When you are appointed as a notary public you are also appointed as an officer of the state (at least in CA). Your "boss" in a sense becomes the Secretary of State. With that said, you would think that the State of California would take the time to alert notaries of changes in the law that affect them but we know that logic does not always prevail. So it is up to each individual notary to apprise themselves of any changes in the law.
California Notary Law Changes:
- Personal knowledge is no longer acceptable for verifying identify of a signer
- The certificate of acknowledgment is now signed under penalty of perjury
- A notary applicant must submit a photograph along with their application
- Notarizing a power of attorney now requires a thumb print
- When requested by a peace officer investigating a criminal offense, a notary must surrender their journal immediately or as soon as possible if the journal is not present
- Willful failure to alert the Secretary of State of a change of address or name change is punishable by a fine of $500
- Willful failure to report loss or theft of a notary journal is grounds for revocation or suspension of a notary commission
Disclaimer: These updates are provided for informational purposes only and are not guaranteed accurate. Please view the official Secretary of State website for more details.
4 comments:
First website I see with the facts written down of exactly what the new 2008 law changes are and not trying to sell a seminar to find out. Thank you!!!
I'm happy to share. You don't need a seminar to learn how to read laws.
Whould should a notary do when the old acknowledgment was used after 1/1/2008? What is the remedy besides getting the signing parties back to sign a new one with the correct wording? Help! >_<
The only way I see to truly correct the problem is to contact the signers but maybe the Secretary of State has a better answer for you.
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