Assembly Bill No. 280--Committee on Government Affai
    rs

                  CHAPTER........

AN ACT relating to notaries public; providing a procedure to 
       amend a certificate of appointment; expanding the notarial 
       acts a notary public is authorized to perform; providing 
       additional requirements for the bond required to be filed 
       by a notary public; providing additional short forms for 
       certain notarial acts; revising the qualifications for 
       appointment as a notary public; revising the penalties 
       that may be imposed for misconduct; making it unlawful to 
       use a reproduction of a notarial statement under certain 
       circumstances; providing a penalty; and providing other 
       matters properly relating thereto.

   THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEVADA, REPRESENTED IN SENATE
              AND ASSEMBLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:


  Section 1.  Chapter 240 of NRS is hereby 
amended by adding thereto the provisions set forth as 
sections 2 to 14, inclusive, of this act.
  Sec. 2.  \As used in NRS 240.010 to 240.168, 
inclusive, and sections 2 to 14, inclusive, of this act, 
unless the context otherwise requires, the words and terms 
defined in sections 3 to 7, inclusive, of this act, have the 
meanings ascribed to them in those sections.
  \\Sec. 3.  \"Acknowledgment" means a declaration 
by a person that he has executed an instrument for the 
purposes stated therein and, if the instrument is executed 
in a representative capacity, that he signed the instrument 
with proper authority and executed it as the act of the 
person or entity represented and identified therein.
  \\Sec. 4.  \"In a representative capacity" means:
  1.  For and on behalf of a corporation, partnership, trust 
or other entity, as an authorized officer, agent, partner, 
trustee or other representative;
  2.  As a public officer, personal representative, guardian 
or other representative, in the capacity recited in the 
instrument;
  3.  As an attorney in fact for a principal; or
  4.  In any other capacity as an authorized representative 
of another.
  \\Sec. 5.  \"Notarial act" means any act that a 
notary public of this state is authorized to perform. The 
term includes:
  1.  Taking an acknowledgment;
  2.  Taking a deposition;
  3.  Administering an oath or affirmation;
  4.  Taking a verification upon oath or affirmation;
  5.  Witnessing or attesting a signature;
  6.  Certifying or attesting a copy;
  7.  Executing a jurat;
  8.  Noting a protest of a negotiable instrument; and
  9.  Performing such other duties as may be prescribed by a 
specific statute.
  \\Sec. 6.  \"Notarial officer" means a notary 
public or an officer authorized to perform notarial acts.
  \\Sec. 7.  \"Verification upon oath or 
affirmation" means a declaration that a statement is true 
made by a person upon oath or affirmation.
  \\Sec. 8.  \1.  If a notary public changes his 
mailing address, county of residence or signature at any 
time during his appointment, he shall submit to the 
secretary of state a request for an amended certificate of 
appointment on a form provided by the secretary of state. 
The request must:
  (a) Include the new information;
  (b) Be submitted within 30 days after making that change; 
and
  (c) Be accompanied by a fee of $10.
  2.  If a notary public changes his name during his 
appointment and he intends to use his new name in the 
performance of his notarial duties, he shall submit to the 
secretary of state a request for an amended certificate of 
appointment on a form provided by the secretary of state. 
The request must:
  (a) Include his new name and signature and his address;
   (b) Be submitted within 30 days after making the change; 
and
  (c) Be accompanied by a fee of $10.
  3.  Upon receipt of a request for an amended certificate 
of appointment and the appropriate fee, the secretary of 
state shall issue an amended certificate of appointment.
  4.  When the notary public receives the amended 
certificate of appointment, he shall:
  (a) Destroy his notary's stamp and obtain a new notary's 
stamp which includes the information on the amended 
certificate.
  (b) Notify the surety company which issued his bond of the 
changes.
  \\Sec. 9.  \1.  If the stamp of a notary public 
is lost, the notary public shall, within 10 days after the 
stamp is lost, submit to the secretary of state a 
request for an amended certificate of appointment, on a form 
provided by the secretary of state, and obtain a new stamp 
in accordance with section 8 of this act. The request must 
be accompanied by a fee of $10.
  2.  If the stamp is destroyed, broken, damaged or 
otherwise rendered inoperable, the notary public shall 
immediately notify the secretary of state of that fact and 
obtain a new stamp.
  3.  A person or governmental entity shall not make, 
manufacture or otherwise produce a notary's stamp unless the 
notary public presents his original or amended certificate 
of appointment to that person or governmental entity.
  \\Sec. 10.  \1.  The bond required to be filed by 
NRS 240.030 must be executed by the person applying to 
become a notary public as principal and by a surety company 
qualified and authorized to do business in this state. The 
bond must be made payable to the State of Nevada and be 
conditioned to provide indemnification to any person 
determined to have suffered damage as a result of any act by 
the notary public which is a violation of any provision of 
NRS 240.010 to 240.168, inclusive, and sections 2 to 14, 
inclusive, of this act. The surety company shall pay any 
final, nonappealable judgment of any court of this state 
that has jurisdiction, upon receipt of written notice of 
final judgment. The bond may be continuous but, regardless 
of the duration of the bond, the aggregate liability of the 
surety does not exceed the penal sum of the bond.
  2.  The surety bond must cover the period of the 
appointment of the notary public, except when a surety is 
released.
  3.  A surety on any bond filed pursuant to NRS 240.030 may 
be released after the surety gives 30 days' written notice 
to the secretary of state and notary public, but the release 
does not discharge or otherwise affect any claim filed by a 
person for damage resulting from any act of the notary 
public which is alleged to have occurred while the bond was 
in effect.
  4.  The appointment of a notary public is suspended by 
operation of law when the notary public is no longer covered 
by a surety bond as required by this section and NRS 
240.030. If the secretary of state receives notice pursuant 
to subsection 3 that the bond will be released, the 
secretary shall immediately notify the notary public in 
writing that his appointment will be suspended by operation 
of law until another surety bond is filed in the same manner 
and amount as the bond being terminated.
  \\Sec. 11.  \1.  If a notary public resigns or 
dies during his appointment, the notary public, or the 
executor of his estate, as appropriate, shall:
  (a) Notify the secretary of state of the resignation or 
death; and
  (b) Destroy the notary's stamp.
  2.  Upon the receipt of the notice required by subsection 
1, the secretary of state shall cancel the appointment of 
the notary public, effective on the date on which the notice 
was received.
  \\Sec. 12.  \1.  It is unlawful for any person 
to:
  (a) Photocopy or otherwise reproduce a completed notarial 
certificate with a notary's statement and signature if that 
certificate is reproduced for use in a mailing to endorse, 
promote or sell any product, service or offering; or
  (b) Include a photocopy or other reproduction of a 
completed notarial certificate with a notary's statement and 
signature in a mailing to endorse, promote or sell any 
product, service or offering.
  2.  Any person who violates any of the provisions of 
subsection 1 is guilty of a gross misdemeanor.
  \\Sec. 13.  \The following certificate is 
sufficient for a jurat of a subscribing witness:

State of................
County of...............
 
  On ......(date)......, ..............(subscribing 
witness).............. personally appeared before me, whom I 
know to be the person who signed this jurat of a subscribing 
witness while under oath, and swears that he or she was 
present and witnessed ..........(signer of the 
document).......... sign his or her name to the above 
document.
                             ..............................
                                                           (Signature of subscribing witnes
s)

Signed and sworn before me on ......(date)...... 
by ..............(subscribing witness)..............

                             ..............................
                                                            (Signature of notarial officer)
  \\Sec. 14.  \The following certificate is 
sufficient for an acknowledgment of a credible witness:

State of................
County of...............
 
  On ......(date)......, ..............(name of 
person).............. personally appeared before me, whose 
identity I verified upon the oath of ..........(name of 
credible witness).........., a credible witness personally 
known to me, to be the person whose name is subscribed to 
the above instrument and he or she proved he or she signed 
the instrument.

                             ..............................
                                                            (Signature of notarial officer)
\\
  Sec. 15.  NRS 240.010 is hereby amended to 
read as follows:
  240.010  1.  The secretary of state may appoint notaries 
public in this state.
  2.  The secretary of state may not appoint as a notary 
public any person [who] \:
  (a) Who\\ submits an application containing any 
substantial and material misstatement or omission of fact.
  \(b) Whose previous appointment as a notary public in 
this state has been revoked.
  3.  It is unlawful for any person to represent himself as 
a notary public appointed pursuant to this section if he has 
not received a certificate of appointment from the secretary 
of state pursuant to this chapter.
  \\Sec. 16.  NRS 240.015 is hereby amended to 
read as follows:
  240.015  [Each]
  \1.  Except as otherwise provided in this section, 
a\\ person appointed as a notary public must:
  [1. Be]
  \(a) During the period of his appointment, be\\ a 
citizen of the United States or lawfully admitted for 
permanent residency in the United States as verified by the 
Immigration and Naturalization Service.
  [2.] \(b) Be a resident of this state.
  (c)\\ Be at least 18 years of age.
  [3.] \(d)\\ Possess his civil rights.
  \2.  If a person appointed as a notary public ceases 
to be lawfully admitted for permanent residency in the 
United States during his appointment, he shall, within 90 
days after his lawful admission has expired or is otherwise 
terminated, submit to the secretary of state evidence that 
he is lawfully readmitted for permanent residency as 
verified by the Immigration and Naturalization Service. If 
the person fails to submit such evidence within the 
prescribed time, his appointment expires by operation of 
law.\\
  Sec. 17.  NRS 240.017 is hereby amended to 
read as follows:
  240.017  The secretary of state may adopt regulations 
prescribing the procedure for the appointment \and 
voluntary training\\ of a notary public.
  Sec. 18.  NRS 240.030 is hereby amended to 
read as follows:
  240.030  1.  Each person applying for appointment as a 
notary public shall:
  (a) At the time he submits his application, pay to the 
secretary of state $35.
  (b) Take and subscribe to the oath set forth in section 2 
of article 15 of the constitution of the State of Nevada as 
if he were a public officer.
  (c) Enter into a bond to the State of Nevada in the sum of 
$10,000, to be [approved by] \filed with\\ the 
clerk of the county in which the applicant resides.
  2.  In completing an application, bond, oath or other 
document necessary to apply for appointment as a notary 
public, an applicant who is employed as a peace officer and 
is required to be a notary public as a condition of that 
employment must not be required to disclose his residential 
address or telephone number on any such document which will 
become available to the public.
  3.  The bond, together with the oath, must be filed and 
recorded in the office of the county clerk of the county in 
which the applicant resides when he applies for his 
appointment. On a form provided by the secretary of state, 
the county clerk shall immediately certify to the secretary 
of state that the bond and oath have been filed and 
recorded. Upon receipt of the application, fee and 
certification that the bond and oath have been filed and 
recorded, the secretary of state shall issue a certificate 
of appointment as a notary public to the applicant.
   4.  [The] \Except as otherwise provided in this 
subsection, the\\ secretary of state shall charge a fee 
of $10 for each duplicate or amended certificate of 
appointment which is issued to a notary. \If the notary 
public does not receive an original certificate of 
appointment, the secretary of state shall provide a 
duplicate certificate of appointment without charge if the 
notary public requests such a duplicate within 60 days after 
the date on which the original certificate was issued.\\
  Sec. 19.  NRS 240.040 is hereby amended to 
read as follows:
  240.040  1.  Each notary public shall authenticate all 
his acts, including any acknowledgment, jurat, verification 
or other certificate, by [setting] \:
  (a) Setting\\ forth the following:
  [(a)] \(1)\\ The venue;
  [(b)] \(2)\\ His \original\\ signature; 
and
  [(c)] \(3)\\ A statement imprinted in [black] 
\indelible, photographically reproducible\\ ink 
with a rubber or other mechanical stamp setting forth his 
name, the phrase "Notary Public, State of [Nevada" and] 
\Nevada,"\\ the date on which his appointment 
expires [.] \, the number of his certificate of 
appointment and, if he so desires, the Great Seal of the 
State of Nevada; and
  (b) Including all applicable information in the 
acknowledgment, jurat, verification or other 
certificate.\\
  2.  After July 1, 1965, [a] \an embossed\\ 
notarial seal is not required on notarized 
documents.
  \3.  As used in this section, "mechanical stamp" 
includes an imprint made by a computer or other similar 
technology.\\
  Sec. 20.  NRS 240.060 is hereby amended to 
read as follows:
  240.060  [1.  Each notary public may:
  (a) Administer oaths or affirmations;
  (b) Take acknowledgments and depositions;
  (c) Certify copies;
  (d) Execute jurats; and
  (e) Perform such other duties as may be prescribed by 
specific statute.
  2.] A notary public [shall] \may, during normal 
business hours,\\ perform notarial acts in lawful 
transactions for a person who requests the act and tenders 
the appropriate fee.
  Sec. 21.  NRS 240.065 is hereby amended to 
read as follows:
  240.065  \1.  \\A notary public may not perform 
any \notarial\\ act [authorized by NRS 240.060 if 
he:
  1.  Executed] \if:
  (a) He executed\\ or is named in the instrument 
acknowledged or sworn to;
  [2.  Will]
  \(b) He will\\ receive directly from a 
transaction relating to the instrument any commission, fee, 
advantage, right, title, interest, property or other 
consideration in excess of the authorized fees; or
  [3.  Is related to the]
  \(c) The\\ person whose signature is to be 
acknowledged or sworn to [as a spouse, sibling or lineal 
ancestor or descendant.] \is a relative of the notary 
public by marriage or consanguinity.
  2.  As used in this section, "relative" includes, without 
limitation:
  (a) A spouse, parent, grandparent or stepparent;
  (b) A natural born child, stepchild or adopted child;
  (c) A grandchild, brother, sister, half brother, half 
sister, stepbrother or stepsister;
  (d) A grandparent, parent, brother, sister, half brother, 
half sister, stepbrother or stepsister of the spouse of the 
notary public; and
  (e) A natural born child, stepchild or adopted child of a 
sibling or half sibling of the notary public or of a sibling 
or half sibling of the spouse of the notary public.\\
  Sec. 22.  NRS 240.075 is hereby amended to 
read as follows:
  240.075  A notary public shall not:
  1.  Influence a person to enter or not enter into a lawful 
transaction involving a notarial act performed by the notary 
public.
  2.  Certify an instrument containing a statement known by 
him to be false.
  3.  Perform any act as a notary public with intent to 
deceive or defraud.
  4.  Endorse or promote any product, service or offering if 
his appointment as a notary public is used in the 
endorsement or promotional statement.
  \5.  Certify photocopies of a certificate of birth, 
death or marriage or a divorce decree.
  6.  Allow any other person to use his notary's stamp.
  7.  Allow any other person to sign the notary's name in a 
notarial capacity.
  \\Sec. 23.  NRS 240.100 is hereby amended to 
read as follows:
  240.100  1.  Except as \otherwise\\ provided in 
subsection 3, a notary public may charge the following fees 
and no more:

    For taking an acknowledgment, for the first signature 
         \of each
          signer\\...................................  $2
              For each additional signature \of each 
              signer\\..............................    1
    For administering an oath or affirmation without a 
    signature...........................................    1
    For a certified copy................................    1
    For a jurat, for each signature on the affidavit....    2
    
  2.  All fees prescribed in this section are payable in 
advance, if demanded.
  3.  A notary public may charge an additional fee for 
traveling to perform a notarial act if:
  (a) He explains to the person requesting the notarial act 
that the fee is in addition to the fee authorized in 
subsection 1 and is not required by law; and
  (b) The person requesting the notarial act agrees in 
advance upon the amount of the additional fee.
  Sec. 24.  NRS 240.110 is hereby amended to 
read as follows:
  240.110  1.  [Every] \If a\\ notary public 
\charges fees for performing notarial acts, he\\ 
shall publish and set up in some conspicuous place in his 
office a table of his fees, according to this chapter, for 
the inspection of all persons who have business in his 
office. The schedule must not be printed in smaller than 
1/2-inch type. \A notary public shall not charge fees 
unless he has published and set up a table of fees in 
accordance with this subsection.\\
  2.  For each day's failure to comply with the provisions 
of subsection 1, [he] \a notary public\\ shall 
forfeit a sum not exceeding $20 with costs, which may be 
recovered by any person by an action before any justice of 
the peace of the same county.
  Sec. 25.  NRS 240.120 is hereby amended to 
read as follows:
  240.120  1.  Each notary public shall keep a journal in 
his office in which he shall enter [the] \for each 
notarial act performed, at the time the act is performed:
  (a) The\\ fees charged [, the] \, if any;
  (b) The\\ title of the matter [, the] \;
  (c) The\\ date on which he performed the service [and 
the] \;
  (d) The\\ name \and signature\\ of the person 
whose signature is being notarized [.] \; and
  (e) A description of the evidence used by the notary 
public to verify the identification of the person whose 
signature is being notarized.\\
  2.  \If the notary verifies the identification of the 
person whose signature is being notarized on the basis of a 
credible witness, the notary public shall:
  (a) Require the witness to sign the journal in the space 
provided for the description of the evidence used; and
  (b) Make a notation in the journal that the witness is a 
credible witness.
  3.  \\The journal must [be] \:
  (a) Be\\ open to public inspection.
  [3.] \(b) Be in a bound volume with preprinted page 
numbers.
  4.  A notary public shall keep his journal for the entire 
period of his appointment.\\
  5.  Any notary public who violates any of the 
provisions of this section shall be fined not more than 
$1,000.
  Sec. 26.  NRS 240.150 is hereby amended to 
read as follows:
  240.150  \1.  \\For any misconduct or neglect in 
any of the cases in which any notary public appointed under 
the authority of this state, may act, either by the law of 
this state, or of any state, territory or country, or by the 
law of nations, or by commercial usage, he is liable on his 
official bond to the parties injured thereby, for all the 
damages sustained \.\\ [; and for]
  \2.  Except as otherwise provided in this chapter, 
for\\ any willful violation or neglect of duty [, a] 
\:
  (a) A\\ notary public [shall] \may\\ be fined 
not more than $2,000 [, and his appointment must be 
revoked.] \;
  (b) The appointment of the notary public may be suspended 
for a period determined by the secretary of state, but not 
exceeding the time remaining on his appointment;
  (c) The appointment of the notary public may be revoked; 
or
  (d) The notary public may be fined and his appointment may 
be:
    (1) Revoked; or
    (2) Suspended
for a period determined by the secretary of state.\\
  Sec. 27.  NRS 240.161 is hereby amended to 
read as follows:
  240.161  1.  NRS 240.161 to 240.168, inclusive, 
\and sections 13 and 14 of this act,\\ may be cited 
as the Uniform Law on Notarial Acts.
  2.  These sections must be applied and construed to 
effectuate their general purpose to make uniform the law 
with respect to the subject of these sections among states 
enacting them.
  [3.  These sections apply to notarial acts performed on or 
after October 1, 1993.]
  Sec. 28.  NRS 240.163 is hereby amended to 
read as follows:
  240.163  1.  In taking an acknowledgment, a notarial 
officer shall determine, from personal knowledge or from 
other satisfactory evidence, that the person making the 
acknowledgment is the person whose signature is on the 
instrument.
  2.  In taking a verification upon oath or affirmation, a 
notarial officer shall determine, from personal knowledge or 
from other satisfactory evidence, that the person making the 
verification is the person whose signature is on the 
verified statement.
  3.  In witnessing or attesting a signature, a notarial 
officer shall determine, from personal knowledge or from 
other satisfactory evidence, that the signature is that of 
the person appearing before him and named in the document 
signed.
  4.  In certifying or attesting a copy of a document or 
other item, a notarial officer shall determine that the 
proffered copy is a complete, accurate and authentic 
transcription or reproduction of that which was copied.
  5.  In making or noting a protest of a negotiable 
instrument, a notarial officer shall verify compliance with 
the provisions of subsection 2 of NRS 104.3505.
  6.  \In executing a jurat, a notarial officer shall 
administer an oath or affirmation to the affiant and shall 
determine, from personal knowledge or other satisfactory 
evidence, that the affiant is the person named in the 
document. The affiant shall sign the document in the 
presence of the notarial officer.
  7.  \\A notarial officer has satisfactory evidence 
that a person is the person whose signature is on a document 
if he:
  (a) Is personally known to the notarial officer;
  (b) Is identified upon the oath or affirmation of a 
credible witness personally known to the notarial officer; 
[or]
  (c) Is identified on the basis of an identifying document 
[.] \which contains a signature and a photograph or 
physical description; or
  (d) Is identified upon an oath or affirmation of a 
subscribing witness who is personally known to the notarial 
officer.\\
  Sec. 29.  NRS 240.1655 is hereby amended to 
read as follows:
  240.1655  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 and the title of the 
office of the notarial officer and may include the official 
stamp or seal of office. If the officer is a notary public, 
the certificate must also indicate the date of expiration, 
if any, of the commission of office, but omission of that 
information 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 \section 13 or 
14 of this act or\\ NRS 240.166, 240.1665, 240.167, 
240.1675 or 240.168;
  (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 NRS 240.163.
  Sec. 30.  NRS 240.166 is hereby amended to 
read as follows:
  240.166  The following certificate is sufficient 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 \(optional)
\\)
  (My commission expires \(optional)\\: ............
....)
  Sec. 31.  NRS 240.1665 is hereby amended to 
read as follows:
  240.1665  The following certificate is sufficient 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 \(optional)
\\)
  (My commission expires \(optional)\\: ............
......)
  Sec. 32.  NRS 240.167 is hereby amended to 
read as follows:
  240.167  The following certificate is sufficient 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 \(optional)
\\)
  (My commission expires \(optional)\\: ............
......)
  Sec. 33.  NRS 240.1675 is hereby amended to 
read as follows:
  240.1675  The following certificate is sufficient 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 \(optional)
\\)
  (My commission expires \(optional)\\: ............
......)
  Sec. 34.  NRS 240.168 is hereby amended to 
read as follows:
  240.168  The following certificate is sufficient for 
attesting 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 \(optional)
\\)
  (My commission expires \(optional)\\: ............
......)
  Sec. 35.  NRS 240.160, 240.162, 240.1621, 
240.1623, 240.1625, 240.1627 and 240.1629 are hereby 
repealed.

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