Wisconsin Legislative Council
ACT MEMO
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Prepared by: Peggy Hurley, Senior Staff Attorney April 2, 2024
2023 Wisconsin Act 258
[2023 Assembly Bill 1099]
Department of Financial
Institutions Remedial Legislation
2023 Wisconsin Act 258 is remedial legislation introduced by the Law Revision Committee, at the
request of the Department of Financial Institutions (DFI). The act changes the requirements for
certification of a document by a notary public and repeals or updates obsolete references and statutory
provisions.
NOTARY PUBLIC
The act makes several changes relating to certification by a notary public, including the following:
Replacing several statutory references to a notary public’s seal or rubber stamp with references to
the notary public’s official stamp, which is defined to include both a seal and rubber stamp.
Replacing the requirements for a notary public’s official seal that creates an impression or rubber
stamp imprint with a stamp that may, but need not, include the expiration date of the notary
public’s commission and establishes that the imprint of an official stamp on a tangible record
constitutes an embossment of an official notary public seal.
Requiring a notary public who performs a notarial act to include a certificate that states the day,
month, and year that the notary public’s commission expires or that the commission is permanent
and establishing that this information may be part of the notary public’s official stamp affixed to or
embossed on the certificate, written on the certificate if it is a tangible record, or attached to or
otherwise logically associated with the certificate.
Replacing a requirement that the official stamp of a notary public must include, in addition to the
notary public’s name and other information required by DFI, the notary public’s jurisdiction and
commission expiration date with a requirement that the official stamp include the words “Notary
Public” and “State of Wisconsin.”
Establishing that the official stamp of a notary public may, but need not, include the date that the
notary public’s commission expires and may not include information that is not either required or
expressly permitted in state law.
OUTDATED OR OBSOLETE PROVISIONS
The act repeals an obsolete restriction affecting certain transactions entered into before November 1,
1984, updates a reference to a federal statute that was renumbered and amended in 2010, and updates a
reference to the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, Inc.
Effective date: March 31, 2024
For a full history of the bill, visit the Legislature’s bill history page.
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