Posted by StormIN on 8/26/05 1:00am
Msg #61928

Scratching head..hmmm....

I have been looking like crazy for detailed notary laws for my state. This is all I can find. This can't be all there is!! http://www.state.in.us/sos/notary/index.html

Every notary website I visit takes me to this exact website, which is the site for our Secretary of States Office. Somebody please tell me there is more to it than this??

Reply by Ilona_OH on 8/26/05 6:50am
Msg #61942

If you belong to NSA you can print them out from their website.

Reply by Iris_WA on 8/26/05 9:55am
Msg #61958

Caveat: Notaries Public

StormIN -- on briefly checking at the website link you provided, that does appear to be almost all there is on Indiana laws for Notaries Public. If you follow the link within that hyperlink of your State laws, you will see that it is Indiana Code 33, Article 42, which applies and you can research the exact laws. On a quick check, these are not spelled out very much more than the summary provided at the hyperlink you posted. It also appears from that Indiana's notary public laws (among others) may be undergoing revision due to changes enacted during its 2005 Legislative Session.

Not all state laws are as specific as (from reading this board) Florida's and California's. Example, in my state (Washington), they are quite ambiguous and subject to much misinterpretation -- although certainly a bit more specific than Indiana's.

(Example: The NNA summarizes my states's laws by saying that fees are chargeable at $5 for the first two signatures and $5 for each signature thereafter. This is apparently NOT correct, and there is a substantial difference in the application of the two. For example, in the case of a two-borrower signing with both signing five documents -- the per-signature rate application of the law would equal $45 in fees, whereas the per-person rate applied to each document brings in only $25 in fees since the law is applied to each new document as if it were the ONLY document.)

For the sake of those from WA reading this, I will be double-checking with the SOS Notary Public division to see if I get the same answer from another supervisor. Most of the clerks with whom I initially spoke were baffled, as they were used only to applying the law to a single-document signing.

(I was told Washington's notary laws are being revised to raise fees, but this won't happen for at least this year, and the supervisor with whom I spoke was uncertain exactly when the changes would be enacted.)

BOTTOM LINE: I would heed only the advice provided by the Notary Public division of the Indiana Secretary of State office directly. They are your best bet! Otherwise, the laws are subject to misinterpretation by even those supposedly knowledgeable from out of your state.

Reply by Iris_WA on 8/26/05 9:59am
Msg #61959

Clarification on Caveat: Notaries Public

*(Example: The NNA summarizes my states's laws by saying that fees are chargeable at $5 for the first two signatures and $5 for each signature thereafter. This is apparently NOT correct, and there is a substantial difference in the application of the two. ...)*

This should have said that the law states fees are chargeable at $5 for the first two PERSONS (not "the first two signatures") and $5 for each PERSON (not "each signature" thereafter).

Reply by Nd_WA on 8/26/05 10:33am
Msg #61969

Iris

***(I was told Washington's notary laws are being revised to raise fees...***

The APPLICATION FEE to become a notary was raised sometimes late last year or earlier this year if that's what they are talking about.

Reply by Iris_WA on 8/26/05 11:03am
Msg #61985

Re: Iris

You are correct, Andy, in July, the fee for a first-time AND renewal notary commission went up to $30.

However, this is NOT what I was talking about. The legislature is looking to raise our notary fees to something they consider more fair. She didn't say or know what amount was being considered. It will be more than the current $5, though.

Reply by StormIN on 8/26/05 1:01pm
Msg #62015

Re: Caveat: Notaries Public

Iris_WA your right, there is not much more, but thank you, that is exactly what I was looking for.