S T A T E O F N E W Y O R K
________________________________________________________________________
7755
2023-2024 Regular Sessions
I N A S S E M B L Y
June 6, 2023
___________
Introduced by M. of A. McDONALD -- (at request of the Governor) -- read
once and referred to the Committee on Ways and Means
AN ACT to amend the executive law, in relation to procedures for
appointment and reappointment of notaries public, certificates of
official character, and certification of electronic notarial records
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
Section 1. Section 131 of the executive law, as added by chapter 13
of the laws of 1992, the section heading as amended and subdivision 14
as added by chapter 92 of the laws of 2010, subdivisions 3, 9, and 10 as
amended by chapter 171 of the laws of 2000, subdivisions 5, 12 and 13 as
amended by chapter 129 of the laws of 2001, is amended to read as
follows:
§ 131. Procedure of appointment; fees and commissions; fee payment
methods. 1. NEW APPOINTMENT. (A) Applicants for a notary public commis-
sion shall submit to the secretary of state with their application, the
oath of office, duly executed before any person authorized to administer
an oath, together with their signature.
[2.] (B) Upon being satisfied of the competency and good character of
applicants for appointment as notaries public, the secretary of state
shall issue a commission to such persons; and the official signature of
the applicants and the oath of office filed with such applications shall
take effect.
[3.] (C) The secretary of state shall receive a non-refundable appli-
cation fee of sixty dollars from applicants for appointment, which fee
shall be submitted together with the application. No further fee shall
be paid for the issuance of the commission.
[4.] (D) A notary public identification card indicating the appoint-
ee's name, address, county and commission term shall be transmitted to
the appointee.
EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD12013-02-3
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[5.] (E) The commission, duly dated, and a certified copy or the
original of the oath of office and the official signature, and twenty
dollars apportioned from the application fee shall be transmitted by the
secretary of state to the county clerk OF THE COUNTY in which the
appointee resides by the tenth day of the following month. TRANSMISSION
MAY BE ACCOMPLISHED BY ELECTRONIC MEANS THAT RESULTS IN A SUBMISSION OF
SUCH RECORDS AND FEES BY THE SECRETARY OF STATE TO THE COUNTY CLERK. FOR
PURPOSES OF THIS SECTION, "ELECTRONIC" SHALL HAVE THE SAME MEANING AS
SET FORTH IN SECTION THREE HUNDRED TWO OF THE STATE TECHNOLOGY LAW.
[6.] (F) The county clerk shall make a proper index of commissions and
official signatures transmitted to that office by the secretary of state
pursuant to the provisions of this section.
[7.] 2. REAPPOINTMENT. (A) Applicants for reappointment of a notary
public commission shall submit to the [county clerk] SECRETARY OF STATE
with their application the oath of office, duly executed before any
person authorized to administer an oath, together with their signature.
[8.] (B) Upon being satisfied of the completeness of the application
for reappointment, the [county clerk] SECRETARY OF STATE shall issue a
commission to such persons; and the official signature of the applicants
and the oath of office filed with such applications shall take effect.
[9.] (C) The [county clerk] SECRETARY OF STATE shall receive a non-re-
fundable application fee of sixty dollars from each applicant for reap-
pointment, which fee shall be submitted together with the application.
No further fee shall be paid for the issuance of the commission.
[10.] (D) The commission, duly dated, and a certified or original copy
of the [application] OATH OF OFFICE AND THE OFFICIAL SIGNATURE, and
[forty] TWENTY dollars apportioned from the application fee plus inter-
est as may be required by statute shall be transmitted by the [county
clerk] SECRETARY OF STATE to the [secretary of state] COUNTY CLERK OF
THE COUNTY IN WHICH THE APPOINTEE RESIDES by the tenth day of the
following month. TRANSMISSION MAY BE ACCOMPLISHED BY ELECTRONIC MEANS
THAT RESULTS IN A SUBMISSION OF SUCH RECORDS AND FEES BY THE SECRETARY
OF STATE TO THE COUNTY CLERK.
[11.] (E) The [secretary of state] COUNTY CLERK shall make a proper
record of commissions transmitted to that office by the [county clerk]
SECRETARY OF STATE pursuant to the provisions of this section.
[12.] 3. ELECTRONIC NOTARIZATION. (A) AFTER REGISTRATION OF THE CAPA-
BILITY TO PERFORM ELECTRONIC NOTARIAL ACTS PURSUANT TO SECTION ONE
HUNDRED THIRTY-FIVE-C OF THIS ARTICLE, THE SECRETARY OF STATE SHALL
TRANSMIT TO THE COUNTY CLERK THE EXEMPLAR OF THE NOTARY PUBLIC'S ELEC-
TRONIC SIGNATURE AND ANY CHANGE IN COMMISSION NUMBER OR EXPIRATION DATE
OF THE NOTARY PUBLIC'S COMMISSION. TRANSMISSION MAY BE ACCOMPLISHED BY
ELECTRONIC MEANS.
(B) REGISTRATION OF THE CAPABILITY TO PERFORM ELECTRONIC NOTARIZATIONS
SHALL BE TREATED AS A NEW APPOINTMENT BY THE SECRETARY OF STATE.
4. FEES. (A) Except for changes made in an application for reappoint-
ment, the secretary of state shall receive a non-refundable fee of ten
dollars for changing the name or address of a notary public.
[13.] (B) The secretary of state may issue a duplicate identification
card to a notary public for one lost, destroyed or damaged upon applica-
tion therefor on a form prescribed by the secretary of state and upon
payment of a non-refundable fee of ten dollars. Each such duplicate
identification card shall have the word "duplicate" stamped across the
face thereof, and shall bear the same number as the one it replaces.
[14.] (C) The secretary of state [and any county clerk,] shall accept
payment for any fee relating to appointment or reappointment as a notary
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in the form of cash, money order, certified check, company check, bank
check or personal check. The secretary of state [and any county clerk]
may provide for accepting payment of any such fee due [to him or her] by
credit or debit card, which may include payment through the internet.
§ 2. Section 132 of the executive law is amended to read as follows:
§ 132. Certificates of official character of notaries public. The
secretary of state or the county clerk of the county in which the
commission of a notary public is filed may certify to the official char-
acter of such notary public and any notary public may file [his] THEIR
autograph signature and a certificate of official character in the
office of any county clerk of any county in the state and in any regis-
ter's office in any county having a register and thereafter such county
clerk may certify as to the official character of such notary public.
The secretary of state shall collect for each certificate of official
character issued [by him] the sum of one dollar. The county clerk and
register of any county with whom a certificate of official character has
been filed shall collect for filing the same the sum of [one dollar] TEN
DOLLARS. For each certificate of official character issued, with seal
attached, by any county clerk, the sum of [one dollar] FIVE DOLLARS
shall be collected [by him].
§ 3. Section 133 of the executive law, as amended by chapter 376 of
the laws of 1953, is amended to read as follows:
§ 133. Certification of notarial signatures. The county clerk of a
county in whose office any notary public has qualified or has filed
[his] THEIR autograph signature and a certificate of [his] official
character, shall, when so requested and upon payment of a fee of [fifty
cents] THREE DOLLARS, affix to any certificate of proof or acknowledg-
ment or oath signed by such notary anywhere in the state [or] OF New
York, a certificate under [his] THEIR hand and seal, stating that a
commission or a certificate of [his] official character OF SUCH NOTARY
with [his] THEIR autograph signature has been filed in [his] THE COUNTY
CLERK'S office, and that [he] THE COUNTY CLERK was at the time of taking
such proof or acknowledgment or oath duly authorized to take the same;
that [he] THE COUNTY CLERK is well acquainted with the handwriting of
such notary public or has compared the signature on the certificate of
proof or acknowledgment or oath with the autograph signature deposited
in [his] THEIR office by such notary public and believes that the signa-
ture is genuine. An instrument with such certificate of authentication
of the county clerk affixed thereto shall be entitled to be read in
evidence or to be recorded in any of the counties of this state in
respect to which a certificate of a county clerk may be necessary for
either purpose. IN ADDITION TO THE FOREGOING POWERS, A COUNTY CLERK OF
A COUNTY IN WHOSE OFFICE A NOTARY PUBLIC HAS QUALIFIED MAY CERTIFY THE
SIGNATURE OF AN ELECTRONIC NOTARY PUBLIC, REGISTERED WITH THE SECRETARY
OF STATE PURSUANT TO SECTION ONE HUNDRED THIRTY-FIVE-C OF THIS ARTICLE,
PROVIDED SUCH COUNTY CLERK HAS RECEIVED FROM THE SECRETARY OF STATE, AN
EXEMPLAR OF THE NOTARY PUBLIC'S REGISTERED ELECTRONIC SIGNATURE.
§ 4. Subparagraph (i) of paragraph (d) of subdivision 6 of section
135-c of the executive law, as amended by chapter 104 of the laws of
2022, is amended to read as follows:
(i) A notary public may certify that a tangible copy of the signature
page and document type of an electronic record [remotely] notarized by
such notary public is an accurate copy of such electronic record. Such
certification must (1) be dated and signed by the notary public in the
same manner as the official signature of the notary public provided to
the secretary of state pursuant to section one hundred thirty-one of
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this article, and (2) comply with section one hundred thirty-seven of
this article.
§ 5. This act shall take effect immediately. Applications for a nota-
ry commission post-marked, submitted to or received by the county clerk
prior to such effective date, but not yet processed, may be processed by
the county clerk to which any such application has been submitted.