Arizona Amends Provisions Relating to Notaries Public
The state of Arizona amended its provisions relating to notaries public through House Bill 2178. These provisions are effective on July 20, 2018 (or 90 days following adjournment of the current legislative session).
Arizona Revised Statutes Section 41-311 is amended to modify the definition of “Notarial act” or “notarization” to specify that it only verifies “the identity of a signer of a document and not the truthfulness, accuracy or validity of the document.” Furthermore that same section includes amendments to the definition of “satisfactory evidence of identity” to include:
- “nonoperating identification license that is issued by a state or territory of the United States.”
- “An inmate identification card that is issued by the state department of corrections, if the inmate is in the custody of the department.”
- “Any form of inmate identification that is issued by a county sheriff, if the inmate is in the custody of the county sheriff.”
Arizona Revised Statutes Section 41-313 has been amended to remove language which permitted a notary to perform a notarial act on a document that is a translation of a document that is in a language that the notary does not understand. These amendments also require the official seal of a notary to include their notarial commission number in addition to the previously required: “words ‘notary public’, the name of the county in which the notary is commissioned, the name of the notary as it appears on the notarial application, the great seal of the state of Arizona… and the expiration date of the notarial commission.”
Currently, a notary public is required to file a surety bond with the Arizona Secretary of State that must be issued within 60 days before and 30 days after the Arizona Secretary of State commissions the notary (A.R.S. § 41-315). This rule has been amended to require the Arizona Secretary of State to accept a surety bond issued by a notary public that was issued 60 days, rather than 30 days, after the notary is commissioned.
Arizona Revised Statutes Section 41-352 is added as a new section which contains rules related to electronic notarization. This section states notarial acts may be performed electronically and a notary public can accept documents electronically signed. Furthermore the Arizona Secretary of State is required by this section to “adopt rules that establish standards for secure and feasible implementation of electronic notarization” before January 1, 2020.
Arizona Revised Statutes Section 44-7011 requires a notary public who is appointed after the effective date to use an official seal imprinted with his or her commission number. A notary public appointed before the effective date must replace his or her official seal on reappointment with an official seal imprinted with his or her notarial commission number.
The full text of Arizona House Bill 2178 can be found here: https://www.azleg.gov/legtext/53leg/2R/laws/0013.htm
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