CHAPTER 3. Notaries Public
Chapter 3 enacted by Stats. 1943, Ch. 134.
§§ 8200–8232.4 · 82 sections
ARTICLE 1. Notaries Public §§ 8200–8230 · 56 sections
- § 8200 The Secretary of State may appoint and commission notaries public in such number as the Secretary of State deems necessary for the public convenience. Notaries…
- § 8201 (a) Every person appointed as notary public shall meet all of the following requirements: (1) Be at the time of appointment a legal resident of this state,…
- § 8201.1 (a) Prior to granting an appointment as a notary public, the Secretary of State shall determine that the applicant possesses the required honesty, credibility,…
- § 8201.2 (a) The Secretary of State shall review the course of study proposed by any vendor to be offered pursuant to paragraph (3) of subdivision (a) and paragraph (2)…
- § 8201.5 The Secretary of State shall require an applicant for appointment and commission as a notary public to complete an application form and submit a photograph of…
- § 8202 (a) When executing a jurat, a notary shall administer an oath or affirmation to the affiant and shall determine, from satisfactory evidence as described in…
- § 8202.5 The Secretary of State may appoint and commission the number of state, city, county, and public school district employees as notaries public to act for and on…
- § 8202.7 A private employer, pursuant to an agreement with an employee who is a notary public, may pay the premiums on any bond and the cost of any stamps, seals, or…
- § 8202.8 Notwithstanding any other provision of law, a private employer of a notary public who has entered into an agreement with his or her employee pursuant to…
- § 8203.1 The Secretary of State may appoint and commission notaries public for the military and naval reservations of the Army, Navy, Coast Guard, Air Force, and Marine…
- § 8203.2 Such notaries public shall be appointed only upon the recommendation of the commanding officer of the reservation in which they are to act, and they shall be…
- § 8203.3 In addition to the qualifications established in Section 8203.1, appointment will be made only from among those persons who are federal civil service employees…
- § 8203.4 The term of office shall be as set forth in Section 8204, except that the appointment shall terminate if the person shall cease to be employed as a federal…
- § 8203.5 In addition to the name of the State, the jurat shall also contain the name of the reservation in which the instrument is executed.
- § 8203.6 No fees shall be collected by such notaries public for service rendered within the reservation in the capacity of a notary public.
- § 8204 The term of office of a notary public is for four years commencing with the date specified in the commission.
- § 8204.1 The Secretary of State may cancel the commission of a notary public if a check or other remittance accepted as payment for the examination, application,…
- § 8205 (a) It is the duty of a notary public, when requested: (1) To demand acceptance and payment of foreign and inland bills of exchange, or promissory notes, to…
- § 8206 (a) (1) A notary public shall keep one active sequential journal at a time, of all official acts performed as a notary public. The journal shall be kept in a…
- § 8206.5 Upon receiving a request for a copy of a transaction pursuant to subdivision (c) of Section 8206, the notary shall respond to the request within 15 business…
- § 8207 A notary public shall provide and keep an official seal, which shall clearly show, when embossed, stamped, impressed or affixed to a document, the name of the…
- § 8207.1 The Secretary of State shall assign a sequential identification number to each notary which shall appear on the notary commission. This section shall become…
- § 8207.2 (a) No notary seal or press stamp shall be manufactured, duplicated, sold, or offered for sale unless authorized by the Secretary of State. (b) The Secretary…
- § 8207.3 (a) The Secretary of State shall issue certificates of authorization with which a notary public can obtain an official notary seal. (b) A vendor or…
- § 8207.4 (a) Any person who willfully violates any part of Section 8207, 8207.1, 8207.2, 8207.3, 8231.7, or 8231.8 shall be subject to a civil penalty not to exceed one…
- § 8208 The protest of a notary public acting in the course and scope of employment by a financial institution, under his or her hand and official seal, of a bill of…
- § 8209 (a) If any notary public resigns, is disqualified, removed from office, or allows his or her appointment to expire without obtaining reappointment within 30…
- § 8211 Fees charged by a notary public for the following services shall not exceed the fees prescribed by this section. (a) For taking an acknowledgment or proof of a…
- § 8212 Every person appointed a notary public shall execute an official bond in the sum of fifteen thousand dollars ($15,000). The bond shall be in the form of a bond…
- § 8213 (a) No later than 30 days after the beginning of the term prescribed in the commission, every person appointed a notary public shall file an official bond and…
- § 8213.5 A notary public shall notify the Secretary of State by certified mail or any other means of physical delivery that provides a receipt within 30 days as to any…
- § 8213.6 If a notary public changes his or her name, the notary public shall complete an application for name change form and file that application with the Secretary…
- § 8214 For the official misconduct or neglect of a notary public, the notary public and the sureties on the notary public’s official bond are liable in a civil action…
- § 8214.1 The Secretary of State may refuse to appoint any person as notary public or may revoke or suspend the commission of any notary public upon any of the following…
- § 8214.15 (a) In addition to any commissioning or disciplinary sanction, a violation of subdivision (f), (i), (l), (m), or (p) of Section 8214.1, or a willful violation…
- § 8214.2 (a) A notary public who knowingly and willfully with intent to defraud performs any notarial act in relation to a deed of trust on real property consisting of…
- § 8214.21 A notary public who willfully fails to provide access to the sequential journal of notarial acts when requested by a peace officer shall be subject to a civil…
- § 8214.23 (a) A notary public who fails to obtain a thumbprint, as required by Section 8206, from a party signing a document shall be subject to a civil penalty not…
- § 8214.3 Prior to a revocation or suspension pursuant to this chapter or after a denial of a commission, or prior to the imposition of a civil penalty, the person…
- § 8214.4 Notwithstanding this chapter or Chapter 5 (commencing with Section 11500) of Part 1 of Division 3, if the Secretary of State determines, after proceedings…
- § 8214.5 Whenever the Secretary of State revokes the commission of any notary public, the Secretary of State shall file with the county clerk of the county in which the…
- § 8214.8 Upon conviction of any offense in this chapter, or of Section 6203, or of any felony, of a person commissioned as a notary public, in addition to any other…
- § 8216 When a surety of a notary desires to be released from responsibility on account of future acts, the release shall be pursuant to Article 11 (commencing with…
- § 8219.5 (a) Every notary public who is not an attorney who advertises the services of a notary public in a language other than English by signs or other means of…
- § 8220 The Secretary of State may adopt rules and regulations to carry out the provisions of this chapter. The regulations shall be adopted in accordance with the…
- § 8221 (a) If any person shall knowingly destroy, deface, or conceal any records or papers belonging to the office of a notary public, such person shall be guilty of…
- § 8222 (a) Whenever it appears to the Secretary of State that any person has engaged or is about to engage in any acts or practices which constitute or will…
- § 8223 (a) A notary public who holds himself or herself out as being an immigration specialist, immigration consultant, or any other title or description reflecting…
- § 8224 A notary public who has a direct financial or beneficial interest in a transaction shall not perform any notarial act in connection with such transaction. For…
- § 8224.1 A notary public shall not take the acknowledgment or proof of instruments of writing executed by the notary public nor shall depositions or affidavits of the…
- § 8225 (a) Any person who solicits, coerces, or in any manner influences a notary public to perform an improper notarial act knowing that act to be an improper…
- § 8227.1 It shall be a misdemeanor for any person who is not a duly commissioned, qualified, and acting notary public for the State of California to do any of the…
- § 8227.3 Any person who is not a duly commissioned, qualified, and acting notary public who does any of the acts prohibited by Section 8227.1 in relation to any…
- § 8228 The Secretary of State or a peace officer, as defined in Sections 830.1, 830.2, and 830.3 of the Penal Code, possessing reasonable suspicion and acting in his…
- § 8228.1 (a) Any notary public who willfully fails to perform any duty required of a notary public under Section 8206, or who willfully fails to keep the seal of the…
- § 8230 If a notary public executes a jurat and the statement sworn or subscribed to is contained in a document purporting to identify the affiant, and includes the…
ARTICLE 2. Online Notarization §§ 8231–8231.20 · 21 sections
- § 8231 (a) This article shall be known, and may be cited, as the Online Notarization Act. (b) An online notarization platform shall not be authorized for use by a…
- § 8231.1 As used in this article, the following terms have the following meanings: (a) “Audio-video communication” means being able to see, hear, and communicate with…
- § 8231.2 (a) The Secretary of State shall adopt rules and regulations necessary to implement this article. The rules and regulations shall set and maintain standards…
- § 8231.3 (a) (1) An applicant for a commission as a notary public may apply for registration with the Secretary of State to perform online notarization by complying…
- § 8231.4 (a) A notary public authorized to perform online notarization and physically located in this state may perform an online notarization that meets the…
- § 8231.5 (a) (1) Pursuant to rules and regulations established by the Secretary of State, a notary public shall record each online notarial act performed by the notary…
- § 8231.6 (a) A notary public shall create an audio-video recording of the audio-visual communication of each online notarial act performed through the online…
- § 8231.7 (a) A notary public shall take reasonable steps to ensure that any registered device used to create an electronic signature or electronic seal is current and…
- § 8231.8 (a) In performing an online notarization, a notary public authorized to perform online notarizations shall verify the identity of a principal by satisfactory…
- § 8231.9 Fees charged by a notary public for the following services related to an online notarization shall not exceed the fees prescribed by this section. (a) For…
- § 8231.10 Every person appointed as a notary public authorized to perform online notarizations shall execute an official bond in the sum of twenty-five thousand dollars…
- § 8231.11 (a) A notary public authorized to perform online notarization who resigns, is disqualified or removed from office, or allows the notary public’s registration…
- § 8231.12 (a) The Secretary of State may approve registrations of notaries public authorized to perform online notarizations for the military and naval reservations of…
- § 8231.13 A person who, without authorization, knowingly obtains, conceals, damages, or destroys the certificate, disk, coding, card, program, software, or hardware…
- § 8231.14 (a) A person or entity shall apply for registration with the Secretary of State to be an online notarization platform or depository as prescribed by the…
- § 8231.15 (a) An online notarization platform or depository shall not have access to a notary public’s electronic signature or electronic seal. (b) An online…
- § 8231.16 (a) The Secretary of State may refuse to appoint any person as a notary public or may revoke or suspend the commission of any notary public for a violation of…
- § 8231.17 (a) For a violation of any provision of this article, an online notarization platform or depository is liable in civil action to the persons injured thereby…
- § 8231.18 (a) As used in this section, the following terms have the following meanings: (1) “Audio-video communication” means being able to see, hear, and communicate…
- § 8231.19 Any waiver of the provisions of this article is contrary to public policy and is void and unenforceable.
- § 8231.20 The provisions of this article are severable. If any provision of this article or its application is held invalid, that invalidity shall not affect other…
ARTICLE 3. Recognition of Notarial Acts §§ 8232–8232.4 · 5 sections
- § 8232 For purposes of this article, the following definitions apply: (a) “Foreign state” means a government other than the United States, a state, or a federally…
- § 8232.1 (a) A notarial act performed in another state shall be afforded the same legal effect under the law of this state as if performed by a notarial officer of this…
- § 8232.2 (a) A notarial act performed under the authority and in the jurisdiction of a federally recognized Indian tribe shall be afforded the same legal effect under…
- § 8232.3 (a) A notarial act performed under federal law shall be afforded the same legal effect under the law of this state as if performed by a notarial officer of…
- § 8232.4 (a) If a notarial act is performed under authority and in the jurisdiction of a foreign state or constituent unit of the foreign state or is performed under…