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Rule Details
Rule Number:
24P041
Title:
Administrative Rules for Notaries Public.
Type:
Standard
Status:
Adopted
Agency:
Office of Professional Regulation, Office of the Secretary of State
Legal Authority:
3 V.S.A. § 801(b)(11) 26 V.S.A. § 5323
Summary:
These rules create standards for issuing commissions as well as special endorsements to notaries public to perform notarial acts on electronic records and for remotely located individuals. The standards specify acceptable methods for performing notarial acts, including identification of individuals, personal appearance, completion of the notarial certificate, remote notarization, and recording notarial acts.
Persons Affected:
State agencies, the judiciary, Town Clerks, social service agencies, hospitals, nursing homes and other health care facilities, law enforcement, notaries
public, real estate professionals, banks, mortgage companies, attorneys (including those in elder care, estate planning, and real estate), and the public.
Economic Impact:
The Emergency Rules allowed notarial acts to continue during a public health crisis and facilitated the continuance of essential transactions and commerce. Adopting them permanently will facilitate and protect our economy and make Vermont businesses more resilient in the event of future emergencies restricting travel. In addition, adopting standards for electronic notarization will facilitate the modernization of business and governance in Vermont.
For notaries public who perform remote and electronic notarization under the special endorsement, technology costs are expected to be typically $0 to $40 a month, plus per-transaction fees, as of the time of filing these rules. Users of notary public services, identified in #11 above, would remain free to choose in-person, tangible-record notarization if they deem these costs not worth the benefits of remote or electronic notarization.
