HB 663 Summary

• Requires notaries public to record specified information in a notarial journal (date, time, document type, signer's name and address, identification details, and witnesses) when performing notarial acts on mortgages, deeds, powers of attorney, wills, trusts, and related documents.

• Notaries must retain notarial journals for at least 5 years after the last recorded act and immediately notify the Executive Office of the Governor if a journal becomes lost, stolen, destroyed, or otherwise inaccessible during the retention period.

• Law firm employees performing notarial services must maintain separate notarial journals for acts pertaining to the firm and its clients, which remain the exclusive property of the law firm and must be kept in a secure area.

• Failure to comply with notarial journal requirements constitutes grounds for suspension, nonrenewal, or denial of a notary public commission, but does not invalidate otherwise lawful notarizations.

• Exempts law enforcement officers, correctional officers, state attorneys, and Attorney General employees from notarial journal requirements when acting within the scope of their employment; effective January 1, 2016.