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HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES - FLOOR VERSION
STATE OF OKLAHOMA
1st Session of the 59th Legislature (2023)
ENGROSSED SENATE
BILL NO. 556 By: Haste of the Senate
and
Sims of the House
An Act relating to notaries public; amendin g 49 O.S.
2021, Sections 12 and 113, which relate to grounds to
deny, refuse to renew, or revoke a commission and
notarial acts; adding grounds for denial or
revocation of a commission ; creating misdemeanor
offense; establishing puni shment; updating statutory
references; and providing an effective date.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF OKLAHOMA:
SECTION 1. AMENDATORY 49 O.S. 2021, Secti on 12, is
amended to read as follows:
Section 12. A. The Secretary of State may deny, refuse to
renew, or revoke a commission as a notary public f or a:
1. Conviction of any felony;
2. Failure to meet the qualifications and application
requirements set forth in Sections 1 and 1.1 of Title 49 of the
Oklahoma Statutes this title; or
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3. Failure to compl y with the requirements set forth in Section
2 of Title 49 of the Oklahoma Statutes this title; or
4. Failure to comply in good faith with the requirements set
forth in Section 113 of this title.
B. Upon receipt of a final judgment from a district court in
this state or its equivalent in a foreign jur isdiction against a
notary public in this st ate for performing a false or fraudulent
notarial act, the Secre tary of State shall revoke the appointment of
the notary public.
SECTION 2. AMENDATORY 49 O.S. 2021, Section 113, is
amended to read as follows:
Section 113. A. In taking an acknowledgment, the notarial
officer must determine, e ither from personal knowledge or from
satisfactory evidence, that the person appearing before the of ficer
and making the acknowledgment is the person wh ose true signature is
on the instrument.
B. In taking a verification upon oath or affirmation, the
notarial officer must determine, either from personal knowledge or
from satisfactory evidence, that the person appearing before the
officer and making the v erification is the person whose true
signature is on the statement verified.
C. In witnessing or attest ing a signature the notarial officer
must determine, either from personal knowledge or from satisfac tory
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evidence, that the signature is that of the per son appearing before
the officer and named therein.
D. In certifying or attesting a copy of a document or other
item, the notarial officer must determine that the proffered copy is
a full, true, and accu rate transcription or reproduction of that
which was copied. In the case of official record s, only the
custodian of the official records may issue an offic ial certified
copy.
E. In making or noting a protest of a negotiable instrument the
notarial officer must determine the matters set forth in Section 3 -
509 of the Uniform Commercial Code.
F. A notarial officer has satisfactory evidence that a person
is the person whose true signature is on a document if that person
is personally known to the notarial of ficer, is identified upon the
oath or affirmation of a credible witness personally known to the
notarial officer or is identified on the basis of identifica tion
documents.
G. A notarial officer who performs a notarial act pur suant to
this section without first making in good faith the required
determination of the identity of the person appearin g before the
notary shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and upon conviction be
subject to a fine not to exceed One Thousand Dollars ($1,000. 00), to
imprisonment in the county jail not to exceed ten (10) days, or both
such fine and imprisonment.
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SECTION 3. This act shall become effective November 1, 2023.
COMMITTEE REPORT BY: COMMITTEE ON GENERAL GOVERNMENT, dated
04/11/2023 - DO PASS.