Chapter 39, Chapter 39

(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 clerk of a court; (2) An individual in military…

(a) In this section, "foreign state" means a government other than the United States, a state or a federally recognized Indian tribe. (b) 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 perfo…

(a) A notarial act must be evidenced by a certificate. The certificate must: (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 signed in the same manner a…

The following short form certificates of notarial acts are sufficient for the purposes indicated, if completed with the information required by subsections (a) and (b), section fifteen of this article: (1) For an acknowledgment in an individual capacity: State of ................…

The official stamp of a notary public must: (1) Include the notary public's name, address, jurisdiction, commission expiration date and other information required by the Secretary of State; and (2) Be capable of being copied together with the record to which it is affixed or atta…

(a) A notary public is responsible for the security of the notary public's stamping device and may 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 commission, or on the expirati…

(a) A notary public may select one or more tamper-evident technologies to perform notarial acts with respect to electronic records. A person may not require a notary public to perform a notarial act with respect to an electronic record with a technology that the notary public has…

In this article: (1) "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 representative capacity, that the individual signed the record with …

(a) Upon approval of a successful application, commissioners shall hold office for 10 years, unless removed by the Secretary of State under the grounds set forth in §39-4A-1(e) of this code. (b) When any oath may lawfully be administered, or affidavit or deposition taken, within …

(a) An individual qualified under subsection (b) of this section may apply to the Secretary of State for a commission as a notary public through the Secretary of State's online notary system. The applicant shall comply with and provide the information required by rules promulgate…

(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 demonstrates the individual lacks the honesty, integrity, competence, or reliability to act as a notary public, including: (1)…

(a) The Secretary of State shall maintain an electronic database of notaries public: (1) Through which a person may verify the authority of a notary public to perform notarial acts; and (2) Which indicates whether a notary public has notified the Secretary of State that the notar…

(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 person in a judicial or ad…

Except as otherwise provided in subsection (b), section four of this article, the failure of a notarial officer to perform a duty or meet a requirement specified in this article does not invalidate a notarial act performed by the notarial officer. The validity of a notarial act u…

(a) The Secretary of State may promulgate rules, in accordance with the provisions of chapter twenty-nine-a of this code, to implement this article. Rules promulgated regarding the performance of notarial acts with respect to electronic records may not require, or accord greater …

(a) A commission as a notary public in effect on June 30, 2014, continues until its date of expiration. A notary public who applies for a commission as a notary public on or after July 1, 2014, is subject to and shall comply with this article. A notary public, in performing notar…

This article does not affect the validity or effect of a notarial act performed before July 1, 2014.

In applying and construing this uniform act, consideration must be given to the need to promote uniformity of the law with respect to its subject matter among states that enact it.

This article modifies, limits, and supersedes the Electronic Signatures in Global and National Commerce Act, 15 U. S. C. Section 7001 et seq., but does not modify, limit, or supersede Section 101(c) of that act, 15 U. S. C. Section 7001(c), or authorize electronic delivery of any…

Commissioners shall refrain from the following prohibited activities: (1) Assisting persons in drafting legal records, giving legal advice, or otherwise practicing law; (2) Acting as an immigration consultant or an expert on immigration matters; or (3) Representing a person in a …

(a) This article applies to a notarial act performed on or after July 1, 2014. (b) The repeal of chapter twenty-nine-c of this code and the repeal of articles four, chapter twenty-nine and one-a, chapter thirty-nine of this code and the amendment and reenactment of section two, a…

(a) The maximum fee in this state for notarization of each signature and the proper recordation thereof in the journal of notarial acts is $10.00 for each signature notarized. (b) The maximum fee in this state for certification of a facsimile of a document, retaining a facsimile …

(a) State and local government employees may be commissioned as government notaries public to act for and in behalf of their respective state and local government offices. (b) A state or local government employee commissioned under this section shall meet the requirements for qua…

(a) A notary public is liable to the persons involved for all damages proximately caused by the notary's official misconduct. (b) The employer of a notary public is also liable to the persons involved for all damages proximately caused by the notary's official misconduct, if: (1)…

(a) A notary public who knowingly and willfully commits any official misconduct is guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction, shall be fined not more than $5,000 or confined in jail not more than one year, or both fined and confined. (b) A notary public who recklessly or negli…

Upon his or her own information or upon complaint of any person, the Attorney General, or his or her designee, may maintain an action for injunctive relief in circuit court against any notary public who renders, offers to render or holds himself or herself out as rendering any se…

(a) In addition to the powers and duties contained in this article, the Secretary of State may: (1) Investigate, upon complaint or on his or her own initiative, any alleged violations or irregularities of this article. (2) Administer oaths and affirmations, issue subpoenas for th…

(a) The provisions of subsection (c), section three, article two, chapter five of this code notwithstanding, the Secretary of State may destroy original records of appointment under this article after expiration of the term of a notary public: Provided, That the Secretary of Stat…

(a) In this section: (1) “Communication technology” means an electronic device or process that: (A) Allows a notary public and a remotely located individual to communicate with each other simultaneously by sight and sound; and (B) When necessary and consistent with other applicab…

(a) A document may be notarized for an individual who is not in the physical presence of the notary public at the time of the notarization if the following requirements are met: (1) The individual and the notary can communicate simultaneously, in real time, by sight and sound usi…

(a) A notarial officer may perform a notarial act authorized by this article or by law of this state other than this article. (b) A notarial officer may not perform a notarial act with respect to a record to which the officer or the officer's spouse is a party, or in which either…

The Secretary of State may propose rules for legislative approval to implement this article, in accordance with the provisions of §29A-3-1 et seq. of this code.

(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 acknowledgment has the identity claimed and that the…

(a) All requirements, duties, prohibitions, penalties, and procedures set forth in §39-4-1 et seq. of this code that are consistent with the foregoing provisions of this article shall apply to commissioners. (b) The Secretary of State shall include all active commissioners in its…

(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, unless the individual making the statement or executing the signature appe…

Acknowledgements and notarizations performed by means of remote communication technology, pursuant to section 6 of the Governor’s Executive Order 11-20 effective March 25, 2020, by which the Governor suspended the provisions of §39-4-6 of the code applicable to court reporters an…

(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 has the identity claimed. (b) A notaria…

(a) A notarial officer may refuse to perform a notarial act if the officer is not satisfied that: (1) The individual executing the record is competent or has the capacity to execute the record; or (2) The individual's signature is knowingly and voluntarily made. (b) A notarial of…

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 by (name of other individual) at the direction of (nam…

This article may be cited as the Uniform Electronic Legal Material Act.

In applying and construing this uniform act, consideration must be given to the need to promote uniformity of the law with respect to its subject matter among states that enact it.

This article modifies, limits and supersedes the Electronic Signatures in Global and National Commerce Act, 15 U. S. C. Section 7001, et seq., but does not modify, limit or supersede Section 101(c) of that act, 15 U. S. C. Section 7001(c), or authorize electronic delivery of any …

In this article: (1) “Electronic” means relating to technology having electrical, digital, magnetic, wireless, optical, electromagnetic or similar capabilities. (2) “Legal material” means, whether or not in effect: (A) The West Virginia Constitution; (B) The Acts of the Legislatu…

This article applies to all legal material in an electronic record that is designated as official under section four of this article and is first published electronically on or after the effective date of this article.

(a) If an official publisher publishes legal material only in an electronic record, the publisher shall: (1) Designate the electronic record as official; and (2) Comply with sections five, seven and eight of this article. (b) An official publisher that publishes legal material in…

An official publisher of legal material in an electronic record that is designated as official under section four of this article shall authenticate the record. To authenticate an electronic record, the publisher shall provide a method for a user to determine that the record rece…

(a) Legal material in an electronic record that is authenticated under section five of this article is presumed to be an accurate copy of the legal material. (b) If another state has adopted a law substantially similar to this article, legal material in an electronic record that …

(a) An official publisher of legal material in an electronic record that is or was designated as official under section four shall provide for the preservation and security of the record in an electronic form or a form that is not electronic. (b) If legal material is preserved un…

An official publisher of legal material in an electronic record that is required to be preserved under section seven of this article shall ensure that the material is reasonably available for use by the public on a permanent basis at no cost.

In implementing this article, an official publisher of legal material in an electronic record shall consider: (1) Standards and practices of other jurisdictions; (2) The most recent standards regarding authentication of, preservation and security of, and public access to, legal m…