The prospective purchaser, prospective mortgagee
or any other person interested in any land which forms part of a subdivision
may apply in writing to the Municipal Clerk for the issuance of a
certificate certifying whether or not such subdivision has been approved
by the Planning Board. Such application shall contain a diagram showing
the location and dimensions of the land to be covered by the certificate
and the name of the owner thereof.
The Municipal Clerk shall make and issue such
certificate within 15 days after the receipt of such written application
and the fees therefor. Said officer shall keep a duplicate copy of
each certificate, consecutively numbered, including a statement of
the fee charged, in a binder as a permanent record of his office.
Each such certificate shall be designated a
"certificate as to approval of subdivision of land" and shall certify:
A. Whether there exists in the municipality a duly established
Planning Board and whether there is an ordinance controlling subdivision
of land adopted under the authority of the Municipal Land Use Law.
B. Whether the subdivision, as it relates to the land
shown in said application, has been approved by the Planning Board
and, if so, stating the date of such approval and any extensions and
terms thereof and that the subdivision of which the lands are a part
is a validly existing subdivision.
C. Whether such subdivision, if same has not been approved,
is statutorily exempt from the requirement of approval as provided
in this Act.
The Municipal Clerk shall be entitled to demand
and receive for such certificate issued by him a reasonable fee not
in excess of those provided in N.J.S.A. 54:5-14 and 54:5-15. The fees
so collected by such officer shall be paid by him to the municipality.