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WY Administrative Rules (2021)

Rule/Regulation

State: Wyoming
Signed: December 21, 2021

Effective: December 21, 2021
Chapter: N/A

Summary
The Wyoming Secretary of State has adopted new rules to implement journals, remote notarization, and other matters.
Affects
Repeals Sections 002-0012-1 through 002-0012-5 of and adds Section 002-0012-6 to the Wyoming Administrative Rules.
Changes

Notary Commission

  1. Requires a Notary to review the Notary Education Presentation on the Secretary's website for every term and certify that the presentation has been completed on their application.

Notarial Records

  1. Provides that upon discovering that the Notary’s journal is lost or stolen under W.S. §32-3-118(j), the public must promptly notify the Secretary of State by sending an email to notaries@wyo.gov, and further provides that if a Notary does not have access to email, they must send a letter to the Compliance Division of the Wyoming Secretary of State at 122 West 25th Street, Suite 100, Cheyenne, WY, 82002-0020.
  2. Clarifies that nothing in Wyoming’s statutes or rules prevents a person, as defined in W.S. § 32-3-102(a)(xxiv), from implementing additional retention and journal content requirements.
  3. Clarifies that nothing in Wyoming’s statutes or rules prevents a person, as defined in W.S. § 32-3-102(a)(xxiv), from implementing additional retention requirements for the audio/visual recording of the notarial act.

Standards for Notarial Acts

  1. Provides that for the purpose of evidencing a person’s identity for satisfactory evidence, the identification credential must comply with W.S. § 32-3-102(a)(xiv) and must contain a photograph of the principal or the credible witness(es).

Remote Notarization

  1. Requires that for all remote notarizations the notarial certificate must include the name of the electronic notarization system or other form of communication technology used to perform the notarial act.
  2. Clarifies that nothing in Wyoming’s statutes or rules prevents a person, as defined in W.S. § 32-3-102(a)(xxiv), from requiring a specific electronic notarization system rather than another form of communication technology.

Travel Fees

  1. Clarifies that a Notary does not have to refund travel fees that were paid prior to performing a notarial act for any reason that gives the notarial officer the authority to refuse to perform a notarial act under WS 32-3-112 or if the principal cancels the notarial act with less than a 24-hour notice.
  2. Clarifies that a Notary must refund the travel fee if the notarial officer cancels and does not complete the notarial act.

Repealed Rules

  1. Repeals the prior rule granting authority for the Secretary of State to promulgate rules under former WS 32-1-105(d).
  2. Repeals the prior definitions of “authorized contiguous state,” “notarial certificate,” “notarial act,” “oath,” “opening segment,” “presence of the Notary,” and “proof of acknowledgment.”
  3. Repeals the prior rules relating to the good standing of a Notary commission and consent to service process.
  4. Repeals the prior rule related to authenticating each notarial act with an authorized seal of the state wherein the Notary was commissioned.
  5. Repeals the prior rule prohibiting a Notary from a contiguous state performing duties in Wyoming from charging more than the fees allowed of a Wyoming Notary.

Analysis

The Wyoming Secretary of State has adopted rules to implement the new enactment of Senate File 29 this year. The new rules repeal all prior Notary rules (see changes above) and replaces them with minimal rules related to reporting lost or stolen journals, fee provisions, and several clarifications on matters enacted under the new statutes.

Read the adopted administrative rules.

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