1. A notary shall safeguard his or her journal and all other notarial records and surrender or destroy them only by court order or at the direction of the secretary.

2. If not in use, the journal shall be kept in a secure area under the exclusive control of the notary and shall not be used by any other notary, nor surrendered to an employer upon termination of employment.

Terms Used In Missouri Laws 486.715

  • Commission: both the granting of authority to perform notarial acts and the written evidence of the granting of authority to perform such acts. See Missouri Laws 486.600
  • journal: a permanently bound book to create and preserve a chronological record of notarizations that is maintained by the notary public who performed the same notarizations. See Missouri Laws 486.600
  • notary: any person commissioned to perform notarial acts pursuant to this chapter. See Missouri Laws 486.600
  • Secretary: the secretary of state for the state of Missouri. See Missouri Laws 486.600

3. Within ten days after a notary’s journal is discovered to be stolen, lost, destroyed, damaged, or otherwise rendered unusable or unreadable, the notary, after informing the appropriate law enforcement agency in the case of theft or vandalism, shall notify the secretary by any means providing a tangible receipt, including certified mail and electronic transmission, and also provide a copy or identification number of any pertinent police report.

4. Upon resignation, revocation, or expiration of a notary commission, or death of the notary, the journal and notarial records shall be delivered to the secretary in accordance with section 486.795 or 486.800 by any means providing a tangible receipt, including certified mail and electronic transmission.

  Previous section
Next section  
 Chapter 486 Contents