...
Qualifications: An applicant for appointment as a Utah Notary must (UCA 46-1-3[2]):
(a) Be at least 18 years old;
(b) Lawfully reside in Utah for at least 30 days preceding application or, effective May 4, 2021, be employed in the state for at least 30 days preceding application;
(c) Be a U.S. citizen or have permanent resident status under Section 245 of the Immigration and Nationality Act;
(d) Be able to read, write and understand English;
(e) Submit to a background check.Course: Not required.
Exam: All applicants for a Utah Notary commission must take a written examination, after which they will receive an acknowledgment indicating either passage or failure of the exam (UCA 46-1-3[5]). To take the online Notary test, applicants must first create a Utah.gov account and log in with a username and password (website, “Notary Test” tab). There are 35 questions on the test, of which 10 are worth 4 points and 25 are worth 1 point. There is a total of 65 points possible. Applicants must pass with 61 points or higher. Applicants who do not pass the exam have 30 days from the date they first took the test to retake it at a cost of $40. After 30 days applicants must pay both the administrative and testing fee of $95. (NPSGH.) Applicants are informed that passing the examination does not automatically submit the application to the Lieutenant Governor’s office. Applicants must upload their bond and oath of office, and sumit submit the background check (NPSGH). (See “Application” and “Background Check,” below).
Both the nonrefundable $95 testing and application fee ($55 for the application and $40 for the testing) are paid together by credit card at the end of the online test. Retaking the examination within 30 days requires payment of an additional $40 fee. After 30 days, the full $95 fee must be paid. Once the credit card payment is processed, the test is automatically submitted. Results are immediate. Applicants who want a record may save and/or print out their answers. Once the applicant logs out or leaves the page displaying the questions or answers, all will be lost except for the score, which will be saved in the database. Applicants who pass the exam will be able to print out an application (website, “Process and Qualifications” and NPSGH).Application: Applicants must print out their application to submit to the Lieutenant Governor. Before submitting the application through the Lieutenant’s online system, the applicant must obtain a $5,000 surety bond from a licensed surety. The bond must cover the applicant’s commission term and be submitted with the completed application.
Applicants must sign the oath of office and have their signature notarized prior to submitting the completed application and bond to the Lieutenant Governor online (UCA 46-1-4; website, “Process and Qualifications”). “The oath of office typically accompanies your bond” (website, “Notarial Bond”). If the bond does not include the oath of office, a downloadable oath of office form is available on the Lieutenant Governor’s website (website, “Notarial Bond).
Upon commissioning, the new Notary will be emailed a “Certificate of Authority of Notary Public” to the email address provided on the application. This certificate must be signed by the Notary in the presence of another Notary. A copy of the certificate must be presented to a seal manufacturer before a seal of office may be made (website, “Process and Qualifications”).Background Check: “(a)The lieutenant governor shall:
“(i) request the Department of Human Resource Management to perform a criminal background check under Subsection 53-10-108(16) on each individual who submits an application under this section;
“(ii) require an individual who submits an application under this section to provide a signed waiver on a form provided by the lieutenant governor that complies with Subsection 53-10-108(4); and
“(iii) provide the Department of Human Resource Management the personal identifying information of each individual who submits an application under this section.
“(b) The Department of Human Resource Management shall:
“(i) perform a criminal background check under Subsection 53-10-108(16) on each individual described in Subsection (3)(a)(i); and
“(ii) provide to the lieutenant governor all information that pertains to the individual described in Subsection (3)(a)(i) that the department identifies or receives as a result of the background check” (UCA 46-1-3[3]).
The “Notary Public Study Guide and Handbook” states the background check is submitted through the Lieutenant Governor’s office and that applicants will not be notified of the results.Nonresidents: Effective May 4, 2021, nonresidents who are employed in Utah for at least 30 days prior to application may be commissioned as a Utah Notary (UCA 46-1-3[2][b]).
Reappointment: The process for renewing a Notary commission is the same as for obtaining an initial commission, including testing (UCA 46-1-3[5][b][ii]).
...
Definition: “‘In the presence of the notary’ means that an individual:
“(a) is physically present with the notary in close enough proximity to see and hear the notary; or
“(b) communicates with a remote notary by means of an electronic device or process that:
“(i) allows the individual and remote notary to communicate with one another simultaneously by sight and sound; and
“(ii) complies with rules made under [UCA] Section 46-1-3.7” (UCA 46-1-2[8]).Notarial Acts: “A notary may not … perform an act described in [UCA 46-1-6] Subsection (1) if the individual for whom the notary performs the notarial act is not in the presence of the notary at the time the notary performs the act” (UCA 46-1-6[2][b]). Subsection (1) names the following notarial acts: a jurat, an acknowledgment, a signature witnessing, a copy certification, and an oath or affirmation.
Additionally, the definitions of “acknowledgment,” “jurat,” “oath and affiramtion” affirmation” and “signature witnessing” in the Notaries Public Reform Act all emphasize that these acts must be performed “in the presence of the notary” (UCA 46-1-2[1], [9], [13], and [20]).
“The signer must always appear before the notary. Title 46 [of the Utah Code Annotated] does not allow for variation on this matter. Many fraud cases begin with stories of why the signer cannot personally appear: ‘He is too ill to come into the office’; ‘The signer is my grandmother and she asked me to get this notarized’; ‘You’ve been my friend for years — you know I wouldn’t lie to you.’ As convincing as these statements can be, none of them justify notarizing the signature without the signer personally present” (NPSGH, “Top Ten Mistakes of Notaries Public”).Remote Notarial Acts: “Notwithstanding any other provision of law, a remote notarization lawfully performed under this chapter satisfies any provision of state law that requires an individual to personally appear before, or be in the presence of, a notary at the time the notary performs a notarial act” (UCA 46-1-3.6[4]).
...
“A remote notary shall take reasonable steps, consistent with industry standards, to ensure that any non-public data transmitted or stored in connection with a remote notarization performed by the remote notary is secure from unauthorized interception or disclosure” (UCA 46-1-3.6[3][b]).
Journal Entries
Pemissible Permissible and Required Entries: “A notary may, for each notarial act the notary performs, and a remote notary shall, for each notarial act the remote notary performs remotely, record the following information in the journal described in [UCA] Section 46-1-13 at the time of notarization:
“(a) the date and time of day of the notarial act;
“(b) the type of notarial act;
“(c) a description of the document or proceeding;
“(d) the signature and printed name and address of each person for whom a notarial act is performed; “(e) the evidence of identity of each person for whom a notarial act is performed, in the form of:
“(i) a statement that the person is ‘personally known’ to the notary;
“(ii) a description of the identification document, its issuing agency, its serial or identification number, and its date of issuance or expiration; or
“(iii) the signature and printed name and address of a credible witness swearing or affirming to the person’s identity;
“(iv) if used for a remote notarization, a description of the dynamic knowledge-based authentication or biometric data analysis that was used to provide satisfactory evidence of identity under [UCA] Subsection 46-1-2(19)(a)(ii); and
“(f) the fee, if any, charged for the notarial act” (UCA 46-1-14[1]).Refusal of Service: “A notary may record in the journal the circumstances in refusing to perform or complete a notarial act” (UCA 46-1-14).
...