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ENGROSSED HOUSE
BILL NO. 2265 By: Miller of the House
and
Alvord of the Senate
An Act relating to notaries public; amending 49 O.S.
2021, Section 1, which relates to appointment of
notaries public; adding examination requirement;
updating outline; requiring examination to become a
notary public; providing course of study; requiring
maintenance of certain journal; prescribing journal
criteria; requiring certain notice; requiring
retention of journal; providing for transmitting
journal to Secretary of State; providing for
codification; and providing an effective date.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF OKLAHOMA:
SECTION 1. AMENDATORY 49 O.S. 2021, Section 1, is
amended to read as follows:
Section 1. A. The Secretary of State shall appoint and
commission in this state notaries public, who shall hold their
office for four (4) years.
B. An applicant for a new notary commission shall be eighteen
(18) years of age or older, a citizen of the United States, and
employed within this state or a legal resident of this state, and
shall have passed the examination required in Section 2 of this act.
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A felony conviction shall be grounds for removal of a person from
the office of notary public.
C. All notary commissions shall run in the name and by the
authority of the State of Oklahoma, be signed by the Secretary of
State, and sealed with the Great Seal of the State of Oklahoma.
Commissions shall not be attested.
D. Any person filing an application for a new notary commission
shall pay Twenty-five Dollars ($25.00) to the Secretary of State
with the application. Any person filing an application for a
renewal of a notary commission shall pay Twenty Dollars ($20.00) to
the Secretary of State with the application. Any person requiring
"same day filing service" shall pay Twenty-five Dollars ($25.00) to
the Secretary of State in addition to the applicable filing fee.
These funds shall be deposited in the Revolving Fund created for the
Secretary of State pursuant to the provisions of Section 276.1 of
Title 62 of the Oklahoma Statutes.
SECTION 2. NEW LAW A new section of law to be codified
in the Oklahoma Statutes as Section 1.2 of Title 49, unless there is
created a duplication in numbering, reads as follows:
A. An applicant for a new notary commission must pass an
examination administered by the Office of the Oklahoma Secretary of
State or an entity approved by the Secretary of State. The
examination must be based on the course of study described in
subsection B of this section.
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B. The Secretary of State or an entity approved by the
Secretary of State shall offer regularly a course of study to
applicants who do not hold a notary commission in this state. The
course must cover the laws, rules, procedures, and ethics relevant
to notarial acts.
SECTION 3. NEW LAW A new section of law to be codified
in the Oklahoma Statutes as Section 13 of Title 49, unless there is
created a duplication in numbering, reads as follows:
A. Except for the notarial acts performed for an established
business relationship during the ordinary course of business, a
notary public shall maintain a journal in which the notary public
records all notarial acts that the notary public performs. The
notary public shall retain the journal for ten (10) years after the
performance of the last notarial act recorded in the journal.
B. A journal may be created on a tangible medium or in an
electronic format. A notary public shall maintain only one journal
at a time to chronicle all notarial acts, whether those notarial
acts are performed regarding tangible or electronic records. If the
journal is maintained on a tangible medium, it must be a permanent,
bound register with numbered pages. If the journal is maintained in
an electronic format, it must be in a permanent, tamper-evident
electronic format complying with the rules of the Secretary of
State.
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C. An entry in a journal must be made contemporaneously with
performance of the notarial act and contain the following
information:
1. The date and time of the notarial act;
2. A description of the record, if any, and type of notarial
act;
3. The full name and address of each individual for whom the
notarial act is performed;
4. If identity of the individual is based on personal
knowledge, a statement to that effect;
5. If identity of the individual is based on satisfactory
evidence, a brief description of the method of identification and
the identification credential presented, if any, including the date
of issuance and expiration of any identification credential; and
6. The fee, if any, charged by the notary public.
D. If a notary public's journal is lost or stolen, the notary
public shall promptly notify the Office of the Oklahoma Secretary of
State on discovering that the journal is lost or stolen.
E. On resignation from, or the revocation or suspension of, a
notary public's commission, the notary public shall retain the
notary public's journal in accordance with subsection A of this
section and inform the Office of the Secretary of State where the
journal is located.
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F. Instead of retaining a journal as provided in subsections A
and E of this section, a current or former notary public may
transmit the journal to the Office of the Secretary of State or a
repository approved by the Secretary of State.
G. On the death or adjudication of incompetency of a current or
former notary public, the notary public's personal representative or
guardian or any other person knowingly in possession of the journal
shall transmit it to the Office of the Secretary of State or a
repository approved by the Secretary of State.
SECTION 4. This act shall become effective November 1, 2025.
Passed the House of Representatives the 26th day of March, 2025.
Presiding Officer of the House
of Representatives
Passed the Senate the _____ day of __________, 2025.
Presiding Officer of the Senate