Title GOV — California Gov. Code

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 days after receipt of the request and either supply the photostatic copy requested or acknowledge that no such line item ex…

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 notary, the State Seal, the words “Notary Public,” and the name of the county wherein the bond and oath of office are fil…

The Secretary of State shall assign a sequential identification number to each notary which shall appear on the notary commission. This section shall become operative on January 1, 1992.

(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 of State shall develop and implement procedures and guidelines for the issuance of notary seals on or before January 1, 19…

(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 manufacturer is authorized to provide a notary with an official seal only upon presentation by the notary public of a certificate of…

(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 thousand five hundred dollars ($1,500) for each violation, which may be recovered in a civil action brought by the Attor…

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 exchange or promissory note for nonacceptance or nonpayment, specifying any of the following is prima facie evidence of th…

(a) If any notary public resigns, is disqualified, removed from office, or allows his or her appointment to expire without obtaining reappointment within 30 days, all notarial records and papers shall be delivered within 30 days to the clerk of the county in which the notary publ…

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 deed, or other instrument, to include the seal and the writing of the certificate, the sum of fifteen dollars ($15) for …

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 executed by an admitted surety insurer and not a deposit in lieu of bond.

(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 an oath of office in the office of the county clerk of the county within which the person maintains a principal place of …

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 change in the location or address of the principal place of business or residence. A notary public shall not use a commer…

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 of State. Information on this form shall be subject to the confidentiality provisions described in Section 8201.5. Upon ap…

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 to the persons injured thereby for all the damages sustained.

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 grounds: (a) Substantial and material misstatement or omission in the application submitted to the Secretary of State to…

(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 of subdivision (d) of Section 8214.1, is punishable by a civil penalty not to exceed one thousand five hundred dollars ($…

(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 a single-family residence containing not more than four dwelling units, with knowledge that the deed of trust contains an…

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 penalty not exceeding two thousand five hundred dollars ($2,500). An action to impose a civil penalty under this subdivis…

(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 exceeding two thousand five hundred dollars ($2,500). An action to impose a civil penalty under this subdivision may be broug…

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 affected shall have a right to a hearing on the matter and the proceeding shall be conducted in accordance with Chapter 5 (com…

Notwithstanding this chapter or Chapter 5 (commencing with Section 11500) of Part 1 of Division 3, if the Secretary of State determines, after proceedings conducted in accordance with Chapter 5 (commencing with Section 11500) of Part 1 of Division 3, that any notary public has co…

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 notary public’s principal place of business is located a copy of the revocation. The county clerk shall note such revoca…

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 penalty, the court shall revoke the commission of the notary public, and shall require the notary public to surrender to the…

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 Section 996.110), and not by cancellation or withdrawal pursuant to Article 13 (commencing with Section 996.310), of Chapte…

(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 written communication, with the exception of a single desk plaque, shall post with that advertisement a notice in English and …

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 Administrative Procedure Act (Chapter 3.5 (commencing with Section 11340) of Part 1 of Division 3).

(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 a misdemeanor and be liable in a civil action for damages to any person injured as a result of such destruction, defacing…

(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 constitute a violation of any provision of this chapter or any rule or regulation prescribed under the authority thereof, the Secr…

(a) A notary public who holds himself or herself out as being an immigration specialist, immigration consultant, or any other title or description reflecting an expertise in immigration matters shall not advertise in any manner whatsoever that he or she is a notary public. (b) A …

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 purposes of this section, a notary public has a direct financial or beneficial interest in a transaction if the notary pu…

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 notary public be taken by the notary public.

(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 notarial act, including any act required of a notary public under Section 8206, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor. (b) Notwithst…

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 following: (a) Represent or hold himself or herself out to the public or to any person as being entitled to act as a notary pu…

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 document or instrument affecting title to, placing an encumbrance on, or placing an interest secured by a mortgage or deed of tr…

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 or her official capacity and within his or her authority, may enforce the provisions of this chapter through the examinat…

(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 notary public under the direct and exclusive control of the notary public, or who surrenders the seal of the notary public …

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 birthdate or age of the person and a purported photograph or finger or thumbprint of the person so swearing or subscribing,…

(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 notary public in California and a notary public shall not provide online notarization for any principal pursuant to this art…

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 another individual in real time using electronic means in a manner that conforms to the requirements of this article and a…

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 ($25,000) in lieu of the bond required by Section 8212. The bond shall be in the form of a bond executed by an admitted s…

(a) A notary public authorized to perform online notarization who resigns, is disqualified or removed from office, or allows the notary public’s registration to perform online notarization to expire without obtaining a reappointment, within 30 days, pursuant to Section 8209, shal…

(a) The Secretary of State may approve registrations of notaries public authorized to perform online notarizations for the military and naval reservations of the Army, Navy, Coast Guard, Air Force, and Marine Corps of the United States that are located in the State of California.…

A person who, without authorization, knowingly obtains, conceals, damages, or destroys the certificate, disk, coding, card, program, software, or hardware enabling a notary public to affix the notary public’s electronic signature or electronic seal is guilty of a misdemeanor.

(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 Secretary of State. (b) An entity required to obtain a certificate of qualification from the Secretary of State in order to tra…

(a) An online notarization platform or depository shall not have access to a notary public’s electronic signature or electronic seal. (b) An online notarization platform or depository shall not access, use, share, sell, disclose, produce, provide, release, transfer, disseminate, …

(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 this article. (b) The Secretary of State may refuse to register any online notarization platform or depository or may rev…

(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 for any of the following: (1) The greater of the following: (A) Any actual damages sustained by that person as a result of …

(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 with another individual in real time using electronic means. (2) “Audio-video recording” means a recording of the audio-vid…

Any waiver of the provisions of this article is contrary to public policy and is void and unenforceable.

(a) The Secretary of State shall adopt rules and regulations necessary to implement this article. The rules and regulations shall set and maintain standards for online notarizations and notaries public authorized to perform online notarization, including, but not limited to, all …