HOUSE BILL NO. 443
INTRODUCED BY G. CLANCY
AN ACT GENERALLY REVISING STATUTES APPLYING TO NOTARIES PUBLIC; CLARIFYING DURATIONAL RESIDENCY REQUIREMENTS FOR NOTARIES PUBLIC; PROHIBITING A PERSON FROM HOLDING MORE THAN ONE COMMISSION AS A MONTANA NOTARY PUBLIC; REQUIRING A COUNTY ATTORNEY TO PROSECUTE VIOLATIONS OF LAWS APPLYING TO NOTARIES PUBLIC; REVISING THE STATUTE GOVERNING AN APPLICATION TO BECOME A NOTARY PUBLIC; ALLOWING THE SECRETARY OF STATE TO CHARGE FEES FOR CHANGES MADE BY THE SECRETARY OF STATE TO THE COMMISSIONS OF NOTARIES PUBLIC; REQUIRING CERTAIN INFORMATION TO BE FILED BY A NOTARY PUBLIC WITH THE SECRETARY OF STATE; CLARIFYING STATUTES REGARDING CHANGES TO A NOTARY PUBLIC'S COMMISSION; APPLYING CONDITIONS AND CLARIFYING ACTIONS PERTAINING TO CERTAIN NOTARIAL ACTS; PROHIBITING A NOTARY PUBLIC FROM ACTING IN CERTAIN CASES IN WHICH THE NOTARY MAY HAVE A CONFLICT OF INTEREST; CLARIFYING THE STATUTE GOVERNING FEES CHARGED BY NOTARIES PUBLIC; AUTHORIZING A NOTARY PUBLIC TO CHARGE FOR CERTAIN EXPENSES; PROVIDING A PENALTY; AND AMENDING SECTIONS 1-5-402, 1-5-403, 1-5-404, 1-5-405, 1-5-408, 1-5-409, 1-5-416, 1-5-417, 1-5-418, 1-5-603, 1-5-609, AND 1-5-610, MCA.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MONTANA:
Section 1. Section 1-5-402, MCA, is amended to read:
"1-5-402. Qualifications -- residence. A person appointed as notary public may not, at the time of
appointment, be a convicted felon. Each person appointed as a notary public must be a citizen of the
United States and of the state resident of Montana for at least 1 year immediately preceding
appointment, and must continue to reside within the state of Montana. Removal from the state or
conviction of a felony vacates the office and is equivalent to resignation."
Section 2. Section 1-5-403, MCA, is amended to read:
"1-5-403. Term of office -- limit on commissions. (1) The term of office of a notary public is 4
years from and after the date of commissioning.
(2) A person may not have more than one Montana notary public commission in effect at one time."
Section 3. Section 1-5-404, MCA, is amended to read:
"1-5-404. Revocation Penalties -- revocation of commission -- prosecution for violation of law.
(1) Upon 10 days' notice, the secretary of state may revoke the commission of any a notary public for
just cause.
(2) The county attorney of a county in which a violation of this chapter or another law applicable to notaries public or notarial acts occurs shall prosecute the violation."
Section 4. Section 1-5-405, MCA, is amended to read:
"1-5-405. Bond and commission -- dates -- fees and documents. (1) Each notary public shall
submit an application, a signed oath of office, and give an official bond in the sum amount of $5,000
$10,000 for each 4-year term of office. The application and bond must be approved by the secretary of
state. Upon the approval of the application and the bond, the payment of fees, and the filing in the office
of the secretary of state of the official oath of the notary public, the secretary of state may issue a
commission.
(2) The effective date of the surety bond and the notary commission must be the same.
(3) All required fees and required and properly completed documents must be submitted to the office of the secretary of state within 30 days before or by the effective date of the surety bond."
Section 5. Section 1-5-408, MCA, is amended to read:
"1-5-408. Fees for filing or amending commission and issuing certificates. The secretary of state
shall set by rule the fees for filing or issuing, in the manner provided for in 1-5-407, certificates. The
secretary may charge a fee for changes made in the commission of a notary public, during the term of
that commission, regarding the notary's name, residential address, business address, or residential or
business telephone number. The fees must be commensurate with costs. The secretary of state shall use
application forms soliciting the information required by this part. The county clerk of any county in this
state shall must receive a fee, as provided in 7-4-2631, for filing a copy of the commission and
certifying to the official character."
Section 6. Section 1-5-409, MCA, is amended to read:
"1-5-409. Information to be filed -- amendments to commission. (1) A person appointed as a
notary public shall file his address the person's business, if any, and residential addresses and telephone
number numbers with the office of the secretary of state. If the notary public changes his the notary's
address or telephone number during his the notary's term of commission, he the notary shall notify the
office of the change secretary of state in writing and shall sign the writing using the same signature that
is used for notarial acts.
(2) A notary public wishing to change the notary's name during the notary's term of commission shall file with the secretary of state a rider or other document from the notary's surety company showing the change of name. The notary public shall also file with the secretary of state a written example of the notary's new official signature."
Section 7. Section 1-5-416, MCA, is amended to read:
"1-5-416. Powers and duties. (1) A notary public shall:
(a) subject to subsection (2), take the acknowledgment or proof of any power of attorney, mortgage, deed, grant, transfer, or other instrument executed by any person and give a certificate of the proof or acknowledgment, endorsed on or attached to the instrument;
(b) take depositions and affidavits, if the notary is knowledgeable of the applicable legal requirements, and administer oaths and affirmations in all matters incident to the duties of the notary public's office or to be used before any court, judge, officer, or board in this state;
(c) whenever requested and upon payment of the required fees, make and give a certified copy of
any record kept or that originated in the notary public's office place of employment;
(d) provide and keep an official crimper-type or ink stamp seal, upon which must be engraved the
name of the state of Montana and the words "Notarial Seal", with the surname name of the notary public
and at least the initials of the notary public's given name exactly as that name appears on the notary's
certificate of commission issued by the secretary of state;
(e) authenticate with the notary public's official seal, and the notary's original signature as it appears on the notary's certificate of commission, all official acts. Whenever the notary public signs officially as a notary public, the notary public shall add to the signature the words "Notary Public for the State of Montana, residing at.... (stating the name of the notary public's post office)" and shall endorse upon the instrument the date, showing the month, day, and four-digit year, of the expiration of the notary public's commission.
(f) on every document on which the notary's seal of office is used, type, stamp, or legibly print the notary's name, as shown on the notary's certificate of commission, after or below the original signature of the notary.
(2) The A notary public may not:
(a) notarize the notary's own signature;
(b) notarize a document in which the notary is individually named or has an interest from which the notary will directly benefit by a transaction involving the document; or
(c) certify a document issued by a public entity, such as a birth, death, or marriage certificate, unless the notary is employed by the entity issuing or holding the original version of that document."
Section 8. Section 1-5-417, MCA, is amended to read:
"1-5-417. Authority of notaries who are stockholders, officers, or employees of banks or other
corporations. It shall be lawful for any (1) Except as provided in this section, a notary public who is a
stockholder, director, officer, or employee of a bank or other corporation to may:
(a) take the acknowledgment of any a party to any a written instrument executed to or by such that
bank or corporation, to;
(b) administer an oath to any other stockholder, director, officer, employee, or agent of such that
bank or corporation, or to; or
(c) protest for nonacceptance or nonpayment bills of exchange, drafts, checks, notes, and other
negotiable instruments which that may be owned or held for collection by such that bank or other
corporation; provided, it shall be unlawful for any.
(2) A notary public to who is a stockholder, director, officer, or employee of a bank or other
corporation and is individually named in an instrument or signs an instrument as a representative of the
bank or other corporation may not:
(a) take the acknowledgment of an that instrument by or to a that bank or other corporation of which
he is a stockholder, director, officer, or employee where such notary is a party individually to such
instrument or signs the instrument as a representative of such bank or other corporation or to; or
(b) protest any a negotiable instrument owned or held for collection by such that bank or other
corporation where such notary is individually a party to such instrument.
(3) A notary public who violates this section is guilty of a misdemeanor and upon conviction must be punished as provided by law."
Section 9. Section 1-5-418, MCA, is amended to read:
"1-5-418. Fees Maximum fees of notaries. Fees Maximum fees of notaries public are as follows:
(1) for drawing an affidavit, deposition, or other paper for which provision is not herein made a
maximum fee is not otherwise specified, $3.50 $3.50 per a page;
(2) for taking an acknowledgment or proof of a deed or other instrument, to include including the
seal and the writing of the certificate, for the first signature, $1 $5;
(3) for each additional signature of the same person as referred to in subsection (1), 50 cents $1;
(4) for administering an oath or affirmation, $1 $5;
(5) for certifying an affidavit, with or without seal, including oath, $1 $5; and
(6) for mileage or other charge to travel to or from or to and from the place of the notarial act, the amount provided by law for state employees when using the same mode of travel and traveling on state business."
Section 10. Section 1-5-603, MCA, is amended to read:
"1-5-603. Notarial acts. (1) In taking an acknowledgment, the notarial officer shall determine, either from personal knowledge or from satisfactory evidence, that the person appearing before the officer and making the acknowledgment is the person whose true signature is on the instrument.
(2) In taking a verification upon oath or affirmation, the notarial officer shall determine, either from personal knowledge or from satisfactory evidence, that the person appearing before the officer and making the verification is the person whose true signature is on the statement verified.
(3) In witnessing or attesting a signature, the notarial officer shall determine, either from personal knowledge or from satisfactory evidence, that the signature is that of the person appearing before the officer and named in the instrument.
(4) In certifying or attesting a copy of a document or other item, the notarial officer shall determine that the proffered copy is a full, true, and accurate transcription or reproduction of that which was copied.
(5) (a) In making or noting a protest of a negotiable instrument, the notarial officer shall identify the instrument and certify either:
(i) that due presentment has been made; or
(ii) the reason why it is excused and that the instrument has been dishonored by nonacceptance or nonpayment.
(b) The protest may also certify that notice of dishonor has been given to all parties or to specified parties.
(6) A notarial officer has satisfactory evidence that a person is the person whose true signature is on a document if that person is:
(a) personally known to the notarial officer;
(b) identified upon the oath or affirmation of a credible witness personally known to the notarial officer; or
(c) identified on the basis of a current identification document or documents that show a photograph and signature of the person."
Section 11. Section 1-5-609, MCA, is amended to read:
"1-5-609. Certificate of notarial acts. (1) A notarial act must be evidenced by a certificate signed
and dated by a notarial officer. The certificate must include identification of the jurisdiction in which
the notarial act is performed, the date on which the notarial act is performed, the type of notarial act
being performed, and the title of the office of the notarial officer and must include the official seal of
office. If the officer is a Montana notary public, the certificate must also indicate the place of the
notarial officer's residence and the date of expiration, if any, of the commission of office, but omission
of that information that place or date may subsequently be corrected. If the officer is a commissioned
officer on active duty in the military service of the United States, it must also include the officer's rank.
(2) A certificate of a notarial act is sufficient if it meets the requirements of subsection (1) and it:
(a) is in the short form set forth in 1-5-610;
(b) is in a form otherwise prescribed by the law of this state;
(c) is in a form prescribed by the laws or regulations applicable in the place in which the notarial act was performed; or
(d) sets forth the actions of the notarial officer and those are sufficient to meet the requirements of the designated notarial act.
(3) By executing a certificate of a notarial act, the notarial officer certifies that the officer has made the determinations required by 1-5-603."
Section 12. Section 1-5-610, MCA, is amended to read:
"1-5-610. Short forms. The following short-form certificates of notarial acts are sufficient for the purposes indicated if they are completed with the information required by 1-5-416 and 1-5-609(1):
(1) For an acknowledgment in an individual capacity:
State of___________________________________
(County) of________________________________
This instrument was acknowledged before me on (date) by (name(s) of person(s))______________________________
____________________________________
(Signature of notarial officer)
(Seal, if any)
____________________________________
Title (and Rank)
____________________________________
(Residing at)
[My commission expires: ________]
(2) For an acknowledgment in a representative capacity:
State of___________________________________
(County) of________________________________
This instrument was acknowledged before me on (date) by (name(s) of person(s)) as (type of authority, e.g., officer, trustee, etc.) of (name of party on behalf of whom instrument was executed).
____________________________________
(Signature of notarial officer)
(Seal, if any)
____________________________________
Title (and Rank)
____________________________________
(Residing at)
[My commission expires: ________]
(3) For a verification upon oath or affirmation:
State of___________________________________
(County) of________________________________
Signed and sworn to (or affirmed) before me on (date) by (name(s) of person(s) making
statement).______________________________
____________________________________
(Signature of notarial officer)
(Seal, if any)
____________________________________
Title (and Rank)
____________________________________
(Residing at)
[My commission expires: ________]
(4) For witnessing or attesting a signature:
State of___________________________________
(County) of________________________________
Signed or attested before me on (date) by (name(s) of
person(s)).______________________________
____________________________________
(Signature of notarial officer)
(Seal, if any)
____________________________________
Title (and Rank)
____________________________________
(Residing at)
[My commission expires: ________]
(5) For attestation of a copy of a document:
State of___________________________________
(County) of________________________________
I certify that this is a true and correct copy of a document in the possession of_____________________________.
Dated ____________________
____________________________________
(Signature of notarial officer)
(Seal, if any)
____________________________________
Title (and Rank)
____________________________________
(Residing at)
[My commission expires: ________]"
Section 13. Saving clause. [This act] does not affect rights and duties that matured, penalties that were incurred, or proceedings that were begun before October 1, 2001.
- END -
Latest Version of HB 443 (HB0443.ENR)
Processed for the Web on March 13, 2001 (1:01PM)
New language in a bill appears underlined, deleted material appears stricken.
Sponsor names are handwritten on introduced bills, hence do not appear on the bill until it is reprinted. See the status of this bill for the bill's primary sponsor.
Status of this Bill | 2001 Legislature | Leg. Branch Home
All versions of this bill (PDF Format)
Authorized print version w/line
numbers (PDF format)
(406)444-3064