| 1 | 1 | | I |
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| 2 | 2 | | 119THCONGRESS |
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| 3 | 3 | | 1 |
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| 4 | 4 | | STSESSION H. R. 1777 |
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| 5 | 5 | | To authorize notaries public to perform, and to establish minimum standards |
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| 6 | 6 | | for, electronic notarizations and remote notarizations that occur in or |
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| 7 | 7 | | affect interstate commerce, to require any Federal court to recognize |
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| 8 | 8 | | notarizations performed by a notarial officer of any State, to require |
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| 9 | 9 | | any State to recognize notarizations performed by a notarial officer |
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| 10 | 10 | | of any other State when the notarization was performed under or relates |
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| 11 | 11 | | to a public Act, record, or judicial proceeding of the notarial officer’s |
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| 12 | 12 | | State or when the notarization occurs in or affects interstate commerce, |
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| 13 | 13 | | and for other purposes. |
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| 14 | 14 | | IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES |
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| 15 | 15 | | MARCH3, 2025 |
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| 16 | 16 | | Mr. B |
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| 17 | 17 | | ENTZ(for himself, Ms. DEANof Pennsylvania, and Ms. FEDORCHAK) |
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| 18 | 18 | | introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on En- |
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| 19 | 19 | | ergy and Commerce, and in addition to the Committee on the Judiciary, |
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| 20 | 20 | | for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case |
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| 21 | 21 | | for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the |
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| 22 | 22 | | committee concerned |
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| 23 | 23 | | A BILL |
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| 24 | 24 | | To authorize notaries public to perform, and to establish |
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| 25 | 25 | | minimum standards for, electronic notarizations and re- |
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| 26 | 26 | | mote notarizations that occur in or affect interstate com- |
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| 27 | 27 | | merce, to require any Federal court to recognize |
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| 28 | 28 | | notarizations performed by a notarial officer of any |
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| 29 | 29 | | State, to require any State to recognize notarizations |
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| 30 | 30 | | performed by a notarial officer of any other State when |
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| 31 | 31 | | the notarization was performed under or relates to a |
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| 32 | 32 | | public Act, record, or judicial proceeding of the notarial |
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| 35 | 35 | | •HR 1777 IH |
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| 36 | 36 | | officer’s State or when the notarization occurs in or |
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| 37 | 37 | | affects interstate commerce, and for other purposes. |
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| 38 | 38 | | Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-1 |
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| 39 | 39 | | tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 |
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| 40 | 40 | | SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 |
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| 41 | 41 | | This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Securing and Enabling 4 |
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| 42 | 42 | | Commerce Using Remote and Electronic Notarization Act 5 |
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| 43 | 43 | | of 2025’’ or the ‘‘SECURE Notarization Act of 2025’’. 6 |
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| 44 | 44 | | SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 7 |
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| 45 | 45 | | In this Act: 8 |
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| 46 | 46 | | (1) C |
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| 47 | 47 | | OMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY .—The term 9 |
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| 48 | 48 | | ‘‘communication technology’’, with respect to a nota-10 |
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| 49 | 49 | | rization, means an electronic device or process that 11 |
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| 50 | 50 | | allows the notary public performing the notarization, 12 |
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| 51 | 51 | | a remotely located individual, and (if applicable) a 13 |
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| 52 | 52 | | credible witness to communicate with each other si-14 |
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| 53 | 53 | | multaneously by sight and sound during the notari-15 |
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| 54 | 54 | | zation. 16 |
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| 55 | 55 | | (2) E |
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| 56 | 56 | | LECTRONIC; ELECTRONIC RECORD ; ELEC-17 |
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| 57 | 57 | | TRONIC SIGNATURE ; INFORMATION; PERSON; 18 |
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| 58 | 58 | | RECORD.—The terms ‘‘electronic’’, ‘‘electronic 19 |
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| 59 | 59 | | record’’, ‘‘electronic signature’’, ‘‘information’’, ‘‘per-20 |
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| 60 | 60 | | son’’, and ‘‘record’’ have the meanings given those 21 |
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| 61 | 61 | | terms in section 106 of the Electronic Signatures in 22 |
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| 62 | 62 | | Global and National Commerce Act (15 U.S.C. 23 |
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| 63 | 63 | | 7006). 24 |
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| 66 | 66 | | •HR 1777 IH |
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| 67 | 67 | | (3) LAW.—The term ‘‘law’’ includes any stat-1 |
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| 68 | 68 | | ute, regulation, rule, or rule of law. 2 |
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| 69 | 69 | | (4) N |
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| 70 | 70 | | OTARIAL OFFICER.—The term ‘‘notarial 3 |
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| 71 | 71 | | officer’’ means— 4 |
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| 72 | 72 | | (A) a notary public; or 5 |
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| 73 | 73 | | (B) any other individual authorized to per-6 |
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| 74 | 74 | | form a notarization under the laws of a State 7 |
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| 75 | 75 | | without a commission or appointment as a no-8 |
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| 76 | 76 | | tary public. 9 |
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| 77 | 77 | | (5) N |
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| 78 | 78 | | OTARIAL OFFICER’S STATE; NOTARY PUB-10 |
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| 79 | 79 | | LIC’S STATE.—The term ‘‘notarial officer’s State’’ or 11 |
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| 80 | 80 | | ‘‘notary public’s State’’ means the State in which a 12 |
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| 81 | 81 | | notarial officer, or a notary public, as applicable, is 13 |
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| 82 | 82 | | authorized to perform a notarization. 14 |
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| 83 | 83 | | (6) N |
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| 84 | 84 | | OTARIZATION.—The term ‘‘notariza-15 |
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| 85 | 85 | | tion’’— 16 |
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| 86 | 86 | | (A) means any act that a notarial officer 17 |
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| 87 | 87 | | may perform under— 18 |
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| 88 | 88 | | (i) Federal law, including this Act; or 19 |
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| 89 | 89 | | (ii) the laws of the notarial officer’s 20 |
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| 90 | 90 | | State; and 21 |
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| 91 | 91 | | (B) includes any act described in subpara-22 |
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| 92 | 92 | | graph (A) and performed by a notarial officer— 23 |
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| 93 | 93 | | (i) with respect to— 24 |
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| 94 | 94 | | (I) a tangible record; or 25 |
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| 98 | 98 | | (II) an electronic record; and 1 |
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| 99 | 99 | | (ii) for— 2 |
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| 100 | 100 | | (I) an individual in the physical 3 |
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| 101 | 101 | | presence of the notarial officer; or 4 |
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| 102 | 102 | | (II) a remotely located individual. 5 |
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| 103 | 103 | | (7) N |
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| 104 | 104 | | OTARY PUBLIC.—The term ‘‘notary pub-6 |
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| 105 | 105 | | lic’’ means an individual commissioned or appointed 7 |
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| 106 | 106 | | as a notary public to perform a notarization under 8 |
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| 107 | 107 | | the laws of a State. 9 |
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| 108 | 108 | | (8) P |
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| 109 | 109 | | ERSONAL KNOWLEDGE .—The term ‘‘per-10 |
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| 110 | 110 | | sonal knowledge’’, with respect to the identity of an 11 |
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| 111 | 111 | | individual, means knowledge of the identity of the 12 |
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| 112 | 112 | | individual through dealings sufficient to provide rea-13 |
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| 113 | 113 | | sonable certainty that the individual has the identity 14 |
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| 114 | 114 | | claimed. 15 |
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| 115 | 115 | | (9) R |
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| 116 | 116 | | EMOTELY LOCATED INDIVIDUAL .—The 16 |
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| 117 | 117 | | term ‘‘remotely located individual’’, with respect to 17 |
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| 118 | 118 | | a notarization, means an individual who is not in the 18 |
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| 119 | 119 | | physical presence of the notarial officer performing 19 |
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| 120 | 120 | | the notarization. 20 |
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| 121 | 121 | | (10) R |
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| 122 | 122 | | EQUIREMENT.—The term ‘‘requirement’’ 21 |
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| 123 | 123 | | includes a duty, a standard of care, and a prohibi-22 |
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| 124 | 124 | | tion. 23 |
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| 125 | 125 | | (11) S |
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| 126 | 126 | | IGNATURE.—The term ‘‘signature’’ 24 |
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| 127 | 127 | | means— 25 |
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| 130 | 130 | | •HR 1777 IH |
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| 131 | 131 | | (A) an electronic signature; or 1 |
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| 132 | 132 | | (B) a tangible symbol executed or adopted 2 |
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| 133 | 133 | | by a person and evidencing the present intent 3 |
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| 134 | 134 | | to authenticate or adopt a record. 4 |
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| 135 | 135 | | (12) S |
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| 136 | 136 | | IMULTANEOUSLY.—The term ‘‘simulta-5 |
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| 137 | 137 | | neously’’, with respect to a communication between 6 |
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| 138 | 138 | | parties— 7 |
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| 139 | 139 | | (A) means that each party communicates 8 |
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| 140 | 140 | | substantially simultaneously and without unrea-9 |
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| 141 | 141 | | sonable interruption or disconnection; and 10 |
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| 142 | 142 | | (B) includes any reasonably short delay 11 |
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| 143 | 143 | | that is inherent in, or common with respect to, 12 |
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| 144 | 144 | | the method used for the communication. 13 |
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| 145 | 145 | | (13) S |
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| 146 | 146 | | TATE.—The term ‘‘State’’— 14 |
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| 147 | 147 | | (A) means— 15 |
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| 148 | 148 | | (i) any State of the United States; 16 |
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| 149 | 149 | | (ii) the District of Columbia; 17 |
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| 150 | 150 | | (iii) the Commonwealth of Puerto 18 |
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| 151 | 151 | | Rico; 19 |
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| 152 | 152 | | (iv) any territory or possession of the 20 |
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| 153 | 153 | | United States; and 21 |
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| 154 | 154 | | (v) any federally recognized Indian 22 |
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| 155 | 155 | | Tribe; and 23 |
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| 156 | 156 | | (B) includes any executive, legislative, or 24 |
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| 157 | 157 | | judicial agency, court, department, board, of-25 |
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| 160 | 160 | | •HR 1777 IH |
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| 161 | 161 | | fice, clerk, recorder, register, registrar, commis-1 |
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| 162 | 162 | | sion, authority, institution, instrumentality, 2 |
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| 163 | 163 | | county, municipality, or other political subdivi-3 |
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| 164 | 164 | | sion of an entity described in any of clauses (i) 4 |
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| 165 | 165 | | through (v) of subparagraph (A). 5 |
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| 166 | 166 | | SEC. 3. AUTHORIZATION TO PERFORM AND MINIMUM 6 |
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| 167 | 167 | | STANDARDS FOR ELECTRONIC NOTARIZA-7 |
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| 168 | 168 | | TION. 8 |
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| 169 | 169 | | (a) A |
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| 170 | 170 | | UTHORIZATION.—Unless prohibited under sec-9 |
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| 171 | 171 | | tion 10, and subject to subsection (b), a notary public may 10 |
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| 172 | 172 | | perform a notarization that occurs in or affects interstate 11 |
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| 173 | 173 | | commerce with respect to an electronic record. 12 |
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| 174 | 174 | | (b) R |
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| 175 | 175 | | EQUIREMENTS OF ELECTRONICNOTARIZA-13 |
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| 176 | 176 | | TION.—If a notary public performs a notarization under 14 |
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| 177 | 177 | | subsection (a), the following requirements shall apply with 15 |
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| 178 | 178 | | respect to the notarization: 16 |
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| 179 | 179 | | (1) The electronic signature of the notary pub-17 |
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| 180 | 180 | | lic, and all other information required to be included 18 |
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| 181 | 181 | | under other applicable law, shall be attached to or 19 |
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| 182 | 182 | | logically associated with the electronic record. 20 |
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| 183 | 183 | | (2) The electronic signature and other informa-21 |
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| 184 | 184 | | tion described in paragraph (1) shall be bound to 22 |
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| 185 | 185 | | the electronic record in a manner that renders any 23 |
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| 186 | 186 | | subsequent change or modification to the electronic 24 |
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| 187 | 187 | | record evident. 25 |
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| 190 | 190 | | •HR 1777 IH |
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| 191 | 191 | | SEC. 4. AUTHORIZATION TO PERFORM AND MINIMUM 1 |
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| 192 | 192 | | STANDARDS FOR REMOTE NOTARIZATION. 2 |
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| 193 | 193 | | (a) A |
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| 194 | 194 | | UTHORIZATION.—Unless prohibited under sec-3 |
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| 195 | 195 | | tion 10, and subject to subsection (b), a notary public may 4 |
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| 196 | 196 | | perform a notarization that occurs in or affects interstate 5 |
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| 197 | 197 | | commerce for a remotely located individual. 6 |
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| 198 | 198 | | (b) R |
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| 199 | 199 | | EQUIREMENTS OF REMOTENOTARIZATION.—If 7 |
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| 200 | 200 | | a notary public performs a notarization under subsection 8 |
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| 201 | 201 | | (a), the following requirements shall apply with respect to 9 |
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| 202 | 202 | | the notarization: 10 |
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| 203 | 203 | | (1) The remotely located individual shall appear 11 |
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| 204 | 204 | | personally before the notary public at the time of the 12 |
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| 205 | 205 | | notarization by using communication technology. 13 |
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| 206 | 206 | | (2) The notary public shall— 14 |
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| 207 | 207 | | (A) reasonably identify the remotely lo-15 |
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| 208 | 208 | | cated individual— 16 |
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| 209 | 209 | | (i) through personal knowledge of the 17 |
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| 210 | 210 | | identity of the remotely located individual; 18 |
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| 211 | 211 | | or 19 |
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| 212 | 212 | | (ii) by obtaining satisfactory evidence 20 |
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| 213 | 213 | | of the identity of the remotely located indi-21 |
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| 214 | 214 | | vidual by— 22 |
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| 215 | 215 | | (I) using not fewer than 2 dis-23 |
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| 216 | 216 | | tinct types of processes or services 24 |
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| 217 | 217 | | through which a third person provides 25 |
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| 218 | 218 | | a means to verify the identity of the 26 |
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| 221 | 221 | | •HR 1777 IH |
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| 222 | 222 | | remotely located individual through a 1 |
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| 223 | 223 | | review of public or private data 2 |
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| 224 | 224 | | sources; or 3 |
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| 225 | 225 | | (II) oath or affirmation of a 4 |
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| 226 | 226 | | credible witness who— 5 |
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| 227 | 227 | | (aa)(AA) is in the physical 6 |
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| 228 | 228 | | presence of the notary public or 7 |
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| 229 | 229 | | the remotely located individual; 8 |
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| 230 | 230 | | or 9 |
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| 231 | 231 | | (BB) appears personally be-10 |
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| 232 | 232 | | fore the notary public and the re-11 |
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| 233 | 233 | | motely located individual by 12 |
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| 234 | 234 | | using communication technology; 13 |
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| 235 | 235 | | (bb) has personal knowledge 14 |
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| 236 | 236 | | of the identity of the remotely lo-15 |
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| 237 | 237 | | cated individual; and 16 |
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| 238 | 238 | | (cc) has been identified by 17 |
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| 239 | 239 | | the notary public in the same 18 |
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| 240 | 240 | | manner as specified for identi-19 |
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| 241 | 241 | | fication of a remotely located in-20 |
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| 242 | 242 | | dividual under clause (i) or sub-21 |
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| 243 | 243 | | clause (I) of this clause; 22 |
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| 244 | 244 | | (B) either directly or through an agent— 23 |
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| 247 | 247 | | •HR 1777 IH |
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| 248 | 248 | | (i) create an audio and visual record-1 |
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| 249 | 249 | | ing of the performance of the notarization; 2 |
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| 250 | 250 | | and 3 |
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| 251 | 251 | | (ii) notwithstanding any resignation 4 |
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| 252 | 252 | | from, or revocation, suspension, or termi-5 |
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| 253 | 253 | | nation of, the notary public’s commission 6 |
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| 254 | 254 | | or appointment, retain the recording cre-7 |
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| 255 | 255 | | ated under clause (i) as a notarial 8 |
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| 256 | 256 | | record— 9 |
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| 257 | 257 | | (I) for a period of not less 10 |
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| 258 | 258 | | than— 11 |
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| 259 | 259 | | (aa) if an applicable law of 12 |
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| 260 | 260 | | the notary public’s State specifies 13 |
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| 261 | 261 | | a period of retention, the greater 14 |
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| 262 | 262 | | of— 15 |
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| 263 | 263 | | (AA) that specified pe-16 |
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| 264 | 264 | | riod; or 17 |
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| 265 | 265 | | (BB) 5 years after the 18 |
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| 266 | 266 | | date on which the recording 19 |
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| 267 | 267 | | is created; or 20 |
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| 268 | 268 | | (bb) if no applicable law of 21 |
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| 269 | 269 | | the notary public’s State specifies 22 |
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| 270 | 270 | | a period of retention, 10 years 23 |
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| 271 | 271 | | after the date on which the re-24 |
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| 272 | 272 | | cording is created; and 25 |
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| 275 | 275 | | •HR 1777 IH |
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| 276 | 276 | | (II) if any applicable law of the 1 |
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| 277 | 277 | | notary public’s State governs the con-2 |
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| 278 | 278 | | tent, manner or place of retention, se-3 |
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| 279 | 279 | | curity, use, effect, or disclosure of the 4 |
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| 280 | 280 | | recording or any information con-5 |
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| 281 | 281 | | tained in the recording, in accordance 6 |
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| 282 | 282 | | with that law; and 7 |
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| 283 | 283 | | (C) if the notarization is performed with 8 |
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| 284 | 284 | | respect to a tangible or electronic record, take 9 |
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| 285 | 285 | | reasonable steps to confirm that the record be-10 |
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| 286 | 286 | | fore the notary public is the same record with 11 |
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| 287 | 287 | | respect to which the remotely located individual 12 |
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| 288 | 288 | | made a statement or on which the individual ex-13 |
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| 289 | 289 | | ecuted a signature. 14 |
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| 290 | 290 | | (3) If a guardian, conservator, executor, per-15 |
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| 291 | 291 | | sonal representative, administrator, or similar fidu-16 |
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| 292 | 292 | | ciary or successor is appointed for or on behalf of 17 |
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| 293 | 293 | | a notary public or a deceased notary public under 18 |
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| 294 | 294 | | applicable law, that person shall retain the recording 19 |
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| 295 | 295 | | under paragraph (2)(B)(ii), unless— 20 |
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| 296 | 296 | | (A) another person is obligated to retain 21 |
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| 297 | 297 | | the recording under applicable law of the notary 22 |
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| 298 | 298 | | public’s State; or 23 |
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| 299 | 299 | | (B)(i) under applicable law of the notary 24 |
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| 300 | 300 | | public’s State, that person may transmit the re-25 |
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| 303 | 303 | | •HR 1777 IH |
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| 304 | 304 | | cording to an office, archive, or repository ap-1 |
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| 305 | 305 | | proved or designated by the State; and 2 |
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| 306 | 306 | | (ii) that person transmits the recording to 3 |
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| 307 | 307 | | the office, archive, or repository described in 4 |
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| 308 | 308 | | clause (i) in accordance with applicable law of 5 |
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| 309 | 309 | | the notary public’s State. 6 |
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| 310 | 310 | | (4) If the remotely located individual is phys-7 |
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| 311 | 311 | | ically located outside the geographic boundaries of a 8 |
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| 312 | 312 | | State, or is otherwise physically located in a location 9 |
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| 313 | 313 | | that is not subject to the jurisdiction of the United 10 |
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| 314 | 314 | | States, at the time of the notarization— 11 |
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| 315 | 315 | | (A) the record shall— 12 |
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| 316 | 316 | | (i) be intended for filing with, or re-13 |
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| 317 | 317 | | late to a matter before, a court, govern-14 |
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| 318 | 318 | | mental entity, public official, or other enti-15 |
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| 319 | 319 | | ty that is subject to the jurisdiction of the 16 |
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| 320 | 320 | | United States; or 17 |
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| 321 | 321 | | (ii) involve property located in the ter-18 |
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| 322 | 322 | | ritorial jurisdiction of the United States or 19 |
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| 323 | 323 | | a transaction substantially connected to 20 |
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| 324 | 324 | | the United States; and 21 |
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| 325 | 325 | | (B) the act of making the statement or 22 |
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| 326 | 326 | | signing the record may not be prohibited by a 23 |
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| 327 | 327 | | law of the jurisdiction in which the individual is 24 |
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| 328 | 328 | | physically located. 25 |
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| 331 | 331 | | •HR 1777 IH |
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| 332 | 332 | | (c) PERSONALAPPEARANCESATISFIED.—If a State 1 |
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| 333 | 333 | | or Federal law requires an individual to appear personally 2 |
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| 334 | 334 | | before or be in the physical presence of a notary public 3 |
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| 335 | 335 | | at the time of a notarization, that requirement shall be 4 |
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| 336 | 336 | | considered to be satisfied if— 5 |
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| 337 | 337 | | (1) the individual— 6 |
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| 338 | 338 | | (A) is a remotely located individual; and 7 |
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| 339 | 339 | | (B) appears personally before the notary 8 |
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| 340 | 340 | | public at the time of the notarization by using 9 |
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| 341 | 341 | | communication technology; and 10 |
|---|
| 342 | 342 | | (2)(A) the notarization was performed under or 11 |
|---|
| 343 | 343 | | relates to a public act, record, or judicial proceeding 12 |
|---|
| 344 | 344 | | of the notary public’s State; or 13 |
|---|
| 345 | 345 | | (B) the notarization occurs in or affects inter-14 |
|---|
| 346 | 346 | | state commerce. 15 |
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| 347 | 347 | | SEC. 5. RECOGNITION OF NOTARIZATIONS IN FEDERAL 16 |
|---|
| 348 | 348 | | COURT. 17 |
|---|
| 349 | 349 | | (a) R |
|---|
| 350 | 350 | | ECOGNITION OFVALIDITY.—Each court of the 18 |
|---|
| 351 | 351 | | United States shall recognize as valid under the State or 19 |
|---|
| 352 | 352 | | Federal law applicable in a judicial proceeding before the 20 |
|---|
| 353 | 353 | | court any notarization performed by a notarial officer of 21 |
|---|
| 354 | 354 | | any State if the notarization is valid under the laws of 22 |
|---|
| 355 | 355 | | the notarial officer’s State or under this Act. 23 |
|---|
| 356 | 356 | | (b) L |
|---|
| 357 | 357 | | EGALEFFECT OFRECOGNIZEDNOTARIZA-24 |
|---|
| 358 | 358 | | TION.—A notarization recognized under subsection (a) 25 |
|---|
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| 360 | 360 | | ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 13 |
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| 361 | 361 | | •HR 1777 IH |
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| 362 | 362 | | shall have the same effect under the State or Federal law 1 |
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| 363 | 363 | | applicable in the applicable judicial proceeding as if that 2 |
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| 364 | 364 | | notarization was validly performed— 3 |
|---|
| 365 | 365 | | (1)(A) by a notarial officer of the State, the law 4 |
|---|
| 366 | 366 | | of which is applicable in the proceeding; or 5 |
|---|
| 367 | 367 | | (B) under this Act or other Federal law; and 6 |
|---|
| 368 | 368 | | (2) without regard to whether the notarization 7 |
|---|
| 369 | 369 | | was performed— 8 |
|---|
| 370 | 370 | | (A) with respect to— 9 |
|---|
| 371 | 371 | | (i) a tangible record; or 10 |
|---|
| 372 | 372 | | (ii) an electronic record; or 11 |
|---|
| 373 | 373 | | (B) for— 12 |
|---|
| 374 | 374 | | (i) an individual in the physical pres-13 |
|---|
| 375 | 375 | | ence of the notarial officer; or 14 |
|---|
| 376 | 376 | | (ii) a remotely located individual. 15 |
|---|
| 377 | 377 | | (c) P |
|---|
| 378 | 378 | | RESUMPTION OF GENUINENESS.—In a deter-16 |
|---|
| 379 | 379 | | mination of the validity of a notarization for the purposes 17 |
|---|
| 380 | 380 | | of subsection (a), the signature and title of an individual 18 |
|---|
| 381 | 381 | | performing the notarization shall be prima facie evidence 19 |
|---|
| 382 | 382 | | in any court of the United States that the signature of 20 |
|---|
| 383 | 383 | | the individual is genuine and that the individual holds the 21 |
|---|
| 384 | 384 | | designated title. 22 |
|---|
| 385 | 385 | | (d) C |
|---|
| 386 | 386 | | ONCLUSIVEEVIDENCE OFAUTHORITY.—In a 23 |
|---|
| 387 | 387 | | determination of the validity of a notarization for the pur-24 |
|---|
| 388 | 388 | | poses of subsection (a), the signature and title of the fol-25 |
|---|
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| 390 | 390 | | ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 14 |
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| 391 | 391 | | •HR 1777 IH |
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| 392 | 392 | | lowing notarial officers of a State shall conclusively estab-1 |
|---|
| 393 | 393 | | lish the authority of the officer to perform the notariza-2 |
|---|
| 394 | 394 | | tion: 3 |
|---|
| 395 | 395 | | (1) A notary public of that State. 4 |
|---|
| 396 | 396 | | (2) A judge, clerk, or deputy clerk of a court 5 |
|---|
| 397 | 397 | | of that State. 6 |
|---|
| 398 | 398 | | SEC. 6. RECOGNITION BY STATE OF NOTARIZATIONS PER-7 |
|---|
| 399 | 399 | | FORMED UNDER AUTHORITY OF ANOTHER 8 |
|---|
| 400 | 400 | | STATE. 9 |
|---|
| 401 | 401 | | (a) R |
|---|
| 402 | 402 | | ECOGNITION OFVALIDITY.—Each State shall 10 |
|---|
| 403 | 403 | | recognize as valid under the laws of that State any notari-11 |
|---|
| 404 | 404 | | zation performed by a notarial officer of any other State 12 |
|---|
| 405 | 405 | | if— 13 |
|---|
| 406 | 406 | | (1) the notarization is valid under the laws of 14 |
|---|
| 407 | 407 | | the notarial officer’s State or under this Act; and 15 |
|---|
| 408 | 408 | | (2)(A) the notarization was performed under or 16 |
|---|
| 409 | 409 | | relates to a public act, record, or judicial proceeding 17 |
|---|
| 410 | 410 | | of the notarial officer’s State; or 18 |
|---|
| 411 | 411 | | (B) the notarization occurs in or affects inter-19 |
|---|
| 412 | 412 | | state commerce. 20 |
|---|
| 413 | 413 | | (b) L |
|---|
| 414 | 414 | | EGALEFFECT OFRECOGNIZEDNOTARIZA-21 |
|---|
| 415 | 415 | | TION.—A notarization recognized under subsection (a) 22 |
|---|
| 416 | 416 | | shall have the same effect under the laws of the recog-23 |
|---|
| 417 | 417 | | nizing State as if that notarization was validly performed 24 |
|---|
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| 419 | 419 | | ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 15 |
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| 420 | 420 | | •HR 1777 IH |
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| 421 | 421 | | by a notarial officer of the recognizing State, without re-1 |
|---|
| 422 | 422 | | gard to whether the notarization was performed— 2 |
|---|
| 423 | 423 | | (1) with respect to— 3 |
|---|
| 424 | 424 | | (A) a tangible record; or 4 |
|---|
| 425 | 425 | | (B) an electronic record; or 5 |
|---|
| 426 | 426 | | (2) for— 6 |
|---|
| 427 | 427 | | (A) an individual in the physical presence 7 |
|---|
| 428 | 428 | | of the notarial officer; or 8 |
|---|
| 429 | 429 | | (B) a remotely located individual. 9 |
|---|
| 430 | 430 | | (c) P |
|---|
| 431 | 431 | | RESUMPTION OF GENUINENESS.—In a deter-10 |
|---|
| 432 | 432 | | mination of the validity of a notarization for the purposes 11 |
|---|
| 433 | 433 | | of subsection (a), the signature and title of an individual 12 |
|---|
| 434 | 434 | | performing a notarization shall be prima facie evidence in 13 |
|---|
| 435 | 435 | | any State court or judicial proceeding that the signature 14 |
|---|
| 436 | 436 | | is genuine and that the individual holds the designated 15 |
|---|
| 437 | 437 | | title. 16 |
|---|
| 438 | 438 | | (d) C |
|---|
| 439 | 439 | | ONCLUSIVEEVIDENCE OFAUTHORITY.—In a 17 |
|---|
| 440 | 440 | | determination of the validity of a notarization for the pur-18 |
|---|
| 441 | 441 | | poses of subsection (a), the signature and title of the fol-19 |
|---|
| 442 | 442 | | lowing notarial officers of a State shall conclusively estab-20 |
|---|
| 443 | 443 | | lish the authority of the officer to perform the notariza-21 |
|---|
| 444 | 444 | | tion: 22 |
|---|
| 445 | 445 | | (1) A notary public of that State. 23 |
|---|
| 446 | 446 | | (2) A judge, clerk, or deputy clerk of a court 24 |
|---|
| 447 | 447 | | of that State. 25 |
|---|
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| 449 | 449 | | ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 16 |
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| 450 | 450 | | •HR 1777 IH |
|---|
| 451 | 451 | | SEC. 7. ELECTRONIC AND REMOTE NOTARIZATION NOT RE-1 |
|---|
| 452 | 452 | | QUIRED. 2 |
|---|
| 453 | 453 | | Nothing in this Act may be construed to require a 3 |
|---|
| 454 | 454 | | notary public to perform a notarization— 4 |
|---|
| 455 | 455 | | (1) with respect to an electronic record; 5 |
|---|
| 456 | 456 | | (2) for a remotely located individual; or 6 |
|---|
| 457 | 457 | | (3) using a technology that the notary public 7 |
|---|
| 458 | 458 | | has not selected. 8 |
|---|
| 459 | 459 | | SEC. 8. VALIDITY OF NOTARIZATIONS; RIGHTS OF AG-9 |
|---|
| 460 | 460 | | GRIEVED PERSONS NOT AFFECTED; STATE 10 |
|---|
| 461 | 461 | | LAWS ON THE PRACTICE OF LAW NOT AF-11 |
|---|
| 462 | 462 | | FECTED. 12 |
|---|
| 463 | 463 | | (a) V |
|---|
| 464 | 464 | | ALIDITYNOTAFFECTED.—The failure of a no-13 |
|---|
| 465 | 465 | | tary public to meet a requirement under section 3 or 4 14 |
|---|
| 466 | 466 | | in the performance of a notarization, or the failure of a 15 |
|---|
| 467 | 467 | | notarization to conform to a requirement under section 3 16 |
|---|
| 468 | 468 | | or 4, shall not invalidate or impair the validity or recogni-17 |
|---|
| 469 | 469 | | tion of the notarization. 18 |
|---|
| 470 | 470 | | (b) R |
|---|
| 471 | 471 | | IGHTS OFAGGRIEVEDPERSONS.—The validity 19 |
|---|
| 472 | 472 | | and recognition of a notarization under this Act may not 20 |
|---|
| 473 | 473 | | be construed to prevent an aggrieved person from seeking 21 |
|---|
| 474 | 474 | | to invalidate a record or transaction that is the subject 22 |
|---|
| 475 | 475 | | of a notarization or from seeking other remedies based on 23 |
|---|
| 476 | 476 | | State or Federal law other than this Act for any reason 24 |
|---|
| 477 | 477 | | not specified in this Act, including on the basis— 25 |
|---|
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| 479 | 479 | | ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 17 |
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| 480 | 480 | | •HR 1777 IH |
|---|
| 481 | 481 | | (1) that a person did not, with present intent 1 |
|---|
| 482 | 482 | | to authenticate or adopt a record, execute a signa-2 |
|---|
| 483 | 483 | | ture on the record; 3 |
|---|
| 484 | 484 | | (2) that an individual was incompetent, lacked 4 |
|---|
| 485 | 485 | | authority or capacity to authenticate or adopt a 5 |
|---|
| 486 | 486 | | record, or did not knowingly and voluntarily authen-6 |
|---|
| 487 | 487 | | ticate or adopt a record; or 7 |
|---|
| 488 | 488 | | (3) of fraud, forgery, mistake, misrepresenta-8 |
|---|
| 489 | 489 | | tion, impersonation, duress, undue influence, or 9 |
|---|
| 490 | 490 | | other invalidating cause. 10 |
|---|
| 491 | 491 | | (c) R |
|---|
| 492 | 492 | | ULE OFCONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this Act 11 |
|---|
| 493 | 493 | | may be construed to affect a State law governing, author-12 |
|---|
| 494 | 494 | | izing, or prohibiting the practice of law. 13 |
|---|
| 495 | 495 | | SEC. 9. EXCEPTION TO PREEMPTION. 14 |
|---|
| 496 | 496 | | (a) I |
|---|
| 497 | 497 | | NGENERAL.—A State law may modify, limit, or 15 |
|---|
| 498 | 498 | | supersede the provisions of section 3, or subsection (a) or 16 |
|---|
| 499 | 499 | | (b) of section 4, with respect to State law only if that State 17 |
|---|
| 500 | 500 | | law— 18 |
|---|
| 501 | 501 | | (1) either— 19 |
|---|
| 502 | 502 | | (A) constitutes an enactment or adoption 20 |
|---|
| 503 | 503 | | of the Revised Uniform Law on Notarial Acts, 21 |
|---|
| 504 | 504 | | as approved and recommended for enactment in 22 |
|---|
| 505 | 505 | | all the States by the National Conference of 23 |
|---|
| 506 | 506 | | Commissioners on Uniform State Laws in 2018 24 |
|---|
| 507 | 507 | | or the Revised Uniform Law on Notarial Acts, 25 |
|---|
| 508 | 508 | | VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:55 Mar 18, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00017 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1777.IH H1777 |
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| 509 | 509 | | ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 18 |
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| 510 | 510 | | •HR 1777 IH |
|---|
| 511 | 511 | | as approved and recommended for enactment in 1 |
|---|
| 512 | 512 | | all the States by the National Conference of 2 |
|---|
| 513 | 513 | | Commissioners on Uniform State Laws in 3 |
|---|
| 514 | 514 | | 2021, except that a modification to such Law 4 |
|---|
| 515 | 515 | | enacted or adopted by a State shall be pre-5 |
|---|
| 516 | 516 | | empted to the extent such modification— 6 |
|---|
| 517 | 517 | | (i) is inconsistent with a provision of 7 |
|---|
| 518 | 518 | | section 3 or subsection (a) or (b) of section 8 |
|---|
| 519 | 519 | | 4, as applicable; or 9 |
|---|
| 520 | 520 | | (ii) would not be permitted under sub-10 |
|---|
| 521 | 521 | | paragraph (B); or 11 |
|---|
| 522 | 522 | | (B) specifies additional or alternative pro-12 |
|---|
| 523 | 523 | | cedures or requirements for the performance of 13 |
|---|
| 524 | 524 | | notarizations with respect to electronic records 14 |
|---|
| 525 | 525 | | or for remotely located individuals, if those ad-15 |
|---|
| 526 | 526 | | ditional or alternative procedures or require-16 |
|---|
| 527 | 527 | | ments— 17 |
|---|
| 528 | 528 | | (i) are consistent with section 3 and 18 |
|---|
| 529 | 529 | | subsections (a) and (b) of section 4; and 19 |
|---|
| 530 | 530 | | (ii) do not accord greater legal effect 20 |
|---|
| 531 | 531 | | to the implementation or application of a 21 |
|---|
| 532 | 532 | | specific technology or technical specifica-22 |
|---|
| 533 | 533 | | tion for performing those notarizations; 23 |
|---|
| 534 | 534 | | and 24 |
|---|
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| 536 | 536 | | ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 19 |
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| 537 | 537 | | •HR 1777 IH |
|---|
| 538 | 538 | | (2) requires the retention of an audio and vis-1 |
|---|
| 539 | 539 | | ual recording of the performance of a notarization 2 |
|---|
| 540 | 540 | | for a remotely located individual for a period of not 3 |
|---|
| 541 | 541 | | less than 5 years after the recording is created. 4 |
|---|
| 542 | 542 | | (b) R |
|---|
| 543 | 543 | | ULE OFCONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in section 5 5 |
|---|
| 544 | 544 | | or 6 may be construed to preclude the recognition of a 6 |
|---|
| 545 | 545 | | notarization under applicable State law, regardless of 7 |
|---|
| 546 | 546 | | whether such State law is consistent with section 5 or 6. 8 |
|---|
| 547 | 547 | | SEC. 10. STANDARD OF CARE; SPECIAL NOTARIAL COMMIS-9 |
|---|
| 548 | 548 | | SIONS; FALSE ADVERTISING. 10 |
|---|
| 549 | 549 | | (a) S |
|---|
| 550 | 550 | | TATESTANDARDS OF CARE; AUTHORITY OF 11 |
|---|
| 551 | 551 | | S |
|---|
| 552 | 552 | | TATEREGULATORYOFFICIALS.—Nothing in this Act 12 |
|---|
| 553 | 553 | | may be construed to prevent a State, or a notarial regu-13 |
|---|
| 554 | 554 | | latory official of a State, from— 14 |
|---|
| 555 | 555 | | (1) adopting a requirement in this Act as a 15 |
|---|
| 556 | 556 | | duty or standard of care under the laws of that 16 |
|---|
| 557 | 557 | | State or sanctioning a notary public for breach of 17 |
|---|
| 558 | 558 | | such a duty or standard of care; 18 |
|---|
| 559 | 559 | | (2) establishing requirements and qualifications 19 |
|---|
| 560 | 560 | | for, or denying, refusing to renew, revoking, sus-20 |
|---|
| 561 | 561 | | pending, or imposing a condition on, a commission 21 |
|---|
| 562 | 562 | | or appointment as a notary public; 22 |
|---|
| 563 | 563 | | (3) creating or designating a class or type of 23 |
|---|
| 564 | 564 | | commission or appointment, or requiring an endorse-24 |
|---|
| 565 | 565 | | ment or other authorization to be received by a no-25 |
|---|
| 566 | 566 | | VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:55 Mar 18, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00019 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1777.IH H1777 |
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| 567 | 567 | | ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 20 |
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| 568 | 568 | | •HR 1777 IH |
|---|
| 569 | 569 | | tary public, as a condition on the authority to per-1 |
|---|
| 570 | 570 | | form notarizations with respect to electronic records 2 |
|---|
| 571 | 571 | | or for remotely located individuals; or 3 |
|---|
| 572 | 572 | | (4) prohibiting a notary public from performing 4 |
|---|
| 573 | 573 | | a notarization under section 3 or 4 as a sanction for 5 |
|---|
| 574 | 574 | | a breach of duty or standard of care or for official 6 |
|---|
| 575 | 575 | | misconduct. 7 |
|---|
| 576 | 576 | | (b) S |
|---|
| 577 | 577 | | PECIALCOMMISSIONS OR AUTHORIZATIONS 8 |
|---|
| 578 | 578 | | C |
|---|
| 579 | 579 | | REATED BY ASTATE; SANCTION FORBREACH OROFFI-9 |
|---|
| 580 | 580 | | CIALMISCONDUCT; FALSEADVERTISING.—A notary pub-10 |
|---|
| 581 | 581 | | lic may not perform a notarization under section 3 or 4 11 |
|---|
| 582 | 582 | | if any of the following applies: 12 |
|---|
| 583 | 583 | | (1) The notary public’s State has enacted a law 13 |
|---|
| 584 | 584 | | that creates or designates a class or type of commis-14 |
|---|
| 585 | 585 | | sion or appointment, or requires an endorsement or 15 |
|---|
| 586 | 586 | | other authorization to be received by a notary public, 16 |
|---|
| 587 | 587 | | as a condition on the authority to perform 17 |
|---|
| 588 | 588 | | notarizations with respect to electronic records or for 18 |
|---|
| 589 | 589 | | remotely located individuals, and— 19 |
|---|
| 590 | 590 | | (A) the commission or appointment of the 20 |
|---|
| 591 | 591 | | notary public is not of that class or type; or 21 |
|---|
| 592 | 592 | | (B) the notary public has not received the 22 |
|---|
| 593 | 593 | | endorsement or other authorization. 23 |
|---|
| 594 | 594 | | (2) The notarial regulatory official of the no-24 |
|---|
| 595 | 595 | | tary public’s State has prohibited the notary public 25 |
|---|
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| 598 | 598 | | •HR 1777 IH |
|---|
| 599 | 599 | | from performing the notarization as a sanction for 1 |
|---|
| 600 | 600 | | a breach of duty or standard of care or for official 2 |
|---|
| 601 | 601 | | misconduct. 3 |
|---|
| 602 | 602 | | (3)(A) The notary public has engaged in false 4 |
|---|
| 603 | 603 | | or deceptive advertising. 5 |
|---|
| 604 | 604 | | (B) For the purposes of subparagraph (A), a 6 |
|---|
| 605 | 605 | | notary public shall be considered to have engaged in 7 |
|---|
| 606 | 606 | | false or deceptive advertising if the notary public 8 |
|---|
| 607 | 607 | | (unless the notary public is an attorney licensed to 9 |
|---|
| 608 | 608 | | practice law in a State)— 10 |
|---|
| 609 | 609 | | (i) uses the term ‘‘notario’’ or ‘‘notario 11 |
|---|
| 610 | 610 | | publico’’; or 12 |
|---|
| 611 | 611 | | (ii) states or represents in a record offer-13 |
|---|
| 612 | 612 | | ing commercial notarial services that the notary 14 |
|---|
| 613 | 613 | | public is authorized to— 15 |
|---|
| 614 | 614 | | (I) assist in drafting legal records, 16 |
|---|
| 615 | 615 | | give legal advice, or otherwise practice law; 17 |
|---|
| 616 | 616 | | (II) act as an immigration consultant 18 |
|---|
| 617 | 617 | | or an expert on matters pertaining to im-19 |
|---|
| 618 | 618 | | migration; 20 |
|---|
| 619 | 619 | | (III) represent a person in a judicial 21 |
|---|
| 620 | 620 | | or administrative proceeding relating to 22 |
|---|
| 621 | 621 | | immigration to the United States, United 23 |
|---|
| 622 | 622 | | States citizenship, or related matters; or 24 |
|---|
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| 625 | 625 | | •HR 1777 IH |
|---|
| 626 | 626 | | (IV) receive compensation for per-1 |
|---|
| 627 | 627 | | forming any activity described in this sub-2 |
|---|
| 628 | 628 | | paragraph. 3 |
|---|
| 629 | 629 | | (C) For the purposes of a notarization per-4 |
|---|
| 630 | 630 | | formed by a notary public under section 4 for a re-5 |
|---|
| 631 | 631 | | motely located individual, if a record executed by the 6 |
|---|
| 632 | 632 | | remotely located individual attests that the notary 7 |
|---|
| 633 | 633 | | public disclosed to the individual the prohibitions 8 |
|---|
| 634 | 634 | | under this paragraph, and that the notary public did 9 |
|---|
| 635 | 635 | | not make any statement or representation in viola-10 |
|---|
| 636 | 636 | | tion of this paragraph, that record shall conclusively 11 |
|---|
| 637 | 637 | | establish compliance by the notary public with the 12 |
|---|
| 638 | 638 | | requirements of this paragraph, as of the date on 13 |
|---|
| 639 | 639 | | which the individual executes that record. 14 |
|---|
| 640 | 640 | | SEC. 11. SEVERABILITY. 15 |
|---|
| 641 | 641 | | If any provision of this Act or the application of such 16 |
|---|
| 642 | 642 | | provision to any person or circumstance is held to be in-17 |
|---|
| 643 | 643 | | valid or unconstitutional, the remainder of this Act and 18 |
|---|
| 644 | 644 | | the application of the provisions thereof to other persons 19 |
|---|
| 645 | 645 | | or circumstances shall not be affected by that holding. 20 |
|---|
| 646 | 646 | | Æ |
|---|
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