(a) (1) An applicant for a commission as a notary public may apply for registration with the Secretary of State to perform online notarization by complying with the requirements of Chapter 3 (commencing with Section 8200).

(2) A notary public who holds a California notary public commission but is not yet registered with the Secretary of State to perform online notarizations may obtain registration before the expiration of their term by resigning their current commission in the manner prescribed by the Secretary of State and meeting the requirements of Article 1 (commencing with Section 8200) and Article 2 (commencing with Section 8231). The notary public’s current commission shall remain in full force and effect until the effective date of the new commission.

Terms Used In California Government Code 8231.3

  • Audio-video recording: means a recording of the audio-video communication of an online notarial act required by Section 8231. See California Government Code 8231.1
  • Depository: means an individual or entity that has an active registration with the Secretary of State pursuant to Section 8231. See California Government Code 8231.1
  • Electronic: means relating to technology having electrical, digital, magnetic, wireless, optical, electromagnetic, or similar capabilities. See California Government Code 8231.1
  • Online notarization platform: means an individual or entity that has an active registration with the Secretary of State pursuant to Section 8231. See California Government Code 8231.1
  • Online notarization system: means the computer hardware and software that enable a notary public to do both of the following:

    California Government Code 8231.1

  • Person: includes any person, firm, association, organization, partnership, limited liability company, business trust, corporation, or company. See California Government Code 17
  • Records of online notarial acts: means , collectively, the electronic journal entries required by Section 8231. See California Government Code 8231.1
  • State: means the State of California, unless applied to the different parts of the United States. See California Government Code 18
  • Subdivision: means a subdivision of the section in which the term occurs unless some other section is expressly mentioned. See California Government Code 10

(b) (1) In order to register with the Secretary of State to perform online notarizations, an applicant shall have completed the following requirements:

(A) During the commissioning for appointment as a notary public, the applicant shall have satisfactorily completed the six-hour course of study approved by the Secretary of State as required by paragraph (3) of subdivision (a) of Section 8201 and satisfactorily completed a written examination as required by paragraph (4) of subdivision (a) of Section 8201.

(B) The applicant shall have satisfactorily completed a two-hour course of study approved by the Secretary of State pursuant to Section 8201.2 concerning the functions and duties of a notary public authorized to perform online notarizations under this article and have satisfactorily completed a written examination prescribed by the Secretary of State to determine the fitness of the person to exercise the functions and duties of a notary public authorized to perform online notarizations. All questions shall be based on the laws of this state as set forth in the booklet of the laws of California relating to notaries public distributed by the Secretary of State.

(2) A notary public who applies for reappointment and authorization to perform online notarizations shall satisfactorily complete the three-hour refresher course of study required by paragraph (2) of subdivision (b) of Section 8201 and the two-hour course of study approved by the Secretary of State required by subparagraph (B) of paragraph (1).

(c) A notary public shall be issued only one commission number for each term, which shall have the same meaning as Section 8204.

(d) The Secretary of State may charge an additional fee for an application for registration submitted pursuant to this section in an amount necessary to cover the additional costs of administering this article.

(e) If the notary public ceases to use an online notarization platform or depository, neither the notary public nor the online notarization platform or depository is absolved of their respective duties under this article, or the rules and regulations adopted pursuant to this article, with respect to the security, preservation, and production of records of online notarial acts generated using the online notarization system of the online notarization platform or stored by the depository, including the electronic journal required by Section 8231.5 and the audio-video recording required by Section 8231.6.

(Added by Stats. 2023, Ch. 291, Sec. 8. (SB 696) Effective January 1, 2024.)

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