Posted by Susan Fischer on 8/9/13 9:01am
Msg #479769

Of interest to Oregon Notaries:

The NEW Notary Public Program!



The 2013 Oregon Legislature adopted the Revised Uniform Law on Notarial Acts, completely replacing the old notarial statutes with modern and standard language. Please see our announcement page at http://www.filinginoregon.com/pages/notary/notary_news/notary-law-changes.html to see a copy of the new law and proposed rules. To match the updated laws, the Secretary of State has modernized its method of commissioning Oregon notaries public, too. The new system will be in place beginning September 3, 2013.



Whether you are a new notary, being re-commissioned, or simply need to update your record, you may be affected by these changes.



Dates to note:
•August 21 - LAST DAY to finish the old online Oregon Notary Education tutorial. If you pass the final test by that date, you can use the certificate number to apply under the new system. If you have not finished the tutorial or passed the test, you will need to start over September 3.
•August 21 - New forms posted on the Notary website. These forms are best submitted after September 3rd.
•August 21 - The revised Notary Public Guide will go online. You will want to download or bookmark the copy because many of the expectations of notaries public have changed, including a new kind of notarial act for the disabled and the opportunity to notarize electronic records.
•August 23 - LAST DAY to submit a commission under the old laws. New commission applications must be RECEIVED by the 23rd to be accepted and processed under the old rules.
•September 3 - FIRST DAY of new law and new system. All commission applications must be done online. Amendments shall be free.
•September 3 - FIRST DAY of the new Oregon Notary Education tutorial. New applicants (and other interested parties) can take the free online class and learn the new law changes.

September 30 - LAST DAY to submit old amendment forms. After this day, any of the old forms will be rejected without processing.


Don't want anyone missing deadlines...

Reply by VT_Syrup on 8/9/13 11:22am
Msg #479786

I'm interested in electronic signatures. That's why I participated as an observer during the drafting of the Revised Uniform Law on Notarial Acts. I read the proposed Oregon notary rules from the Secretary of State, and noticed some problems:

1. The law requires technology neutrality, but the rule won't allow any technology that can't produce a format known as PDF/A. That's a form of PDF that's supposed to be good for archival storage.

2. The rules for electronic journals include just about every electronic journal roadblock that's ever been discussed on this forum. Although it's hazy, the notary may be required to use a technology that prevents the notary from changing transactions after they've been completed. Also, the signer has to electronically sign the electronic journal in a way that is unique to the signer and tamper-evident. I don't know of any off-the-shelf electronic notary journal that can do that. It certainly isn't technology-neutral, as the law requires.

Reply by VT_Syrup on 8/9/13 7:52pm
Msg #479888

I wrote a comment to the email mentioned at the Oregon page. It turns out that when a notary signs up to use a particular form of electronic notarization, they do have to submit an "exemplar" of what an electronically notarized document would look like, but the exemplar only has to have the same visual appearance as an electronically notarized document; the signatures don't have to work. So, for example, you could print an electronically signed Microsoft Word document, print it, scan it in the PDF/A format, and submit.

I still don't think there are any off-the-shelf electronic journal products that would satisfy their requirements. But Oregon notaries are allowed to use paper journals for electronic signings, so that difficulty doesn't prevent electronic notarization.

Reply by OR on 8/9/13 11:53am
Msg #479795

Thank you Susan you rock. n/m

Reply by VT_Syrup on 8/9/13 12:13pm
Msg #479803

Oregon will require staples like CA

Section 14 of Oregon's new law requires, in part, "(7) If a notarial act is performed regarding a tangible record, a certificate of a notarial act must be part of or securely affixed to the record." Oregon's law does not contain the commentary of the committee that drafted it. That may be found at

http://www.uniformlaws.org/Act.aspx?title=Law%20on%20Notarial%20Acts,%20Revised

The commentary on page 33 states "Subsection (f) seeks to assure the unified integrity of the record and the related certificate of notarial act. With respect to a notarial act evidenced on a tangible record, this subsection requires that the certificate must be a part of, or securely attached to, the record. If the certificate is not a part of the record itself, the means of attaching the certificate to the record are not specified. However, STAPLING IS A COMMON MEANS." [Emphasis added.]

Reply by Susan Fischer on 8/9/13 1:22pm
Msg #479823

That's nothing new. n/m

Reply by sigtogo/OR on 8/9/13 7:29pm
Msg #479885

thanks for posting Susan. IMPORTANT CHANGES

1. ID requirement changes
2. credible witness changes
3. electronic signings better defined but I have questions.
4. certificate requirement changes
5. commission name now required to be same as on driver's license-last time they added my middle initial, now the entire middle name.
6. disable person can appoint someone to sign for them.


most of this is good stuff! not happy about the middle name though-time to create my very own squiggle!

Reply by Susan Fischer on 8/9/13 11:09pm
Msg #479919

Re: thanks for posting Susan. IMPORTANT CHANGES

<laughter> Yep, we've come a long way from two CCs, but no passport w/o physical description days. #3 will continue to evolve too, I suspect.

Practice that siggy, Oregon sisters and brothers, and all the best from the former 'Coastal Flier'.