S.B. 38 Enrolled

NOTARY PUBLIC QUALIFICATIONS
2000 GENERAL SESSION
STATE OF UTAH
Sponsor: Gene Davis
AN ACT RELATING TO NOTARIZATION AND AUTHENTICATION OF DOCUMENTS;
REPEALING THE REQUIREMENTS THAT NOTARIES PUBLIC BE REGISTERED
VOTERS, THEMSELVES, OR ENDORSED BY REGISTERED VOTERS.
This act affects sections of Utah Code Annotated 1953 as follows:
AMENDS:
46-1-3, as last amended by Chapter 231, Laws of Utah 1999
Be it enacted by the Legislature of the state of Utah:
Section 1. Section 46-1-3 is amended to read:
46-1-3. Qualifications -- Commissioning -- Jurisdiction and term.
(1) Except as provided in Subsection (3), the director of the Division of Corporations and
Commercial Code shall commission as a notary any qualified person who submits an application
in accordance with this chapter.
(2) A person qualified for a notarial commission shall:
(a) be 18 years of age or older;
(b) lawfully reside in this state 30 days immediately preceding the filing for a notarial
commission and maintain permanent residency thereafter;
(c) be able to read, write, and understand English;
(d) submit an application to the Division of Corporations and Commercial Code containing
no significant misstatement or omission of fact and include at least:
(i) a statement of the applicant's personal qualifications, the applicant's residence address,
a business address in this state, and daytime telephone number[, and voter precinct number];
(ii) the applicant's age and date of birth;
(iii) all criminal convictions of the applicant, including any pleas of admission and nolo
contendere;
(iv) all issuances, denials, revocations, suspensions, restrictions, and resignations of a

notarial commission or other professional license involving the applicant in this or any other state;
(v) the acknowledgment of a passing score by the applicant on a written examination
administered under Subsection (5);
(vi) a declaration by the applicant; and
(vii) an application fee determined under Section 63-38-3.2 ; and
(e) be a [registered voter in] Utah resident or have permanent resident status under Section
245 of the Immigration and Nationality Act; and
(f) be endorsed by two [registered voters] residents of the state who are over the age of 18.
(3) The director of the Division of Corporations and Commercial Code may deny an
application based on:
(a) the applicant's conviction for a crime involving dishonesty or moral turpitude;
(b) any revocation, suspension, or restriction of a notarial commission or professional license
issued to the applicant by this or any other state;
(c) the applicant's official misconduct while acting in the capacity of a notary; or
(d) the applicant's failure to pass the written examination.
(4) A person commissioned as a notary by the Division of Corporations and Commercial Code
may perform notarial acts in any part of this state for a term of four years, unless the person resigned
or the commission is revoked or suspended under Section 46-1-19 .
(5) (a) Each applicant for a notarial commission shall take a written examination approved
by the division and submit the examination to a testing center designated by the division for purposes
of scoring the examination. The testing center designated by the division shall issue a written
acknowledgment to the applicant indicating whether the applicant passed or failed the examination.
(b) The division shall make rules pursuant to Title 63, Chapter 46a, Utah Administrative
Rulemaking Act, to implement the examination process required by Subsection (5)(a).

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