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SECTION I.    OFFICE OF NOTARY PUBLIC

A) Qualifications/Requirements for Appointment, B) Notary Public Application, C) Senatorial Endorsement of the Notary Application, D) Notary Education, E) Review of Notary Public Application, F) Notary Public Application For Re-appointment, G) Notary Public Vacation of Office and Change or Residence, H) Notary Public Oath Of Office, Bond And Recording, I)  Registration Of Notary’s Signature, J) Notarial Seal, K) Surrender Of Seal, L) Rejection of Application; Removal, M) Revocation of Commission of Notaries Issuing Checks Without Funds On Deposit

A)  QUALIFICATIONS/REQUIREMENTS FOR APPOINTMENT

  *  Any Person

  *  Who is eighteen years of age or over,  

  *  Who resides or is employed within the Commonwealth and 

  *  Who is of good character, integrity and ability

shall be eligible for the office of notary public. (Section 3(a))

NON-RESIDENT NOTARY PUBLICS EMPLOYED WITHIN THE STATE 

*  Any nonresident notary public shall be deemed to have irrevocably appointed the Secretary of the Commonwealth as the person’s agent for purposes of being served any summons, subpoena, order or other process. (Section 3(b))    

THE FOLLOWING PERSONS SHALL BE INELIGIBLE TO HOLD THE OFFICE OF NOTARY PUBLIC:

        *  Any person holding any judicial office in this Commonwealth, except the office of  justice of the peace, magistrate, or alderman.

        *  Every member of Congress, and any person, whether an officer, a subordinate officer, or agent, holding any office or appointment of profit or trust under the legislative, executive, or judiciary departments of the government of the United States, to which a salary, fees or perquisites are attached.    

         *  Any member of the General Assembly.

B)   NOTARY PUBLIC APPLICATION

   *  A notary public application shall be on forms prescribed and furnished by the Secretary of the Commonwealth and accompanied by a $40.00 non-refundable filing fee payable to the order of “The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.” (Section 5(a))  

   *  A notary public application must contain no material misstatement or omission of fact.  (Section 5(b))

   *  The applicant shall not have been convicted of, or plead guilty or nolo contendere to a felony or a lesser offense incompatible with the duties of a notary during the five year period preceding the date of the application or have a prior commission revoked by the Commonwealth or any other state during the five year period preceding the date of the application.  (Section 5(b)(1)-(2))

 C)   SENATORIAL ENDORSEMENT OF APPLICATION

   *  A resident applicant’s application must bear the endorsement of the Senator of the district in which the applicant resides. (Section 5(a))

   *  A nonresident applicant’s application must bear the endorsement of the Senator of the district in which the applicant is employed. (Section 5(a))

   *  In the case of a vacancy in that senatorial district, the application must be endorsed by the Senator of an adjacent district. (Section 5(a))  

 D)   NOTARY PUBLIC EDUCATION

   *  As a condition for the Secretary of the Commonwealth’s issuance of a notary commission, each applicant for an initial appointment or a reappointment must have completed at least three (3) hours of approved notary education within the six months immediately preceding the application. (Section 5(c))  

   *  The notary education may either be interactive or classroom instruction and all education programs, which must include a core curriculum covering the duties and responsibilities of the notary office and electronic notarization, must be pre-approved by the Secretary of the Commonwealth. (Section 5(d))

* Each applicant for an initial commission and reappointment will be required to submit a copy of his/her course completion certificate, which may be in the form of an adhesive placard to be placed on the application OR a Certificate of Completion attached to the application, furnished by the course provider as proof of having satisfied the education requirement.  

E)  REVIEW OF NOTARY PUBLIC APPLICATION

   *  The Secretary of the Commonwealth shall be satisfied that the applicant is of good moral character, and is familiar with the duties and responsibilities of a notary public. (Section 5(b))

   *  The Secretary of the Commonwealth may, for good cause, reject any notary public application subject to the right to appeal. (Section 5(b))  

  F)  APPLICATION FOR RE-APPOINTMENT

   *  Applications for reappointment must be filed at least two months prior to the expiration of a commission. (Section 6)

   *  Persons seeking reappointment must continue to meet the requirements in Section 5 (including the notary public education requirement) of the Act in order to be reappointed. (Section 6)

  G)  NOTARY PUBLIC VACATION OF OFFICE AND CHANGE OF RESIDENCE

   *  A notary public must notify the Secretary of the Commonwealth and the recorder of deeds of the county of original appointment of any change of address in the Commonwealth in writing or electronically within five (5) days of such change. (Section 7(a))     

* Please note that the Department has established a mechanism by which a notary public can provide notification of a change of address (that includes residence and/or employment address) by electronic mail.  

   *  A notary public vacates his office by removing the notary’s residence and business address from the Commonwealth, and such removal shall constitute a resignation from the office of notary public as of the date of removal. (Section 7(a))  

   *  A notary public who neither resides nor works in the Commonwealth shall be deemed to have resigned from the office of notary public as of the date the residency ceases or employment within the Commonwealth terminates and a notary public who resigns his/her commission must notify the Secretary of the Commonwealth in writing of the effective date of the resignation. (Section 7(b))  

 H)  NOTARY PUBLIC OATH OF OFFICE, BOND AND RECORDING

* Every notary, upon appointment and prior to entering upon the duties of the office of notary public, shall:

*  take and subscribe the constitutional oath of office;

*  give a surety bond, payable to the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, in the amount of $10,000 and recorded with the office of the recorder of deeds in the proper county; and

*  file the approved bond with the Secretary of the Commonwealth. (Section 8)  

*  each notary public bond shall have as a surety a duly authorized surety company or two sufficient individual sureties, to be approved by the Secretary of the Commonwealth, conditioned for the faithful performance of the duties of the office of notary public and for delivery of the notary’s register to the office of the recorder of deeds of the proper county in case of the death, resignation or disqualification of the notary within thirty (30) days of such event.  (Section 8)

     *  unless the bond as well as the commission and oath of office are recorded with the proper office of the recorder of deeds within forty-five (45) days of the beginning of the term upon appointment or reappointment, they shall be null and void. (Section 8)  

 I)  REGISTRATION OF NOTARY’S SIGNATURE

        *  Each notary public must register his/her official signature in the “Notary Register” in the prothonotary’s office of the county wherein the notary maintains an office, within forty-five (45) days after appointment or reappointment, and in any county to which the notary may subsequently move the notary’s office, within thirty (30) days thereafter (as well as in the clerk of courts’ office in counties of the second class within the same specified time frames). (Section 9(a))

        *  The notary public may be charged a fee of fifty (.50) cents by the prothonotary. (Section 9(b))

        *  The notary public must sign the notary’s name exactly and only as it appears on the commission or otherwise execute the notary’s electronic signature in a manner that attributes such signature to the notary public identified on the commission.  (Section 9(c))

        *  A county may permit notaries to register their electronic signatures. (Section 9(d)) 

 J)  NOTARIAL SEAL 

* The notary public’s rubber stamp seal must contain the words “Notarial Seal”; the name and surname of the notary and the words “Notary Public”; the name of the municipality (not political subdivision) and county in which the notary maintains an office; and the date the notary’s commission expires. (Section 12(a))

   *  The seal shall have a maximum height of one inch and width of three and one-half inches with a plain border. (Section 12(b)).  The seal may provide the words "Commonwealth of Pennsylvania" to be located just outside the top border of the Notarial Seal if the Notary Public desires.

   *  While the use of an embosser is no longer required, it is optional.  (Section 12(c)-Repealed)

   *  The notary public seal is the exclusive property of the notary public to whom it is issued, the notary public to whom it is issued is responsible for the custody and control of the seal and a notary public shall not permit the use of his/her seal by another person (Section 12(d)).

   *  The use of the notary public seal by a person who is not the notary public named on the seal shall be deemed as an impersonation and shall be subject to criminal penalties as impersonating a notary public.  (Section 12 (e))

   *  A notary public is not required to use an electronic seal for notarization of electronic records and electronic signatures provided that, in any event, the full name of the notary public along with the words “Notary Public”, the name of the municipality and county in which the notary public maintains an office, and the date the notary’s commission is due to expire is attached to or logically associated therewith. (Section 12(f))  

K)  SURRENDER OF SEAL 

  A notary public whose application or renewal is rejected, or should a commission be revoked or recalled for any reason, or should the notary public resign, the applicant or the notary must deliver the seal of office to the Department of State within ten (10) days after notice from the Department or from the date of resignation. (Section 22.1(a))

            *  Please note that Section 8 of the NPL contains a conflicting provision requiring that, among other things, the notary public bond be conditioned upon surrender of the seal to the office of the recorder of deeds of the proper county rather than to the Department of State.  However, Section 22.1(a) (above) of the NPL is a mandate with which notaries public must comply and the Department of State will enforce the provision accordingly.

      *   A notary public who violates this provision will be guilty of a summary offense and upon conviction thereof shall be sentenced to pay a fine not exceeding three hundred dollars ($300) or to imprisonment not exceeding ninety (90) days, or both. (Section 22.1(a))

      *  Upon the death of a notary public, the notary’s personal representative must deliver the seal of office to the Department of State within ninety (90) days of the date of the notary’s death. (Section 22.1(b))  

L) REJECTION OF APPLICATION; REMOVAL

      The Secretary of the Commonwealth may, for good cause, reject any application, or revoke the commission of any notary public, but such action shall be taken subject to the right of notice, hearing and adjudication, and the right of appeal therefrom, in accordance with the provisions of the Administrative Agency Law, approved the fourth day of June, one thousand nine hundred forty-five (Pamphlet Laws 1388), or any amendment or reenactment thereof, relating to adjudication procedure.

M)  REVOCATION OF COMMISSION OF NOTARIES ISSUING CHECKS WITHOUT FUNDS ON DEPOSIT

     The Secretary of the Commonwealth shall, upon written complaint of any aggrieved applicant, revoke the commission of any notary public who issues to the order of any State agency a personal check without funds on deposit in payment of moneys due the agency that were received by him from applicants. Any action taken by the Secretary of the Commonwealth shall be subject to the right of notice, hearing and adjudication and the right of appeal therefrom in accordance with the provisions of the Administrative Agency Law of June four, one thousand nine hundred forty-five (Pamphlet Laws 1388).