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HB73 INTRODUCED
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HB73
W1JSXEE-1
By Representative Hollis
RFD: State Government
First Read: 13-Jan-26
PFD: 02-Dec-25
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W1JSXEE-1 11/19/2025 KMS (L)lg 2025-3168
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PFD: 02-Dec-25
SYNOPSIS:
Under existing law, notaries public are
officials appointed and commissioned to serve the
public as impartial witnesses to the signing of
official documents and verifying the identity of those
involved.
This bill would decrease the term of a
commission from four to two years.
This bill would require all notary stamps to be
embedded with specific information identifying the
notary public and his or her commission.
This bill would also provide penalties for using
an unapproved, manually altered, or fraudulent notary
stamp.
A BILL
TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
Relating to notaries public; to amend Sections
36-20-70, 36-20-72, and 36-20-75, Code of Alabama 1975, to
create the Notary Integrity and Property Protection Act of
2025; to decrease the term of commission from four to two
years; to require all notary stamps to be embedded with
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years; to require all notary stamps to be embedded with
certain identifying information; and to provide penalties for
violations.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF ALABAMA:
Section 1. This act shall be known and may be cited as
the Notary Integrity and Property Protection Act of 2025.
Section 2. Sections 36-20-70, 36-20-72, and 36-20-75 of
the Code of Alabama 1975, are amended to read as follows:
"§36-20-70
(a) A competent number of notaries public for the state
at large at-large shall be appointed and commissioned by the
judges of probate of the several counties of the state and
shall hold office for four years from . Commencing on October
1, 2026, a commission shall expire two years after the date of
their commission. Notaries public shall perform all the acts
and exercise all authority under the general laws of the State
of Alabama. The jurisdiction of the notaries public shall not
be limited to the counties of their residence and shall extend
to any county of the state. The judges of probate shall
collect a fee of twenty-five dollars ($25) for each notary
commission issued. The judges of probate shall also report to
the Secretary of State the name, county of residence, date of
issuance, and date of expiration of the commission of each
notary public appointed and commissioned under this
subsection.
(b) All existing notaries public functioning on
September 1, 2023 October 1, 2026 , shall continue to function
pursuant to their existing authority for the remainder of
their existing unexpired commission.
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their existing unexpired commission.
(c) Each applicant for notary public commission shall
pay a ten dollar ($10) application fee. A judge of probate may
accept or deny any application for notary public commission,
as developed by the Alabama Probate Judges Association and the
Alabama Law Institute, and shall deny an application for
notary public commission on any of the following grounds:
(1) The applicant is not a resident of this state.
(2) The applicant makes the application to a judge who
is not the judge of probate of the county of the applicant's
residence.
(3) The applicant has been convicted of a felony or
crime of moral turpitude.
(4) The applicant is currently a debtor in a bankruptcy
proceeding.
(5) The applicant is under a current order adjudicating
him or her incapacitated.
(6) The applicant provides false information on the
application.
(7) The applicant is unable or unwilling to
successfully complete the training program required in
subsection (e) within 30 days after submitting his or her
application. This time frame may be extended by the judge of
probate upon good cause shown.
(d) A notary public is not an insurer but is under a
duty to act honestly, skillfully, and with reasonable
diligence. A notary public shall not perform an acknowledgment
in any transaction where he or she has a pecuniary interest.
(e) Before being commissioned, an applicant for a
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(e) Before being commissioned, an applicant for a
notary public commission shall successfully complete a
training program prepared by the Alabama Probate Judges
Association and the Alabama Law Institute that reinforces and
updates the applicant's knowledge of all matters relevant to
the appointment, authority, duties, and legal and ethical
responsibilities of a notary public. An attorney who is
commissioned as a notary public under this article is not
required to complete the training requirement. A notary public
who is commissioned as of September 1, 2023, shall be required
to complete the training requirement upon submitting an
application for the renewal of his or her expired commission."
"§36-20-72
(a) For the authentication of his or her official acts,
each notary public shall provide a seal of office , which shall
present, by its impression or stamp, the name, office, and the
state for which he or she was appointed .
(b) The form and content of any notarial act on an
instrument to be recorded in the public records, including the
court system, shall include an oath, acknowledgment, and
signature of each party to the document, or his or her mark,
and the signature of the notary public and his or her seal of
office by either ink stamp or embossed impression.
(c) Effective October 1, 2026, a notary seal shall be
permanently affixed to each notary stamp and all of the
following information shall be embedded in the notary stamp:
a. The full legal name of the notary public.
b. The commission number of the notary public.
c. The expiration date of the notary's commission.
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c. The expiration date of the notary's commission.
d. The official title "Notary Public, State of
Alabama."
(d) Manual entry of the name or commission expiration
date of a notary public on a notary stamp is strictly
prohibited.
(e) Upon renewal, the Secretary of State's office
shall:
(1) Conduct a verification check to ensure the notary
public is in good legal standing;
(2) Confirm the notary public is alive and has not been
convicted of any crime involving dishonesty or fraud; and
(3) Issue to the applicant an updated notary seal and
stamp as provided in subsection (c).
(f) Any notary public who violates this section by
using an unapproved or manually altered notary stamp shall be
subject to suspension or revocation of commission and civil
penalties. "
"§36-20-75
(a) The commissioning judge of probate, or his or her
successor in office, may issue a warning to a notary public or
restrict, suspend, or revoke a notarial commission for a
violation of this article and on any ground for which an
application for a commission may be denied under this article.
A period of restriction, suspension, or revocation does not
extend the expiration date of a commission.
(b) Except as otherwise permitted by law, an individual
who commits any of the following acts is guilty of a Class C
misdemeanor:
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misdemeanor:
(1) Holding one's self out to the public as a notary
public without being commissioned.
(2) Performing a notarial act with an expired,
suspended, or restricted commission.
(3) Performing a notarial act before taking an oath of
office.
(4) Charging a fee for a notarial act in excess of the
maximum fee allowed by this article.
(5) Taking an acknowledgment or administering an oath
or affirmation without the principal appearing in person
before the notary public or following the procedures for
remote notarization set out in this article.
(6) Taking an acknowledgment or administering an oath
or affirmation without personal knowledge or satisfactory
evidence of the identity of the principal.
(7) Taking a verification or proof without personal
knowledge or satisfactory evidence of the identity of the
subscribing witness.
(8) Knowingly using a fraudulent notarial stamp in a
real estate transaction.
(c) A notary public is guilty of a Class D felony if he
or she does any of the following with the intent to commit
fraud or to intentionally assist in the commission of a
fraudulent act:
(1) Takes an acknowledgment, or a verification or
proof, or administers an oath or affirmation he or she knows
or reasonably believes to be false.
(2) Takes an acknowledgment or administers an oath or
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(2) Takes an acknowledgment or administers an oath or
affirmation without the principal appearing in person before
the notary public , or without following the procedures for
remote notarization set out in this article.
(3) Takes a verification or proof without the
subscribing witness appearing in person before the notary
public, or without following the procedures for remote
notarization set out in this article.
(4) Performs notarial acts in this state with the
knowledge that he or she is not properly commissioned under
this chapter.
(d) For purposes of enforcing this chapter, all of the
following are applicable:
(1) Any party to a transaction requiring a notarial
certificate for verification, and any attorney licensed in
this state who is involved in such a transaction in any
capacity, may execute an affidavit and file it with either the
Secretary of State or the judge of probate who issued the
commission to the notary public, setting forth the actions
which the affiant alleges are violations. Upon receipt of an
affidavit, the Secretary of State or judge of probate shall
forward the affidavit to the Alabama State Law Enforcement
Agency. Upon receipt of the affidavit, the Alabama State Law
Enforcement Agency shall initiate and carry out, on its own or
in coordination with local law enforcement agencies,
investigations of violations. Founded investigations shall be
referred to the appropriate district attorney for prosecution.
(2) Resignation or expiration of a notarial commission
does not terminate or preclude an investigation into the
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does not terminate or preclude an investigation into the
conduct of a notary public by the Secretary of State, a judge
of probate, or a law enforcement agency who may pursue the
investigation to a conclusion, whereupon it may be a matter of
public record whether or not the finding would have been
grounds for disciplinary action.
(3) The commissioning judge of probate may order
injunctive relief against any individual who violates this
chapter including, but not limited to, ordering the surrender
and destruction of a notary commission and a notary seal.
(e) Any individual who knowingly solicits, coerces, or
in any material way influences a notary public to commit
official misconduct is guilty as an aider and abettor and is
subject to the same level of punishment as the notary public."
Section 3. This act shall become effective on October
1, 2026.
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