As Reported by the Senate General Government Budget Committee
CORRECTED VERSION
134th General Assembly
Regular Session Sub. S. B. No. 300
2021-2022
Senator Wilson
A BILL
To amend sections 147.01, 147.011, 147.03, 147.14, 147.141, 147.371, 147.53, 147.542, 147.55, 147.551, and 147.591 and to enact sections 147.49 and 147.50 of the Revised Code to amend the law regarding notaries public.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF OHIO:
Section 1. That sections 147.01, 147.011, 147.03, 147.14, 147.141, 147.371, 147.53, 147.542, 147.55, 147.551, and 147.591 be amended and sections 147.49 and 147.50 of the Revised Code be enacted to read as follows:
Sec. 147.01. (A) The secretary of state may appoint and commission as notaries public as many persons who meet the qualifications of division (B) of this section as the secretary of state considers necessary.
(B) In order for a person to qualify to be appointed and commissioned as a notary public, the person shall demonstrate to the secretary of state that the person satisfies all of the following:
(1) The person has attained the age of eighteen years.
(2)(a) Except as provided in division (B)(2)(b) of this section, the person is a legal resident of this state.
(b) The person is not a legal resident of this state, but is an attorney admitted to the practice of law in this state by the Ohio supreme court, and has the person's principal place of business or the person's primary practice in this state.
(3)(a) Except as provided in division (B)(3)(b) of this section, the person has submitted a criminal records check report completed within the preceding six months in accordance with section 147.022 of the Revised Code demonstrating that the applicant has not been convicted of or pleaded guilty or no contest to a disqualifying offense as determined in accordance with section 9.79 of the Revised Code.
(b) An attorney admitted to the practice of law in this state shall not be required to submit a criminal records check when applying to be appointed a notary public.
(4)(a) Except as provided in divisions (B)(4)(b) and (c) of this section, the person has successfully completed an educational program and passed a test administered by the entities authorized by the secretary of state as required under section 147.021 of the Revised Code.
(b) An attorney who is commissioned as a notary public in this state prior to September 20, 2019, shall not be required to complete an education program or pass a test as required in division (B)(4)(a) of this section.
(c) Any attorney who applies to become commissioned as a notary public in this state after September 20, 2019, shall not be required to pass a test as required in division (B)(4)(a) of this section, but shall be required to complete an education program required by that division.
(C) A notary public shall be appointed and commissioned as a notary public for the state. The secretary of state may revoke a commission issued to a notary public upon presentation of satisfactory evidence of official misconduct or incapacity. If the secretary of state so revokes a person's commission, the person is ineligible for reappointment to the office of notary public.
(D) Before entering upon the duties of office, a notary public shall do either of the following:
(1) Personally appear before an officer, authorized by law to administer oaths, who shall administer an oath of office to the notary public;
(2) Certify on the notary commission under penalty of perjury that the applicant will abide by the terms of the oath of office of a notary public.
(E) The secretary of state shall oversee the processing of notary public applications and shall issue all notary public commissions. The secretary of state shall oversee the creation and maintenance of the online database of notaries public commissioned in this state pursuant to section 147.051 of the Revised Code. The secretary of state may perform all other duties as required by this section. The entities authorized by the secretary of state pursuant to section 147.021 or 147.63 of the Revised Code shall administer the educational program and required test or course of instruction and examination, as applicable.
(E)
(F)
All
submissions to the secretary of state for receiving
and renewing commissions, or notifications made under section
147.05 of the Revised Code, shall be done electronically.
Sec. 147.011. As used in this chapter:
(A)
"Acknowledgment" means a notarial
act in which the signer of the notarized document acknowledges all of
the following:
(1)
That the signer has signed the document;
(2)
That the signer understands the document;
(3)
That the signer is aware of the consequences of executing the
document by signing itdeclaration
by an individual before a notary public that the individual has
signed a record for the purpose stated in the record, and if the
record is signed in a representative capacity, that the individual
signed the record with proper authority and signed it as the act of
the individual or entity identified in the record.
(B) "Criminal records check" has the same meaning as in section 109.572 of the Revised Code.
(C) "Jurat" means a notarial act in which both of the following are met:
(1) The signer of the notarized document is required to give an oath or affirmation that the statement in the notarized document is true and correct;
(2) The signer signs the notarized document in the presence of a notary public.
(D) "Notarial certificate" means the part of, or attachment to, a document that is completed by the notary public and upon which the notary public places the notary public's signature and seal.
Sec.
147.03. Each
notary public, except an attorney admitted to the practice of law in
this state by the Ohio supreme court, shall hold office for the term
of five years unless the commission is revoked. An attorney admitted
to the practice of law in this state by the Ohio supreme court shall
hold office as a notary public as long as the attorney is a resident
of this state or has the attorney's principal place of business or
primary practice in this state, the attorney is in good standing
before the Ohio supreme court, and the commission is not revoked.
Before
entering upon the duties of office, a notary public shall take and
subscribe an oath to be endorsed on the notary public's commission.
A
notary public who violates the oath of office required by this
section shall be removed from office by the secretary of state, upon
complaint filed and substantiated by the secretary of state. The
person so removed shall be ineligible for reappointment to the office
of notary public.
Sec.
147.14. No
notary public shall certify to the affidavit of a person without
administering the appropriate oath or affirmation to the person. A
notary public who
violates this section shall
be removed
from office by the secretary of state. The person so removed shall be
ineligible to reappointment for a period of three yearssubject
to investigation and penalties pursuant to section 147.032 of the
Revised Code for failure to administer the appropriate oath or
affirmation to the signer when such verification on oath or
affirmation is required.
Sec. 147.141. (A) A notary public shall not do any of the following:
(1) Perform a notarial act with regard to a record or document executed by the notary;
(2) Notarize the notary's own signature;
(3) Take the notary's own deposition;
(4) Perform a notarial act if the notary has a conflict of interest with regard to the transaction in question;
(5) Certify that a document is either of the following:
(a) An original document;
(b) A true copy of another record.
(6) Use a name or initial in signing certificates other than that by which the notary public is commissioned;
(7) Sign notarial certificates using a facsimile signature stamp unless the notary public has a physical disability that limits or prohibits the notary's ability to make a written signature and unless the notary has first submitted written notice to the secretary of state with an example of the facsimile signature stamp;
(8) Affix the notary's signature to a blank form of an affidavit or certificate of acknowledgment and deliver that form to another person with the intent that it be used as an affidavit or acknowledgment;
(9) Take the acknowledgment of, or administer an oath or affirmation to, a person who the notary public knows to have been adjudicated mentally incompetent by a court of competent jurisdiction, if the acknowledgment or oath or affirmation necessitates the exercise of a right that has been removed;
(10) Notarize a signature on a document if it appears that the person is mentally incapable of understanding the nature and effect of the document at the time of notarization;
(11) Alter anything in a written instrument after it has been signed by anyone;
(12) Amend or alter a notarial certificate after the notarization is complete;
(13) Notarize a signature on a document if the document is incomplete or blank;
(14) Notarize a signature on a document if it appears that the signer may be unduly influenced or coerced so as to be restricted from or compromised in exercising the person's own free will when signing the document;
(15) Take an acknowledgment of execution in lieu of an oath or affirmation if an oath or affirmation is required;
(16) Determine the validity of a power of attorney document or any other form designating a representative capacity, such as trustee, authorized officer, agent, personal representative, or guardian, unless that notary is an attorney licensed to practice law in this state;
(17) Notarize for any person with whom the notary public cannot directly communicate in the same language, regardless of the presence of a third-party interpreter or translator.
(B) Division (A)(5) of this section shall not be construed as prohibiting a notary from notarizing the signature of a holder of a document on a written statement certifying that the document is a true copy of an original document.
(C) As used in this section, "conflict of interest" means either of the following:
(1) The notary has a direct financial or other interest in the transaction in question, excluding the fees authorized under this chapter.
(2) The notary is named, individually or as a grantor, grantee, mortgagor, mortgagee, trustor, trustee, beneficiary, vendor, lessor, or lessee, or as a party in some other capacity to the transaction.
Sec.
147.371. (A)
Upon receipt of a fee of two dollars and
an affidavit that the original commission of a notary public has been
lost or destroyedand
submission of the electronic duplicate commission request form,
a duplicate commission as notary public shall be issued by the
secretary of state.
(B)
Upon receipt of a fee of two dollars and the
properly completed, prescribed form submission
of the electronic amendment form for
a name and address change under division (B) of section 147.05 of the
Revised Code, the secretary of state shall issue a duplicate
commission as a notary public.
(C) The secretary of state shall prescribe and make available an electronic duplicate commission request form and an electronic amendment form.
Sec. 147.49. (A) A notary public who takes an acknowledgment of a record shall determine, from personal knowledge or satisfactory evidence of the identity of the person acknowledging, that the person appearing before the notary public and making the acknowledgment has the identity claimed and that the signature on the record is the signature of the person.
(B) A notary public who takes a verification of a statement on oath or affirmation, a jurat, shall determine from personal knowledge or satisfactory evidence of the identity of the person making the verification, that the person appearing before the notary public and making the verification has the identity claimed and that the signature on the statement verified is the signature of the person.
Sec. 147.50. (A) A notary public has personal knowledge of the identity of the person appearing before the notary public if the person is personally known to the notary public through dealings sufficient to provide reasonable certainty that the person has the identity claimed.
(B) A notary public has satisfactory evidence of the identity of the person appearing before the notary public if the notary public can identify the person by either of the following means:
(1) A passport, driver's license, government-issued nondriver identification card, or other form of government-issued identification with the signature or photograph of the individual, which is current or expired not more than three years before performance of the notarial act, and is satisfactory to the officer;
(2) By verification on oath or affirmation of a credible witness personally appearing before the notary public and known to the notary public or whom the notary public can identify on the basis of a passport, driver's license, or other government-issued nondriver identification card, which is current or expired not more than three years before performance of the notarial act.
(C) A notary public may require a person to provide additional information or identification credentials necessary to assure the notary public of the identity of the person.
Sec. 147.53. The person taking an acknowledgment shall certify that:
(A)
The person acknowledging appeared before
him
the
notary
public, or person described in divisions (B) to (E) of section 147.51
of the Revised Code, and
acknowledged he
executed
executing
the
instrument;
(B) The person acknowledging was known to the person taking the acknowledgment, or that the person taking the acknowledgment had satisfactory evidence that the person acknowledging was the person described in and who executed the instrument.
Sec. 147.542. (A) A notary public shall provide a completed notarial certificate for every notarial act the notary public performs.
(B)
For
an acknowledgment and a jurat, the corresponding notarial certificate
shall indicate the type of notarization being performed.
(C)
If
a notarial certificate incorrectly indicates the type of notarization
performed, the notary public shall provide a correct certificate at
no charge to the person signing in question.
(D)(1)
An acknowledgment certificate shall clearly state that no oath or
affirmation was administered to the signer with regard to the
notarial act.
(2)
(C)
A
jurat certificate shall clearly
state
that an oath or affirmation was administered to the signer with
regard to the notarial act.
(E)(1)
(D)(1)
A
notary public shall not use an acknowledgment certificate with regard
to a notarial act in which an oath or affirmation has been
administered.
(2) A notary public shall not use a jurat certificate with regard to a notarial act in which an oath or affirmation has not been administered.
(F)
(E)
A
certificate required under this section may be provided through any
of the following means:
(1) Preprinting on a notarial document;
(2) Ink stamp;
(3) Handwritten note;
(4) A separate, attached document.
(G)
(F)
A
notarial certificate shall show all of the following information:
(1) The state and county venue where the notarization is being performed;
(2) The wording of the acknowledgment or jurat in question;
(3) The date on which the notarial act was performed;
(4) The signature of the notary, exactly as shown on the notary's commission;
(5) The notary's printed name, displayed below the notary's signature or inked stamp;
(6) The notary's notarial seal and commission expiration date;
(7) If an electronic document was signed in the physical presence of a notary and notarized pursuant to section 147.591 of the Revised Code, or if an online notarization was performed pursuant to sections 147.60 to 147.66 of the Revised Code, the certificate shall include a statement to that effect.
(H)
(G)
A
notary public may explain to a signer the difference between an
acknowledgment and a jurat, but shall not, unless that notary is an
attorney, advise the person on the type of notarial act that best
suits a situation.
Sec.
147.55. Notwithstanding
section 147.542 of the Revised Code, the The
forms
of acknowledgment set forth in this section may be used and are
sufficient for their respective purposes under any section of the
Revised Code. The forms shall be known as "statutory short forms
of acknowledgment" and may be referred to by that name. The
authorization of the forms in this section does not preclude the use
of other forms.
(A) For an individual acting in the individual's own right:
"State of ____________________________
County of ___________________________
The foregoing instrument was acknowledged before me this (date) by (name of person acknowledging).
(Signature of person taking acknowledgment)
(Title or rank)"
(B) For a corporation:
"State of ____________________________
County of ___________________________
The foregoing instrument was acknowledged before me this (date) by (name of officer or agent, title of officer or agent) of (name of corporation acknowledging), a (state or place of incorporation) corporation, on behalf of the corporation.
(Signature of person taking acknowledgment)
(Title or rank)"
(C) For a limited liability company:
"State of ____________________________
County of ___________________________
The foregoing instrument was acknowledged before me this (date) by (name of member or managing member, title of member or managing member) of (name of limited liability company acknowledging), a (jurisdiction of formation) limited liability company, on behalf of the limited liability company.
(Signature of person taking acknowledgment)
(Title or rank)"
(D) For a partnership:
"State of ____________________________
County of ___________________________
The foregoing instrument was acknowledged before me this (date) by (name of acknowledging partner or agent), partner (or agent) on behalf of (name of partnership), a partnership.
(Signature of person taking acknowledgment)
(Title or rank)"
(D)
(E)
For
an individual acting as principal by an attorney in fact:
"State of ____________________________
County of ___________________________
The foregoing instrument was acknowledged before me this (date) by (name of attorney in fact) as attorney in fact on behalf of (name of principal).
(Signature of person taking acknowledgment)
(Title or rank)"
(E)
(F)
By
any public officer, trustee, or personal representative:
"State of ____________________________
County of ___________________________
The foregoing instrument was acknowledged before me this (date) by (name and title of position).
(Signature of person taking acknowledgment)
(Title or rank)"
Sec.
147.551. Notwithstanding
section 147.542 of the Revised Code, a A
jurat
may take the following form:
"State of Ohio
County of _________________
Sworn
to or affirmed and subscribed before me by (signature
name
of
person
making juratsigner)
this date of (date).
(Signature of notary public administering jurat)
(Affix seal here)
(Title of rank)
(Commission expiration date)"
Sec. 147.591. (A) As used in this section, "electronic document," "electronic seal," "electronic signature," and "online notarization" have the same meanings as in section 147.60 of the Revised Code.
(B)(1) An electronic document that is signed in the physical presence of the notary public with an electronic signature and notarized with an electronic seal shall be considered an original document.
(2) Notwithstanding any other provision of the Revised Code to the contrary, a digital copy of a document executed electronically by the parties and acknowledged or sworn before a notary acting pursuant to this section shall be accepted by county auditors, clerks of courts of record, deputy registrars, engineers, and recorders for purposes of approval, transfer, and recording to the same extent as any other document that is submitted by an electronic recording method and shall not be rejected solely by reason of containing electronic signatures or an electronic notarization, including an online notarization.
(3) A county auditor, clerk of a court of record, deputy registrar, engineer, and recorder shall accept a printed document that was executed electronically for purposes of approval, transfer, and recording if that document contains an attached authenticator certificate in the following, or a substantially similar, format:
"AUTHENTICATOR CERTIFICATE
I certify and warrant that the foregoing and annexed paper document being presented for record, to which this certification is attached, represents a true, exact, complete, and unaltered copy of the original electronic document. The county offices of the auditor, treasurer, recorder, and others necessary to effectuate the transfer and recording of the instrument shall be entitled to rely on such certification and warranty for all purposes.
________________________[signature of authenticator]
________________________[printed name of authenticator]
________________________[street address of authenticator]
________________________[city, state, zip code of - authenticator]
________________________[telephone number of - authenticator]
|
|
1 |
2 |
|
A |
State of ____________________ |
) |
|
B |
|
):ss |
|
C |
County of ___________________ |
) |
The foregoing authenticator certificate was subscribed and sworn to in my presence by _________________________ [printed name of authenticator] on this ____ day of ________, 20___
_______________________
Notary Public"
(C) An authenticator certificate may not be signed or notarized with an electronic signature or electronic seal.
(D) Any notary public may obtain an electronic seal and an electronic signature for the purposes of notarizing documents under this section.
(D)
(E)
A
notary public shall comply with the provisions of section 147.66 of
the Revised Code pertaining to the electronic seal and electronic
signature.
Section 2. That existing sections 147.01, 147.011, 147.03, 147.14, 147.141, 147.371, 147.53, 147.542, 147.55, 147.551, and 147.591 of the Revised Code are hereby repealed.