Title XXXII, COURTS

486.615. Commission effective, when, bond amount — surety duties — suspension of commission, when. — 1. A notary commission shall not become effective until an oath of office and a ten thousand dollar bond have been presented to the county clerk of the county in which a person ha…

486.620. Secretary to prepare notary commission, duties — register of notaries. — 1. The secretary shall prepare a notary commission and forward the commission to the county clerk in the county of the applicant's residence or regular place of work or business. 2. Upon issuing a n…

486.625. Application, procedure. — 1. Every application for a notary commission shall be made in a paper or electronic format established by the secretary and shall include all information required by section 486.630 and any other information as the secretary may deem appropriate…

486.630. Application, contents — declaration — application fee. — 1. The application for a notary commission shall state or include, at least: (1) The applicant's date of birth; (2) The applicant's residence address and telephone number; (3) The applicant's regular place of work …

486.635. Application records, limitations on disclosure. — 1. Records containing the information required by subdivision (7) of subsection 1 of section 486.630 shall be used by the secretary and his or her designated employees only for the purpose of performing official duties pr…

486.640. Notarial acts authorized to be performed by notary. — A notary may perform the following notarial acts: (1) Acknowledgments; (2) Oaths and affirmations; (3) Jurats; (4) Signature witnessings; (5) Copy certifications; and (6) Any other act authorized by the laws of Missou…

486.645. Limitation on notarial acts, principal requirements — disqualification of notary, when — nonnotarial fee permitted, when. — 1. A notary shall perform a notarial act only if the principal: (1) Is in the presence of the notary at the time of notarization; (2) Is personally…

486.650. Refusal to perform notarial act prohibited, when — exceptions. — 1. A notary shall not refuse to perform a notarial act based on the characteristics protected from employment discrimination pursuant to section 213.055. 2. A notary shall perform any notarial act described…

486.655. Notary not to influence person on transaction — notary not to investigate document or transaction. — 1. Except as otherwise provided in subsection 2 of section 486.650, a notary shall not influence a person either to enter into or avoid a transaction involving a notarial…

486.660. Prohibited acts. — A notary shall not: (1) Execute a notarial certificate containing information known or believed by the notary to be false; (2) Affix an official signature or seal on a notarial certificate that is incomplete; (3) Affix an official signature or seal on …

486.665. Signatures and photographs, prohibited acts. — 1. A notary shall not notarize a signature: (1) On a blank or incomplete document; or (2) On a document without notarial certificate wording. 2. A notary shall neither certify nor authenticate a photograph. ­­-------- (L. 20…

486.670. Intent to deceive or defraud prohibited — prohibited uses of title or seal. — 1. A notary shall not perform any notarial act with the intent to deceive or defraud. 2. A notary shall not use the official notary title or seal to endorse, promote, denounce, or oppose any pr…

486.675. Nonattorney notaries, prohibited acts. — 1. A notary who is not an attorney shall not assist another person in drafting, completing, selecting, or understanding a document or transaction requiring a notarial act. 2. Subsection 1 of this section shall not preclude a notar…

486.680. Limitation on notary making any claim not authorized — nonattorney notaries, services not in English, notice required — prohibited non-English terms. — 1. A notary shall not claim to have powers, qualifications, rights, or privileges that are not provided under this chap…

486.685. Fees. — 1. For performing a notarial act, a notary may charge the maximum fee specified in this section, charge less than the maximum fee, or waive the fee. 2. The maximum fees that may be charged by a notary for performing notarial acts are: (1) For an acknowledgment, f…

486.690. Fees, payment prior to services — nonrefundable, when. — 1. A notary may require payment of any fees specified in section 486.685 prior to performance of a notarial act. 2. Any fees paid to a notary prior to performance of a notarial act shall be nonrefundable if: (1) Th…

486.695. Notary's employer may prohibit charging of fees, when. — 1. An employer may prohibit an employee who is a notary from charging for notarial acts performed on the employer's time, but shall not discriminate in the charging of fees based on the characteristics of the princ…

486.700. Journal to be maintained, requirements. — 1. A notary shall keep, maintain, protect, and provide for lawful inspection a chronological journal of notarial acts that is a permanently bound book with numbered pages. 2. A notary shall maintain only one active permanently bo…

486.705. Journal contents. — 1. For every notarial act, the notary shall record in the journal at the time of notarization the following: (1) The date and time of day of the notarial act; (2) The type of notarial act; (3) The type, title, or a description of the document or proce…

486.710. Examination and copying of journal — fee for certified copy, exception. — 1. The journal may be examined and copied without restriction by a law enforcement officer in the course of an official investigation, subpoenaed by court order, pursuant to subpoena power as autho…

486.715. Safeguarding of journal, requirements. — 1. A notary shall safeguard his or her journal and all other notarial records and surrender or destroy them only by court order or at the direction of the secretary. 2. If not in use, the journal shall be kept in a secure area und…

486.725. Paper documents, notarizing — signature and seal — lost or stolen seal — resignation, expiration, or death of notary, effect of — revocation, return of seal. — 1. In notarizing a paper document, a notary public shall affix an official signature and an official seal on th…

486.730. Official seal, placement of, elements. — 1. Near the notary's official signature on each paper notarial certificate, the notary shall affix a sharp, legible, permanent, and photographically reproducible image of the official seal that shall include the following elements…

486.735. Selling or manufacturing notary seals, registration required — requirements for sale or manufacture — violation, penalty. — 1. A vendor or manufacturer shall register with the secretary prior to selling or manufacturing notary seals. The secretary shall maintain an inter…

486.740. Notarial certificate required, contents, form. — 1. For every notarial act involving a document, a notary shall properly complete a notarial certificate that contains or states: (1) The official signature of the notary, in accordance with section 486.725; (2) An impressi…

486.745. Paper notarial certificates, requirements — correction or errors or omissions, when. — 1. A paper notarial certificate that is attached to a document during the notarization of the signature of a principal shall: (1) Be attached by staple or other method that leaves evid…

486.750. Form of certificate. — A notary shall use a certificate in substantially the following form in notarizing the signature or mark of any person acknowledging on his or her own behalf or as a partner, corporate officer, attorney in fact, or in any other representative capac…

486.755. Jurat certificate form. — A notary shall use a jurat certificate in substantially the following form in notarizing a signature or mark on an affidavit or other sworn or affirmed written declaration: ­ ­ ­­-------- (L. 2020 H.B. 1655)

486.760. Signature form. — A notary shall use a certificate in substantially the following form in notarizing a signature or mark to confirm that it was affixed in the notary's presence without administration of an oath or affirmation: ­ ­ ­­-------- (L. 2020 H.B. 1655)

486.765. Certified copy form. — A notary shall use a certificate in substantially the following form in notarizing a certified copy: ­ ­ ­­-------- (L. 2020 H.B. 1655)

486.770. Notarized document sent out of state or country, form — certificate of authority form — apostille form, fee. — 1. On a notarized document sent to another state or nation, evidence of the authenticity of the official seal and signature of a notary commissioned pursuant to…

486.775. Notarial act may be performed, when — seal, signature, title, prima facie evidence, when — reciprocity, when. — 1. A notarial act may be performed within this state by the following persons: (1) A notary of this state; (2) A judge, clerk, or deputy clerk of any court of …

486.780. Change of address of notary, requirements. — 1. Within ten days after the change of a notary's residence, business, or mailing address, the notary shall send to the secretary by any means providing a tangible receipt, including certified mail and electronic transmission,…

486.785. Change of notary's name, requirements. — 1. Within ten days after the change of a notary's name by court order or marriage, the notary shall send to the secretary by any means providing a tangible receipt, including certified mail and electronic transmission, a signed no…

486.790. Resignation of notary commission. — 1. A notary who resigns his or her commission shall send to the secretary by any means providing a tangible receipt, including certified mail and electronic transmission, a signed notice indicating the effective date of resignation. 2.…

486.795. Expiration, resignation, or revocation of notary commission, requirements. — 1. Except as provided in subsection 2 of this section, if a notary commission expires or is resigned or revoked, the notary shall: (1) As soon as reasonably practicable, destroy or deface all of…

486.800. Death of notary, personal representative duties. — If a notary dies during the term of commission or before fulfilling the requirements of this section, the notary's personal representative shall: (1) Notify the secretary of the death in writing; (2) As soon as reasonabl…

486.805. Liability for damages by notary, surety, or employer of notary, when. — 1. A notary shall be liable to any person for all damages proximately caused that person by the notary's negligence, intentional violation of law, or official misconduct in relation to a notarization…

486.810. Revocation of commission, when — procedure. — 1. The secretary may revoke a notary commission for any ground on which an application for a commission may be denied pursuant to subsection 4* of section 486.605. 2. The secretary shall revoke the commission of any notary wh…

486.815. Suspension of notary commission. — 1. The secretary may immediately suspend a notary commission upon written notice sent by certified mail if the situation is deemed to have a serious unlawful effect on the general public, provided that the notary shall be entitled to he…

486.820. List of suspended or revoked commissions, publication of. — The secretary may regularly publish a list of persons whose notary commissions have been suspended or revoked by the secretary, including electronic notaries and remote online notaries. ­­-------- (L. 2020 H.B. …

486.825. Additional sanctions permitted. — The sanctions of this chapter shall not preclude any other sanctions or remedies provided by law. ­­-------- (L. 2020 H.B. 1655)

486.830. Rulemaking authority. — The secretary may promulgate rules that are reasonable and necessary to accomplish the duties specifically delegated to the secretary in this chapter. Any rule or portion of a rule, as that term is defined in section 536.010, that is created pursu…

486.900. Definitions. — As used in sections 486.900 to 486.1010, the following terms and phrases mean: (1) "Capable of independent verification", any interested person may confirm the validity of an electronic notary's identity and authority through a publicly accessible system; …

486.902. Controlling law. — Sections 486.900 to 486.1010 supplement the provisions of sections 486.600 to 486.825 for in-person electronic notarial acts. To the extent sections 486.600 to 486.825 are inconsistent with sections 486.900 to 486.1010, the provisions of 486.900 to 486…

486.905. Electronic notaries, commission, registration. — 1. Prior to performing electronic notarial acts, a person shall apply to be a commissioned notary for the state of Missouri. 2. A notary shall register the capability to perform electronic notarial acts with the secretary …