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HB1262 • 2026

Notaries; prohibition on certain advertising, investigation by Attorney General.

An Act to amend and reenact § 47.1-15.1 of the Code of Virginia, relating to notaries; prohibition on certain advertising; investigation by Attorney General.

Enacted

This bill passed the Legislature and reached final enactment based on the latest official action.

Sponsor
Glass
Last action
2026-04-13
Official status
Acts of Assembly Chapter
Effective date
Not listed

Plain English Breakdown

The bill does not specify when the new rules will start or what happens if someone breaks these rules before the effective date.

Notaries; Rules on Advertising

This act changes rules for notary publics to prohibit them from advertising as legal advisors and using titles that suggest they can practice law unless they are also licensed lawyers, and it increases fines for breaking these rules.

What This Bill Does

  • It stops notaries from offering or providing legal advice on immigration or other legal matters unless they are authorized or licensed to do so.
  • It bans notaries from using titles like 'notario,' 'notario publico,' or 'licenciado' that suggest they can practice law, unless they actually have the right to do so.
  • The Attorney General may issue a civil investigative demand if there's reason to believe someone is breaking these rules.
  • First-time violators of the advertising rule now face a fine up to $2,500 instead of $500. Repeat offenders could be fined up to $5,000.
  • The Attorney General can sue to stop violations and get back money spent on investigating or preparing for court.

Who It Names or Affects

  • Notary publics in Virginia
  • People who might hire notaries for legal advice

Terms To Know

Civil investigative demand
A request from the Attorney General to get information about possible violations of laws.
Notario publico
A term that suggests someone is a legal advisor, but in this case, notaries can't use it unless they are also licensed lawyers.

Limits and Unknowns

  • The bill does not specify when the new rules will start.
  • It doesn't say what happens if someone breaks these rules before the effective date.

Bill History

  1. 2026-04-13 Governor

    Approved by Governor-Chapter 763 (effective 7/1/2026)

  2. 2026-04-13 Governor

    Acts of Assembly Chapter text (CHAP0763)

  3. 2026-03-10 House

    Enrolled Bill communicated to Governor on March 10, 2026

  4. 2026-03-10 Governor

    Governor's Action Deadline 11:59 p.m., April 13, 2026

  5. 2026-03-09 House

    Signed by Speaker

  6. 2026-03-09 Senate

    Signed by President

  7. 2026-03-09 House

    Enrolled

  8. 2026-03-09 House

    Bill text as passed House and Senate (HB1262ER)

  9. 2026-03-09 House

    Fiscal Impact Statement from Department of Planning and Budget (HB1262)

  10. 2026-03-03 Public Safety

    Fiscal Impact Statement from Department of Planning and Budget (HB1262)

  11. 2026-03-02 Senate

    Read third time

  12. 2026-03-02 Senate

    Passed Senate Block Vote (40-Y 0-N 0-A)

  13. 2026-02-27 Senate

    Rules suspended

  14. 2026-02-27 Senate

    Passed by for the day

  15. 2026-02-27 Senate

    Constitutional reading dispensed Block Vote (on 2nd reading) (37-Y 0-N 0-A)

  16. 2026-02-27 Senate

    Passed by for the day Block Vote (Voice Vote)

  17. 2026-02-25 Courts of Justice

    Reported from Courts of Justice (15-Y 0-N)

  18. 2026-02-23 Commerce and Labor

    Rereferred from Commerce and Labor to Courts of Justice (12-Y 0-N)

  19. 2026-02-13 Senate

    Constitutional reading dispensed (on 1st reading)

  20. 2026-02-13 Commerce and Labor

    Referred to Committee on Commerce and Labor

  21. 2026-02-12 House

    Read third time and passed House (94-Y 3-N 0-A)

  22. 2026-02-11 House

    Read second time

  23. 2026-02-11 House

    committee substitute agreed to

  24. 2026-02-11 House

    Engrossed by House - committee substitute

  25. 2026-02-10 House

    Read first time

  26. 2026-02-09 Public Safety

    Committee substitute printed 26107391D-H1

  27. 2026-02-06 Subcommittee #3

    Subcommittee recommends reporting with substitute (5-Y 0-N)

  28. 2026-02-06 Subcommittee #3

    House subcommittee offered

  29. 2026-02-06 Public Safety

    Reported from Public Safety with substitute (21-Y 1-N)

  30. 2026-02-03 Subcommittee #3

    Assigned HMPPS sub: Subcommittee #3

  31. 2026-01-29 Labor and Commerce

    Referred from Labor and Commerce and referred to Public Safety (Voice Vote)

  32. 2026-01-14 House

    Prefiled and ordered printed; Offered 01-14-2026 26103340D

  33. 2026-01-14 Labor and Commerce

    Referred to Committee on Labor and Commerce

Official Summary Text

Notaries; prohibition on certain advertising; investigation by Attorney General; civil penalties.
Provides that the Attorney General may issue a civil investigative demand whenever he has reasonable cause to believe that any notary public has, in violation of law, (i) offered or provided legal advice on immigration or other legal matters or represented any person in immigration proceedings or (ii) has assumed, used, or advertised the title "notario," "notario publico," or "licenciado," or other term in a language other than English that indicates that such notary is authorized or licensed to practice law. The bill increases the civil penalties for a violation of clause (ii) from up to $500 to up to $2,500 for a first violation and from up to $1,000 to up to $5,000 for a second or subsequent violation. The bill also provides that the Attorney General may seek to enjoin any such violation and may recover restitution, reasonable expenses, and reasonable attorney fees.

Current Bill Text

Read the full stored bill text 
An Act to amend and reenact §
47.1-15.1
of the Code of Virginia, relating to notaries; prohibition on certain advertising; investigation by Attorney General.
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Virginia:
1. That §
47.1-15.1
of the Code of Virginia is amended and reenacted as follows:
§
47.1-15.1
. Additional prohibition on advertising; penalties.
A. A notary public shall not offer or provide legal advice on immigration or other legal matters, or represent any person in immigration proceedings, unless such notary public is authorized or licensed to practice law in the Commonwealth or is accredited pursuant to 8 C.F.R. § 292.2 to practice immigration law or represent persons in immigration proceedings.
B. A notary public shall not assume, use, or advertise the title of "notario," "notario publico," or "licenciado," or a term in a language other than English that indicates in such language that the notary is authorized to provide legal advice or practice law, unless such notary public is authorized or licensed to practice law in Virginia.
C.
Whenever the Attorney General has reasonable cause to believe that any person has engaged in, is engaging in, or is about to engage in any violation of this section, the Attorney General may issue a civil investigative demand. The provisions of §
59.1-9.10
shall apply mutatis mutandis to a civil investigative demand issued pursuant to this section.
D.
Any person who violates the provisions of subsection B is subject to a civil penalty not to exceed
$500
$2,500
for a first violation and a civil penalty not to exceed
$1,000
$5,000
for a second or subsequent violation. All penalties arising under this section shall be recovered in a civil action brought by the Attorney General in the name of the Commonwealth and the proceeds shall be deposited into the Legal Aid Services Fund established in §
17.1-278
.
In such civil action, the Attorney General may seek to enjoin any violation and may recover restitution, reasonable expenses incurred in investigating and preparing the case, and reasonable attorney fees.
D.
E.
Nothing in this section shall preempt or preclude additional civil, administrative, or criminal penalties authorized by law.