Posted by Dennis D Broadbooks on 8/6/09 9:06am
Msg #298904

I've a Question for Those in States Where a Commission #...

...is required. When you are "assigned" your commission #, is that a PERMANENT # which NEVER changes...even when you're re-commissioned? I'm asking this due to a situation here in MO which came to my attention yesterday. I'll go in more detail later. Your responses are appreciated.

Reply by PAW on 8/6/09 9:18am
Msg #298909

Yes and No, for Florida.

In Florida, a new commission number is assigned each time a commission is renewed. However, Florida does maintain a "Notary ID Number" which is issued for NEW commissions and remains the same through renewals.

Reply by BestFlCloser on 8/6/09 9:19am
Msg #298910

Dennis... In NY you maintain your number. I am commissioned in Florida and I'm not sure if they assign a new number or not upon renewal. HTH

Reply by Linda Spanski on 8/6/09 9:29am
Msg #298913

In CA, a new number every 4 years n/m

Reply by aatatusko on 8/6/09 9:34am
Msg #298914

In VA # is permanent n/m

Reply by Vince/KS on 8/6/09 10:20am
Msg #298925

According to the SOS Office the number

changes every four years that is on the notary commission ID and certificate. That is the only number the public is aware of. They do, however, assign every notary a different number for internal only purposes and that number does not change.

Reply by YumaAgent on 8/6/09 10:41am
Msg #298927

AZ - Commission # assigned are permanent n/m

Reply by Dennis D Broadbooks on 8/6/09 10:50am
Msg #298928

It Appears from the Responses I've Received...

...(both public & private) that there's a "mixed bag" when it comes to a "permanent" # being assigned across the land. Here's the situation I was faced with yesterday & I'll begin by discussing the Notary statute change we had in MO back in 2004.

On August 28, 2004 our MO Notary Statutes were changed to require the assigning of a commission # to all Notaries Public commissioned (new or renewal) from that date forward. The specific revised Notary statute is found in our MO Notary Handbook, page 9, & under statute #'s 486.280 & 486.285 which state the following (I've purposely abbreviated the statutes for brevity sake):

"486.280 Printed information required on notary certificate...
...
(4) A commission number, provided that the notary public has been issued a commission number by the Secretary of State. Effective August 28, 2004, the Secretary of State shall issue a commission number for all new and renewal notary appointments."

486.285 Seal, contents, form...
(1) Each notary public shall provide, keep, and use a seal...
...The seal shall contain the notary's name exactly as indicated on the commission and the words "Notary Seal", "Notary Public", and "State of Missouri" and, after August 28, 2004 the commission number assigned by the Secretary of State, provided that the notary public has been issued a commission number by the Secretary of State...

Sounds fairly straightforward, correct? Well leave it to me to throw a monkey wrench into the process. My commission was up for renewal on 09/02/2004 & as a result I was one of the 1st Notaries to receive a commission # under the new statute. I was "so new" in fact our SOS didn't even have a commission # to assign me until AFTER I'd ordered my notary seal (from NotRot naturally!). They hadn't updated their renewal process to account for the new statute & as a result was informed by our SOS I didn't even have to include a commission # for the balance of my commission period to 09/02/2008. Sometime in 2007 I did end up ordering a couple of new seals from NotRot which contained my commission #.

Here's where the problem begins, although at the time I wasn't aware it was an issue. I started the process of renewing my Notary commission sometime in July of 2008 & received the paperwork from the SOS in August with plenty of time to order my new Notary seal. I went to the NotRot site, filled out all the necessary info including what I thought was my permanent commission #, & ordered a couple. I've been using this new seal since September of last year stamping away fat, dumb, & happy. Happy until yesterday that is. I got a call from our SOS asking me about a notarization I performed for one of my close friends who's going through an adoption process. One of the many documents requiring notarization was a form requiring an apostille through the MO SOS office & this is the document our SOS was calling me about. They informed me the SOS is rejecting approval of the apostille due to the fact my commission # was wrong! I felt like I'd been hit with a chair. She read off the commission # they had for me & said I was one # off what it should be. My seal read 04445170 & my "true" commision # is 08445170. I couldn't believe what she was saying & after going to the wall of my office to read my Notary commission form, sure enough...I had the wrong #. I asked to speak to the supervisor of our Commissions division & after some discussion came to realize what had transpired. The original commission # I was assigned in 2004 started with "04" for a reason. The SOS decided (there's nothing in our MO statutes which address how commission #'s are to be assigned) they would use the year a commission was renewed as the 1st two digits they assign & the other numbers would remain the same from renewal to renewal. Looking back I know when I saw the commission # for the 2008 renewal it looked "the same" to me as what I had previously & went under the assumption we were using the exact same commission #'s from year to year here in MO. Needless to say, my bad!

How was this resolved? 1st of all I have a new stamp on order (with the correct commission #!) from NotRot & based on the excellent service they provide I'll more than likely have it by tomorrow. Secondly our SOS ran this situation by their attorney & due to the extenuating circumstances have processed the apostille "as is" without rejecting it. Thank you, thank you, thank you!

I close by cautioning any MO Notaries reading this to make sure when your commission renews to note the "new" (but not ENTIRELY new) commission # on your form. My opinion is there's going to be quite a number of Notaries renewing who'll fall into the same trap I did & in fact might already be. Our head commissions officer did say there's going to be legislation proposed to "tighten up" some of the language in the 2004 revisions & this section will be looked at as well. I suggested they make it very clear in any new forms they send that there are new commission #'s assigned on renewal.

Reply by JanetLA on 8/6/09 12:31pm
Msg #298938

Louisiana commissions are for life, number is the same n/m

Reply by BrendaTx on 8/6/09 2:40pm
Msg #298997

Wow, Dennis. What an "adventure". n/m

Reply by Dennis D Broadbooks on 8/6/09 3:01pm
Msg #299012

In a Phone Conversation with Traci @ NotRot...

...a few minutes ago, she said they'd received a call from our MO SOS earlier today advising them of MO's policy for issuing renewal commission #'s. When I spoke with the MO SOS first thing this morning their chief commissions officer, Brenda Rieke, indicated they may start contacting the companies who issue stamps for MO Notaries...but I never dreamed they'd be THIS proactive!

Reply by taxpro on 8/6/09 4:13pm
Msg #299036

In KS our # changes every time but..

it's not required to be on our seal anyway, so it's no big deal. According to our SOS office, we don't really "renew" our commissions. We have to reapply every four years.

Reply by pan/nd on 8/6/09 12:34pm
Msg #298940

In ND and MN commission # does not change upon renewal n/m

Reply by Cari on 8/6/09 2:46pm
Msg #299001

....I had two different com numbers but I suspect that's

.....due to me taking a long break....

....my first expired in 1995 then I renewed in 2008 and got a new number

....so not sure if I helped here but we'll see if my current com # changes when I renew in 2011.

Reply by Linda Juenger on 8/6/09 3:00pm
Msg #299011

Re: ....I had two different com numbers but I suspect that's

I will soon find out. Just mailed my renewal in , My commission expires in Sept. I'm now anxious to see if I get the same # or if it changes.