State Government (GSG) — Title 18. Notarial Acts

A Senator may delegate the Senator’s authority to approve applicants under this subsection to the Secretary of State.

If a Senator has delegated approval authority under subparagraph (i) of this paragraph, the Governor may appoint and commission an individual as a notary public as provided in this title on approval of the application by the Secretary of State.

be a resident of the State; or

have a place of employment or practice in the State;

beginning October 1, 2021, for an initial applicant, have completed the course and passed the examination offered under subsection (b) of this section; or

beginning October 1, 2021, for a renewal applicant, have completed the course offered under subsection (b) of this section;

Except as provided in subparagraph (ii) of this paragraph, an application by a resident of the State shall bear or be accompanied by the written approval of a Senator representing the senatorial district and subdistrict in which the applicant resides or, if that office is vacant, by any Senator’s written approval.

If a Senator has delegated approval authority under § 18–101 of this subtitle, the application shall bear or be accompanied by the written approval of the Secretary of State.

a fee of $1 for qualifying the notary and registering the name, address, and commission expiration date of the notary; and

a fee of $11 or a lesser amount as prescribed by the Secretary of State for the commission issued.

The Secretary of State may fix other reasonable fees as required for the processing of applications and the issuance and renewal of notarial commissions and may charge a reasonable fee not exceeding $25 for checks returned for insufficient funds.

The Secretary of State shall distribute any fees collected under subparagraph (i) of this paragraph to the Notary Public Fund established under § 18–109 of this subtitle.

When the Secretary of State receives notice that a check or other negotiable instrument, given by an applicant in payment of a fee under this section has been dishonored, the Secretary shall inform the applicant, by regular mail, sent to the last home address the applicant has given to the Secretary, that the commission will be revoked by operation of law if within 60 days after the date of the notice the applicant fails to make payment of the fee and any late charge, or fails to provide evidence that the notice of dishonor was in error.

The removal of a notary public from office under this paragraph is not subject to the provisions applicable to removal under § 18–104 of this subtitle.

a failure to comply with this title or regulations adopted under this title;

a fraudulent, dishonest, or deceitful misstatement or omission in the application for a commission;

a conviction of a felony or crime involving fraud, dishonesty, or deceit;

a finding against or an admission of liability in a legal proceeding or disciplinary action based on fraud, dishonesty, or deceit;

failure to discharge any duty required of a notary public, whether imposed by any federal or State law or regulations adopted by the Secretary of State;

use of false or misleading advertising or representation by the notary public representing that the notary public has a duty, right, or privilege that the notary public does not have; and

denial, refusal to renew, revocation, suspension, or conditions of a notary public commission by another state.

The Secretary of State may set by regulation a different amount that a notary public may charge under paragraph (1) of this subsection.

An amount set under subparagraph (i) of this paragraph may exceed the amount established under paragraph (1) of this subsection.

The Secretary of State may publish information relating to the status of the commission of a notary public or former notary public, including the date of commencement and expiration of any suspension, nonrenewal, or revocation of the commission.

The disclosure of information under subparagraph (i) of this paragraph is deemed compliant with § 4–332(b)(4) of the General Provisions Article.

taking an acknowledgment;

administering an oath or affirmation;

taking a verification on oath or affirmation;

witnessing or attesting a signature;

certifying or attesting a copy; and

noting a protest of a negotiable instrument.

reasonably determine whether the electronic record is in a tamper–evident format; and

personally print or supervise the printing of the electronic record onto paper or other tangible medium.

a passport, driver’s license, consular identification, or government–issued nondriver identification card; or

another form of government identification issued to the individual that:

personally appearing before the notarial officer; and

known to the notarial officer or whom the notarial officer can identify on the basis of a passport, driver’s license, consular identification, or government–issued nondriver identification card.

has personal knowledge under § 18–206(a) of this subtitle of the identity of the remotely located individual;

has satisfactory evidence of the identity of the remotely located individual by verification on oath or affirmation from a credible witness appearing before and identified by the notary public under § 18–206(b) of this subtitle or as a remotely located individual under this section; or

has obtained satisfactory evidence of the identity of the remotely located individual by:

the record:

the notary public has no actual knowledge that the act of making the statement or signing the record is prohibited by the foreign state in which the remotely located individual is located.

signs, during the audio–visual recording under subsection (a)(3) of this section:

sends the tangible record and declaration to the notary public not later than 3 days after the notarial act was performed; and

records the individual signing the record and declaration in the audio–visual recording under subsection (a)(3) of this section; and

after receipt of the tangible record and declaration from the individual, executes a certificate of notarial act required by § 18–215 of this subtitle which must include a statement substantially in the following form:

retain the audio–visual recording created under subsection (a)(3) of this section; or

cause the audio–visual recording to be retained by a repository designated by or on behalf of the person required to retain the recording.

notify the Secretary of State within 30 days after assuming authority; and

comply with all requirements in this subtitle regarding the maintenance and storage of the audio–visual recordings.

that the notary public will be performing notarial acts facilitated by communication technology; and

of the technologies the notary public intends to use.

be executed contemporaneously with the performance of the notarial act;

be signed and dated by the notarial officer and, if the notarial officer is a notary public, be signed in the same manner as on file with the clerk of the circuit court for the county in which the notary public resides or was qualified;

identify the jurisdiction in which the notarial act is performed;

contain the title of office of the notarial officer; and

if the notarial officer is a notary public, indicate the date of expiration, if any, of the notarial officer’s commission.

the notary public’s name and office;

any other information required by the Secretary of State; and

Each notary public is responsible for the security of the notary public’s stamping device.

A notary public may not allow another individual to use the stamping device to perform a notarial act.

If the journal is maintained on a tangible medium, the journal must be a permanent, bound register with numbered pages.

If the journal is maintained in an electronic format, the journal must be in a permanent, tamper–evident electronic format that complies with any regulations adopted by the Secretary of State under § 18–222 of this subtitle.

the date and time the notarial act was performed;

a description of the record, if any, and type of notarial act;

the full name and address of each individual for whom the notarial act is performed;

if the identity of the individual is based on personal knowledge, a statement to that effect;

if the identity of the individual is based on satisfactory evidence, a brief description of the method of identification and the identification credential presented, if any, including the date of issuance and expiration of any identification credential;

the fee, if any, charged by the notary public; and

an indication of whether an individual making a statement or executing a signature which is the subject of the notarial act appeared in the notary public’s physical presence or by means of communication technology.

notify the Secretary of State that the notary public will be performing notarial acts with respect to the electronic records; and

identify the technology the notary public intends to use.

is completed with the information required by § 18–215(a) of this subtitle;

includes an affixed or embossed official stamp as required by § 18–215(b) of this subtitle; and

is attached to or made a part of a tangible copy of an electronic record.

prescribe the means of performing a notarial act involving a remotely located individual using communication technology;

establish standards for communication technology, credential analysis, and identity proofing;

establish requirements or procedures to approve providers of communication technology and the processes of credential analysis and identity proofing;

establish standards and a period of retention of an audio–visual recording created under § 18–214(a)(3) of this subtitle; and

prescribe the methods for reasonable confirmation of a tangible record by a notary public.

prescribe the manner of performing notarial acts regarding tangible and electronic records;

include provisions to ensure that any change to or tampering with a record bearing a certificate of a notarial act is self–evident;

include provisions to ensure integrity in the creation, transmittal, storage, or authentication of electronic records or signatures;

if the Governor has delegated authority under § 18–104(b) of this title, prescribe the process of granting, renewing, conditioning, denying, suspending, or revoking a notary public commission and assuring the trustworthiness of an individual holding a commission as a notary public; and

include provisions to prevent fraud or mistake in the performance of notarial acts.

use appropriate technologies to confirm the integrity of visual, physical, or cryptographic security features;

use appropriate technologies to confirm that the identification credential is not fraudulent or inappropriately modified;

use information held or published by the issuing source or an authoritative source, as available, to confirm the validity of personal details and identification credential details; and

provide output of the authenticity test to the notary public; and

the live transmission of the audio–visual feeds;

the methods used to perform credential analysis and identity proofing, if credential analysis and identity proofing are necessary under § 18–214(a)(1)(iii) of this subtitle; and

the electronic record that is the subject of the notarial act, if there is an electronic record instead of a tangible record.

has expired;

has been revoked or terminated by the issuing or registering authority;

is invalid; or

is incapable of authentication.

A notary public may, by written contract, engage a third party to act as a repository to provide the storage required by paragraph (1) of this subsection.

The contract shall:

If a notary public who is not an attorney licensed to practice law in the State in any manner advertises or represents that the notary public offers notarial services, whether orally or in a record, including broadcast media, print media, and the Internet, the notary public shall include the following statement, or an alternate statement authorized or required by the Secretary of State, in the advertisement or representation: “I am not an attorney licensed to practice law in this State. I am not allowed to draft legal records, give advice on legal matters, including immigration, or charge a fee for those activities.”.

The statement required under subparagraph (i) of this paragraph shall be included prominently and in each language used in the advertisement or representation.

If the form of advertisement or representation is not broadcast media, print media, or the Internet and does not allow inclusion of the statement required under subparagraph (i) of this paragraph because of size, the statement shall be prominently displayed or provided at the place of performance of the notarial act before the notarial act is performed.