Chapter 53, NOTARIES PUBLIC AND COMMISSIONERS

53-401. Accession to Hague convention; procedure for certification of document. (a) The state of Kansas hereby declares its intent to accede to the Hague convention abolishing the requirement of legalization for foreign public documents. (b) Upon presentation of a public document…

53-512. Notarial acts; suspension of appearance requirements; validity. All notarial acts performed by a notary public of this state while the requirements that a person must appear before a notary public are suspended pursuant to an executive order or other state law, shall be v…

53-5a01. Citation of act. (a) K.S.A. 53-5a01 through 53-5a31, and amendments thereto, shall be known and may be cited as the revised uniform law on notarial acts. (b) This section shall take effect on and after January 1, 2022. History: L. 2021, ch. 64, § 1; July 1.

53-5a02. Definitions. As used in the revised uniform law on notarial acts: (a) "Acknowledgment" means a declaration by an individual before a notarial officer that the individual has signed a record for the purpose stated in the record and, if the record is signed in a representa…

53-5a03. Applicability of act. (a) This act applies to a notarial act performed on or after January 1, 2022. (b) This section shall take effect on and after January 1, 2022. History: L. 2021, ch. 64, § 3; July 1.

53-5a04. Authority to perform notarial acts. (a) A notarial officer may perform the following notarial acts: (1) Taking an acknowledgment; (2) administering an oath or affirmation; (3) taking a verification upon oath or affirmation; (4) witnessing or attesting a signature; (5) ce…

53-5a05. Requirements for certain notarial acts. (a) A notarial officer who takes an acknowledgment of a record shall determine, from personal knowledge or satisfactory evidence of the identity of the individual, that the individual appearing before the officer and making the ack…

53-5a06. Personal appearance required. (a) If a notarial act relates to a statement made in or a signature executed on a record, the individual making the statement or executing the signature shall appear personally before the notarial officer. (b) This section shall take effect …

53-5a07. Identification of individual. (a) A notarial officer has personal knowledge of the identity of an individual appearing before the officer if the individual is personally known to the officer through dealings sufficient to provide reasonable certainty that the individual …

53-5a08. Authority to refuse to perform notarial act. (a) A notarial officer may refuse to perform a notarial act if the officer is not satisfied that the: (1) Individual executing the record is competent or has the capacity to execute the record; or (2) individual's signature is…

53-5a09. Signature if individual unable to sign. (a) If an individual is physically unable to sign a record, the individual may direct an individual other than the notarial officer to sign the individual's name on the record. The notarial officer shall insert: "Signature affixed …

53-5a10. Notarial act in this state. (a) A notarial act may be performed in this state by: (1) A notary public of this state; (2) a judge, clerk or deputy clerk of any court of this state; (3) a county clerk or deputy county clerk; (4) an election commissioner or assistant electi…

53-5a11. Notarial act in another state. (a) A notarial act performed in another state has the same effect under the law of this state as if performed by a notarial officer of this state if the act performed in that state is performed by: (1) A notary public of that state; (2) a j…

53-5a12. Notarial act under authority of federally recognized Indian tribe. (a) A notarial act performed under the authority and in the jurisdiction of a federally recognized Indian tribe has the same effect under the law of this state as if performed by a notarial officer of thi…

53-5a13. Notarial act under federal authority. (a) A notarial act performed under federal law has the same effect under the law of this state as if performed by a notarial officer of this state, if the act performed under federal law is performed by: (1) A judge, clerk or deputy …

53-5a14. Foreign notarial act. (a) If a notarial act is performed under authority and in the jurisdiction of a foreign state or constituent unit of the foreign state or is performed under the authority of a multinational or international governmental organization, the act has the…

53-5a15. Notarial act performed for remotely located individual. (a) A remotely located individual may comply with K.S.A. 53-5a06, and amendments thereto, by using communication technology to appear before a notary public. (b) A notary public located in this state may perform a n…

53-5a16. Certificate of notarial act. (a) A notarial act shall be evidenced by a certificate that shall: (1) Be executed contemporaneously with the performance of the notarial act; (2) be signed and dated by the notarial officer and, if the notarial officer is a notary public, be…

53-5a17. Short-form certificates. The secretary of state shall adopt rules and regulations providing short-form certificates of notarial acts that are sufficient for the purposes indicated if completed with the information required by law. History: L. 2021, ch. 64, § 17; July 1.

53-5a18. Official stamp. (a) The official stamp of a notary public shall include the notary public's name exactly as it appears on the application for commission as a notary public, the words "notary public" and "State of Kansas", and other information required by the secretary o…

53-5a19. Stamping device. (a) A notary public is responsible for the security of the notary public's stamping device and shall not allow another individual to use the device to perform a notarial act. On resignation from, or the revocation or expiration of, the notary public's co…

53-5a20. Journal. (a) A notary public shall maintain a journal in which the notary public chronicles all notarial acts that the notary public performs. The notary public shall retain the journal for 10 years after the performance of the last notarial act chronicled in the journal…

53-5a21. Notification regarding performance of notarial act on electronic record; selection of technology; acceptance of tangible copy of electronic record. (a) A notary public may select one or more tamper-evident technologies to perform notarial acts with respect to electronic …

53-5a22. Commission as notary public; qualifications; no immunity or benefit. (a) An individual qualified under subsection (c) may apply to the secretary of state for a commission as a notary public. The applicant shall file with the secretary of state an application for appointm…

53-5a23. Examination of notary public. (a) Before a notary public performs the notary public's initial notarial act with respect to an electronic record, a notary public shall pass an examination administered by the secretary of state or an entity approved by the secretary of sta…

53-5a24. Grounds to deny, refuse to renew, revoke, suspend or impose a condition on a commission of notary public. (a) The secretary of state may deny, refuse to renew, revoke, suspend or impose a condition on a commission as notary public for any act or omission that demonstrate…

53-5a25. Prohibited acts. (a) A commission as a notary public does not authorize an individual to: (1) Assist persons in drafting legal records, give legal advice or otherwise practice law; (2) act as an immigration consultant or an expert on immigration matters; (3) represent a …

53-5a26. Validity of notarial acts. (a) Except as otherwise provided in K.S.A. 53-5a25(b), and amendments thereto, the failure of a notarial officer to perform a duty or meet a requirement specified in this act does not invalidate a notarial act performed by the notarial officer.…

53-5a27. Rules and regulations. (a) The secretary of state shall adopt rules and regulations to implement this act. Rules and regulations adopted regarding the performance of notarial acts with respect to electronic records shall not require, or accord greater legal status or eff…

53-5a28. Notary public commission in effect. (a) A commission or appointment as a notary public in effect on January 1, 2022, continues until its date of expiration. A notary public who applies to renew a commission as a notary public on or after January 1, 2022, is subject to an…

53-5a29. Savings clause. (a) This act does not affect the validity or effect of a notarial act performed before January 1, 2022. (b) A cause of action that has accrued against a notary public or the notary public's securities before January 1, 2022, are governed by any statute or…

53-5a30. Uniformity of application and construction. (a) In applying and construing this uniform act, consideration shall be given to the need to promote uniformity of the law with respect to its subject matter among states that enact it. (b) This section shall take effect on and…

53-5a31. Relation to electronic signatures in global and national commerce act. (a) This act modifies, limits and supersedes the federal electronic signatures in global and national commerce act, 15 U.S.C. § 7001 et seq., except that nothing in this act modifies, limits or supers…

53-601. Unsworn declarations; written declaration sufficient, form; exceptions; relationship to notarial acts. (a) Except as provided by subsection (b), whenever a law of this state or any rules and regulations, order or requirement adopted or issued thereunder requires or permit…