California Notary Law Changes for 2008

Since my previous post concerning notary law changes with respect to identification, I realized that readers may consider that to be the only notary law change for the new year. My apologies if there was a misunderstanding. There are quite a number of changes to notary law within the state of California.

Overall, the changes appear to offer more protection to the public, increase penalties for notaries falsifying documents, provide additional verification of identity, and assist when there is a crime investigation. From the California Secretary of State's website, the following notary law updates for the 2008 year are:

AB 434 Chapter 496
Requires the notary to respond within 15 business days from receipt of a request by the public for a line item copy from the notary's journal. The notary must provide a copy or respond that no such line item exists.

AB886 Chapter 399
Provides several provisions affecting notaries public:

• "Personally known" to the notary for the purpose of identifying a signer for an acknowledgment or executing a jurat will no longer be allowed. Violation of this may subject the notary to a civil penalty of up to $10,000.
• The certificate of acknowledgment will be executed under penalty of perjury. Any notary who knowingly states as true a material fact known to false can be subject to a penalty of up to $10,000.
• Notaries will have to submit a photograph with their application for a commission.
• The notary journal will have to include a notation that the identity of a signer was based on satisfactory evidence and not "personal knowledge".
• Power of attorney documents will need a thumb print in the notary journal.
• When requested by a peace officer in the course of investigating a criminal offense, a notary must surrender their journal immediately or as soon as possible if the journal is not immediately in their possession. The peace officer seizing the journal must notify the secretary of state within 24 hours to provide the name of the notary.
• Willful failure to notify the secretary of state of an address change may incur a fine of up to $500.
• Willful failure to notify the secretary of state of a name change is punishable with a fine of up to $500.
• Willful failure to produce the journal, when requested by a peace officer, is punishable by a civil penalty of up to $2500.
• Failure to obtain a thumb print as required by law, is subject to a penalty of up to $2500.
• Willful failure to report loss or theft of a journal may be grounds for revocation or suspension of a notary commission.
• Grounds for denial of an application for a notary commission include:
• Making false writing.
• Fraud relating to a deed of trust.
• Improper notarial acts.
• Unlawful acting as a notary.
• Filing false or forged documents.
• Forgery
• Embezzlement
• Falsely obtaining personal information
• Willful failure to produce the notary journal when requested by a police officer.

These appear reasonable and necessary changes to ensure the publics' protection against notaries performing improper acts as it allows for greater accountability. The original secretary of state posting can be found here.