|
Assembly Bill 1977 (Irwin) makes changes to the existing notary law, including several to the Online Notarization Act. With respect to the Online Notarization Act, this bill would require the Secretary of State to review the course of study proposed by any vendor to be offered pursuant to the Act. Also, since the Online Notarization Act requires a notary public’s electronic signature to include an image of the notary public’s handwritten signature, AB 1977 would require the signature to match the notary public’s handwritten signature on their official oath. Additionally, the bill prohibits a notary public from charging a fee for a terminated audio-video session.
AB 1977 would also require a person or entity applying for registration to be an online notarization platform or deposit to apply annually thereafter for a renewal of registration during the applicable time period. If there has been no change in the information in the last filed application for registration, an online notarization platform or depository is authorized by the bill to advise the Secretary of State that no changes in the required information have occurred during the applicable filing period. An online notarization platform or depository is required to file an updated application for registration whenever any of the information required in the application is changed, and the Secretary of State is authorized to charge a fee of $50 to file an updated application. An initial application fee of $5,000 for an initial application for registration and a $1,000 fee for a renewal of registration is also established. This bill would require the online notarization platform or depository, in addition to notifying each notary that uses its platform or depository, to also notify the Secretary of State at least 30 days before certain events, such as ceasing to provide services in California, by submitting the notice electronically through the Secretary of State’s web portal. Lastly, the Secretary of State must post information on its internet website demonstrating that a notarization platform or depository is registered with the Secretary of State to perform online notarization. Comments are closed.
|
Our Sponsors
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
