Title 47.1, Title 47.1. Notaries and Out-of-State Commissioners

A. Form of evidence of authority of electronic notarial act. On a notarized electronic document transmitted to another state or country outside of the United States, electronic evidence of the authenticity of the official signature and seal of an electronic notary of the Commonwe…

The Governor may appoint in and for the Commonwealth as many notaries as to him shall seem proper. Any person who acts as a notary in the Commonwealth shall register with and be commissioned by the Secretary of the Commonwealth and otherwise be in compliance with the provisions o…

To be qualified to be commissioned as a notary in the Commonwealth, each such person (i) shall be at least 18 years of age, (ii) shall be a legal resident of the United States, (iii) shall be able to read and write the English language, (iv) shall never have been convicted of a f…

No person shall be commissioned as a notary public or electronic notary public pursuant to this title until he submits an application fee as set forth in § 2.2-409 and a complete and correct application to the Secretary of the Commonwealth, in a form prescribed by the Secretary, …

Persons already commissioned as notaries public or electronic notaries public pursuant to this title and who are submitting application for recommission as a notary or electronic notary may submit applications to the Secretary in person, by first-class mail, or online, provided o…

A. Within the six months immediately preceding a person's submission of an application to be commissioned as a notary public or electronic notary public pursuant to § 47.1-5, such person shall take a course of instruction developed by or approved by the Secretary on notarial laws…

The Secretary of the Commonwealth shall develop standards for electronic notarization and the Virginia Information Technologies Agency shall provide assistance to the Secretary of the Commonwealth relating to the equipment, security, and technological aspects of the electronic no…

A. An applicant shall submit a registration form established by the Secretary for registering and being commissioned as an electronic notary public, which shall include: 1. The applicant's full legal and official notary names; 2. A general description of the technology or technol…

Upon receipt of a completed application and the correct fee, the Secretary, if satisfied the applicant is qualified to be registered and commissioned as a notary public or electronic notary public, shall prepare a notary commission for the applicant which shall include a registra…

Once a notary public has been granted the commission by the Secretary, such notary public shall present proof of his commission to a vendor or manufacturer for purposes of obtaining a seal to affix on paper documents as required by the provisions of this title. The notary public …

Before receiving his commission, each person appointed a notary shall appear before the clerk of the circuit court to which his commission has been sent, present sufficient satisfaction of evidence of identity as defined in § 47.1-2, and make oath as follows: "I,................,…

Each notary shall be empowered to perform the following notarial acts: (i) take acknowledgments, (ii) administer oaths and affirmations, (iii) certify that a copy of any document, other than a document in the custody of a court, is a true copy thereof, (iv) certify affidavits or …

A. The powers of any notary commissioned pursuant to this title may be exercised anywhere within the Commonwealth of Virginia. B. Any notary commissioned pursuant to this title may likewise perform notarial acts outside the Commonwealth, where such notarial acts are performed in …

A. As used in this section, "notarial act" means an act, whether performed with respect to a tangible or electronic document, that a notary public commissioned in the Commonwealth may perform under the laws and regulations of the Commonwealth. B. Notarial acts may be performed ou…

A. A notary shall exercise reasonable care in the performance of his duties generally. He shall exercise a high degree of care in ascertaining the identity of any person whose identity is the subject of a notarial or electronic notarial act. B. Unless the identity of such person …

A notary shall not: 1. Notarize a document if the signer is not in the presence of the notary at the time of notarization, unless (i) in the case of an electronic notarization, satisfactory evidence of the identity of the signer is established in accordance with § 47.1-2 or (ii) …

A. A notary public shall not offer or provide legal advice on immigration or other legal matters, or represent any person in immigration proceedings, unless such notary public is authorized or licensed to practice law in the Commonwealth or is accredited pursuant to 8 C.F.R. § 29…

A. Every notarization shall include the date upon which the notarial act was performed and the county or city and state in which it was performed. Every electronic notarial certificate completed by an electronic notary public commissioned in the Commonwealth shall include the cou…

Any notary duly registered and commissioned in this Commonwealth, who shall legally change his name during his term of office as a notary shall, after such change of name, when performing any notarial act, have written or printed in or annexed to each certificate the words: "I wa…

A. Any notary public who changes the address of his residence shall forthwith notify the Secretary of the fact by mailing or delivering a written notice which shall contain the new address, or in electronic format as the Secretary may prescribe. B. Any notary who is commissioned …

A. A notary may, for taking and certifying the acknowledgment of any writing, or administering and certifying an oath, or certifying affidavits and depositions of witnesses, or certifying that a copy of a document is a true copy thereof, charge a fee up to $10. B. A notary may, f…

A. Any employer, as a condition of employment of a person who is a notary, may require the employee to perform notarial acts in the course of or in connection with such employment without charging the fee allowed by law for the performance of such acts. B. Any employer may requir…

A. Oaths of office administered by a notary public on or before July 1, 1982, are hereby deemed to be valid and actions of any public officer taking such oaths are hereby deemed valid. B. No notarial act performed by a notary public shall be invalidated solely because of the fail…

The commission of a notary public shall be four years, except as shall be otherwise provided in this title. The commission of a notary public shall expire in the fourth calendar year after issuance of his commission on the last day of the month in which the notary was born.

A. A notary may resign his commission by mailing or delivering to the Secretary a letter of resignation. B. Any notary who ceases to be a resident of the Commonwealth of Virginia shall, from that time, cease to be a notary; provided, however, that such notary may maintain his com…

The Secretary may revoke the commission of any notary who: 1. Submits or has submitted an application for commission and appointment as a notary public which contains a substantial and material misstatement of fact; 2. Is convicted or has been convicted of any felony under the la…

A. Whenever the Secretary shall have reason to believe that a notary has been guilty of official misconduct pursuant to this chapter, or is otherwise subject to removal from office, an evidentiary proceeding under the provisions of the Administrative Process Act (§ 2.2-4000 et se…

Any notary removed from office under the provisions of § 47.1-24 shall be disqualified from maintaining the commission of notary public in this Commonwealth for a period of twenty years, unless such disqualification is sooner removed by the Governor.

A notary public shall be liable for all damages proximately caused by his official misconduct.

The employer of a notary public shall also be liable for all damages proximately caused by the official misconduct by such notary if: 1. The notary public was acting within the scope of his employment at the time such damages were caused; and 2. The employer had actual knowledge …

A. Any notary who knowingly and willfully commits any official misconduct under Chapter 5 (§ 47.1-24 et seq.) of this title shall be guilty of a Class 3 misdemeanor. B. Any employer of a notary who willfully induces such notary to commit official misconduct under Chapter 5 of thi…

Any person who shall willfully act as, or otherwise impersonate, a notary public while not lawfully commissioned as a notary public or other official authorized to perform notarial acts, shall be guilty of a Class 6 felony.

Any person who knowingly obtains, conceals, damages, or destroys the certificate, disk, coding, card, program, software, or hardware enabling an electronic notary to affix an official electronic signature or seal, without authority, shall be guilty of a Class 1 misdemeanor.

No notary shall perform any notarial act with respect to any document, writing, or electronic document to which the notary or his spouse is a party, or in which either of them has a direct beneficial interest, or where the notary is a signatory or is named in the document to be n…