Title 1, Title 1. State Government

Each notary public, except an attorney admitted to the practice of law in this state by the Ohio supreme court, shall hold office for the term of five years unless the commission is revoked. An attorney admitted to the practice of law in this state by the Ohio supreme court shall…

(A)(1) Except as provided in division (A)(2) of this section, a commission for a notary public appointed prior to the effective date of this section shall remain valid until that commission's expiration date.(2) A commission issued to an attorney shall be governed by section 147.…

(A)(1) If the secretary of state believes that a violation of this chapter has occurred, the secretary of state may investigate such violations. (2) The secretary of state may investigate possible violations of this chapter upon a signed complaint from any person. (B) After an in…

Before entering upon the discharge of official duties, a notary public shall obtain the seal of a notary public. The seal shall consist of the coat of arms of the state within a circle that is at least three-quarters of an inch, but not larger than one inch, in diameter and shall…

A person commissioned as a notary public prior to the effective date of this section may continue to use a seal that met the requirements of section 147.04 of the Revised Code and that was in that person's possession before that date.

(A) The secretary of state shall maintain a record of the commissions of each notary public appointed and commissioned by the secretary of state under this chapter and make a proper index to that record. The governor's office shall transfer to the secretary of state's office, on …

The secretary of state shall maintain a database of notaries public on a publicly accessible web site. The web site shall provide all of the following information in relation to each notary public: (A) The status of an individual's authority to perform notarial acts; (B) Whether …

Upon application, the secretary of state shall make a certified copy of a notary public commission and the endorsements on the commission. The certified copy shall be prima-facie evidence of the matters and facts contained in it. For each certified copy of a notary public commiss…

A notary public has statewide jurisdiction. Last updated February 21, 2025 at 10:54 AM

(A) A notary public is entitled to the following fees: (1) Up to five dollars for any notarial act that is not an online notarization; (2) For an online notarization, up to thirty dollars. (B) A notary charging the fee authorized under division (A)(2) of this section shall not al…

No notary public shall do or perform any act as a notary public knowing that the notary public's term of office has expired or that the notary public has resigned the notary public's commission.

A person appointed notary public who performs any act as such after the expiration of the person's term of office or after the person resigns the person's commission, knowing that the person's term has expired or that the person has resigned, shall forfeit not more than five hund…

An official act done by a notary public after the expiration of the notary public's term of office or after the notary public resigns the notary public's commission is as valid as if done during the notary public's term of office.

(A) A notary public shall not do any of the following: (1) Perform a notarial act with regard to a record or document executed by the notary; (2) Notarize the notary's own signature; (3) Take the notary's own deposition; (4) Perform a notarial act if the notary has a conflict of …

(A) A notary public who is not a licensed attorney in this state shall not represent or advertise himself or herself as an immigration consultant or an expert in immigration matters.(B) A notary public who is not a licensed attorney in this state shall not do any of the following…

Representatives of the United Spanish War Veterans, The Disabled American Veterans, The American Legion, Veterans of Foreign Wars of the United States, and other congressionally chartered veterans' organizations, who are recognized as such representatives by the administrator of …

(A) The secretary of state shall establish a fee of not more than one hundred fifty dollars to be paid by each person receiving a commission as notary public. (B) The notary public shall remit the fee to the authorized entity that administered the educational program and test req…

(A) Upon receipt of a fee of two dollars and submission of the electronic duplicate commission request form, a duplicate commission as notary public shall be issued by the secretary of state. (B) Upon receipt of a fee of two dollars and submission of the electronic amendment form…

Any acknowledgment or proof of execution of a deed, mortgage, lease, power of attorney, or other instrument that was taken, and any other notarial act that was performed, by a commissioned officer in active service with the armed forces of the United States for a person who was a…

Depositions taken in pursuance of sections 147.07 and 147.51 to 147.58 of the Revised Code by a person described in division (D) of section 147.51 of the Revised Code shall be taken on written interrogatories, on a written notice being given by the party desiring to take such dep…

(A) A notary public who takes an acknowledgment of a record shall determine, from personal knowledge or satisfactory evidence of the identity of the person acknowledging, that the person appearing before the notary public and making the acknowledgment has the identity claimed and…

(A) A notary public has personal knowledge of the identity of the person appearing before the notary public if the person is personally known to the notary public through dealings sufficient to provide reasonable certainty that the person has the identity claimed. (B) A notary pu…

(A) A notary public, or any other individual with similar authority under this section, is authorized to perform the following notarial acts: (1) Administer oaths or affirmations required or authorized by law; (2) Take and certify acknowledgments of deeds, mortgages, liens, power…

(A) If the notarial act is performed by any of the persons described in divisions (A) and (B) of section 147.51 of the Revised Code, other than a person authorized to perform notarial acts by the laws or regulations of a foreign country, the signature, rank, or title and serial n…

(A) The person taking an acknowledgment shall certify that the person acknowledging appeared before the notary public and acknowledged executing the instrument. (B) The words in an acknowledgment notarial certificate "acknowledged before me" mean that: (1) The person acknowledgin…

(A) The person executing a jurat shall certify all of the following: (1) The signer appeared before the notary public; (2) The notary public administered an oath or affirmation to the signer that the statement in the jurat is true and correct; (3) The signer signed the document i…

(A) A notary public shall provide a completed notarial certificate for every notarial act the notary public performs. (B) If a notarial certificate incorrectly indicates the type of notarization performed, the notary public shall provide a correct certificate at no charge to the …

The forms of acknowledgment set forth in this section may be used and are sufficient for their respective purposes under any section of the Revised Code. The forms shall be known as "statutory short forms of acknowledgment" and may be referred to by that name. The authorization o…

A jurat may take the following form: "State of Ohio County of _________________ Sworn to or affirmed and subscribed before me by (name of signer) this date of (date). (Signature of notary public administering jurat) (Affix seal here) (Title of rank) (Commission expiration date)" …

A notarial act performed prior to January 1, 1974, is not affected by sections 147.51 to 147.58 of the Revised Code. These sections provide an additional method of proving notarial acts and do not diminish or invalidate the recognition accorded to notarial acts by other laws or r…

Sections 147.51 to 147.58 of the Revised Code shall be so interpreted as to make uniform the laws of those states which enact it.

Sections 147.51 to 147.58 of the Revised Code may be cited as the "Uniform Recognition of Acknowledgments Act."

(A) An individual whose physical characteristics limit the individual's ability to sign a document presented for notarization may direct a designated alternative signer to sign on the individual's behalf, if all of the following are met:(1) The individual clearly indicates, throu…

(A) As used in this section, "electronic document," "electronic seal," "electronic signature," and "online notarization" have the same meanings as in section 147.60 of the Revised Code. (B)(1) An electronic document that is signed in the physical presence of the notary public wit…

As used in this section and sections 147.61 to 147.66 of the Revised Code: (A) "Appear in person" means being in the same physical location as another person and being close enough to hear, communicate with, and exchange tangible identification credentials with that individual. "…

Sections 147.60 to 147.66 of the Revised Code apply to online notarizations and online notaries public. To the extent that a provision of sections 147.60 to 147.66 of the Revised Code conflicts with another provision of this chapter or other applicable law, sections 147.60 to 147…

(A) The secretary of state shall adopt rules under Chapter 119. of the Revised Code necessary to implement, set, and maintain standards for online notarizations and online notaries public. Such rules shall address, at a minimum, all of the following: (1) The standards, procedures…

(A) A notary public who has been duly appointed and commissioned under section 147.01 of the Revised Code, and who is a resident of this state, may apply to the secretary of state to be authorized to act as an online notary public during the term of that notary public's commissio…

(A)(1) The secretary of state may charge a fee for the online notary course of instruction and examination to each person who is registering to be an online notary. (2) The secretary shall not charge a fee to a notary obtaining an electronic seal and signature solely for the purp…

(A)(1) Except as provided in division (A)(3) of this section, an online notary public has the authority to perform any notarial act as an online notarization.(2) An electronic document notarized through an online notarization shall be considered an original document.(3) An online…

(A) An online notary public shall maintain one or more electronic journals in which the online notary public records, in chronological order, all online notarizations that the online notary public performs. The electronic journal shall enable access by a password or other secure …

(A) An online notary public shall take reasonable steps to ensure that any device or software used to create an official electronic signature is current and has not been recalled or declared vulnerable by the device or software's manufacturer, seller, or developer.(B)(1) An onlin…

Whoever violates section 147.10 of the Revised Code shall be fined not more than five hundred dollars. Last updated February 19, 2025 at 9:41 AM