer shall collect the cost of publication of lists of lands and town lots sold for delinquent taxes at original sale or resale from the individuals purchasing the lands and town lots at the sale or resale involved, and shall deposit all monies collected to the credit of the fund of the county which paid the cost of publication. The publisher of the notice shall be paid for the publication of the notice from the general fund of the county or, if monies are not available in the general fund of the county at the time of publication, from the "Resale-Property Fund" of the county.

Legislative History

R.L.1910, § 3258. Amended by Laws 1919, c. 167, p. 241, § 1; Laws 1929, c. 248, p. 318, § 1; Laws 1953, p. 116, § 1; Laws 1967, c. 218, § 1, emerg. eff. May 1, 1967; Laws 1973, c. 31, § 1, emerg. eff. April 18, 1973; Laws 1977, c. 35, § 1; Laws 1979, c. 76, § 1, eff. July 1, 1979; Laws 1981, c. 31, § 1, emerg. eff. April 7, 1981; Laws 1982, c. 22, § 1; Laws 1988, c. 159, § 1, operative July 1, 1988; Laws 1994, c. 93, § 1, eff. July 1, 1994; Laws 2000, c. 135, § 1, eff. Nov. 1, 2000; Laws 2004, c. 65, § 1, eff. Nov. 1, 2004; Laws 2025, c. 337, § 1, eff. Nov. 1, 2025.