Posted by Phil Hubbard on 7/3/12 6:19pm
Msg #425506

Notaries performing acts outside their states

Hi,

I am almost a new notary (waiting on my commission), and I have a question about performing notarial acts outside the state a notary is commissioned in. This is purely for personal curiosity, doesn't affect anything I plan to do as a notary, etc.

Here's how an online FAQ describes things:

“Can a notary notarize outside of their state?
There are some weird exceptions in two states, but as a general rule, you are not authorized to perform notary acts outside of your state boundaries.”

As it happens, my state, Kentucky, is one of the two states referred to. We have “at large” notaries who can perform notarizations in the usual way – the act must be physically done in KY, but is recognized in all states. But we also have “special commission” notaries. They can perform notarizations anywhere, not just within KY, but those acts are only recognized by KY. A notary can have either commission, or can hold both commissions simultaneously.

I've been Googling, etc, trying to find out more, but have been unable to find out anything more, so I thought I'd ask here. What's the other state, and its “weird exception” (or other states and exceptions, if the FAQ is wrong and there are more than two)?

Thanks,

Phil

Reply by CopperheadVA on 7/3/12 6:22pm
Msg #425507

My guess is the other state is Virginia. Per the VA handbook:

Virginia notaries have limited powers in performing notarial acts outside the Commonwealth of
Virginia. Documents notarized by a Virginia notary who is traveling outside of the
Commonwealth by Virginia no longer need to be for the narrow purpose of being recorded or
filed in Virginia. A traditional notary public may perform any notarial act outside the
Commonwealth for any writing intended to be used in the Commonwealth of Virginia or by the
United States government.

Reply by Phil Hubbard on 7/3/12 7:05pm
Msg #425510

Thanks! That helped narrow down my Google results. I used these search terms -- "notary" "kentucky" "virginia" and "outside state" -- and found a third state, Idaho. From TItle 51, Chapter 1 of Idaho State law:

51-107(2) The powers of a notary public commissioned pursuant to the provision of this chapter may be exercised anywhere within the state of Idaho and may be exercised outside the state only in connection with a deed or other writing to be admitted to record in the state of Idaho.

Reply by MW/VA on 7/3/12 6:30pm
Msg #425508

There are some notaries that are commissioned in more than

one state because they live near bordering states. I live in VA near the NC border, and had considered getting a commission there. NC had a residency requirement--you either have to live there or have a business address. I decided it wouldn't be worth it to me. I'm fortunate enough to live in a densely populated area, and there's plenty of business locally.
Check the requirements of the each state.
Otherwise, you can only ever notarize in the state in which you live & are commissioned. There is no such things as notarizing outside your state.

Reply by VT_Syrup on 7/3/12 6:59pm
Msg #425509

Re: There are some notaries that are commissioned in more than

Old statutes mention commissioners, who are appointed, typically by the governor of a state that expects to receive real estate deeds from another state. The commissioner notarizes signatures in the other state for use in the appointing state. I don't know why this was necessary. But since the office has existed for a long time, there is nothing especially radical about combining the offices of notary and commissioner, and allowing the notary to act out-of-state if the document is to be used in the state where the notary is commissioned. Vermont is one of the states that allows this, if the acts are "acknowledgments for deeds and other conveyances, and powers of attorney for the conveyance of lands" that convey land in Vermont. [Vermont Statutes Annotated Title 27 § 379(a)].

Reply by Phil Hubbard on 7/3/12 8:02pm
Msg #425517

Re: There are some notaries that are commissioned in more than

Thanks! I'm not an attorney, and I might be completely wrong, but after reading your comments and taking another look, it sounds like KY's "special commission" notaries serve the same purpose and are limited to those sorts of notarial acts -- land deeds and similar "filings" and "recordations."

Reply by MW/VA on 7/3/12 7:08pm
Msg #425511

Sorry, I misunderstood the question. n/m

Reply by Notary1/CO on 7/3/12 9:09pm
Msg #425518

Some states grant authority to notaries in neighboring states. For example, notaries in Montana and Wyoming may notarize in either state. See National Notary magazine, January 2011, page 9, for a complete list of states offering authority to non-residents, commuting notaries, etc. at http://cdn.nationalnotary.org/reference_material_and_publications/the_national_notary/012011mag.pdf

Federal law authorizes certain individuals serving with or working for the U.S. Armed Forces to perform notarizations for military personnel and their dependents anywhere in the world. Military Notaries can include commissioned officers, enlisted paralegals, judge advocates or civilian lawyers working as legal assistance attorneys and licensed to practice law in the United States. See US Code 10 USC 936 and 1044a. Here is an Army Notary Manual at http://www.apd.army.mil/pdffiles/r27_55.pdf

Check with your state notary officials regarding jurisdiction before notarizing on Federal property or an Indian reservation.

Reply by LKT/CA on 7/4/12 1:04pm
Msg #425553

No dual commissioning for Californians......

.....regardless of how close a notary lives to a neighboring state's borders.

Reply by Marian_in_CA on 7/4/12 3:20pm
Msg #425559

This isn't entirely true...

A California notary can obtain a commission in Nevada if they are employed in Nevada. They can't use their Nevada commission in California, of course (nor their CA commission in NV) ... but they can have multiple commissions.

The same goes for Oregon -- if you live in CA but work in OR, you can obtain a commission in OR.

California does not allow residents of other states to obtain a CA commission, though, not even if they work in CA.

Reply by LKT/CA on 7/4/12 6:10pm
Msg #425571

Re: This isn't entirely true...

Thought I read somewhere that in order to have another state's commission while residing here, even though the other state allows it because you work over there, CA SOS requires you resign the CA commission. I'll have to do some checking/researching and get back on this one....sure I read it someplace.