Arizona has become the first state to enact a law that permits Notaries to communicate indirectly with a signer via a translator.
Senate Bill 1230, which goes into effect on July 20, allows an interpreter to translate for the signer if the signer and Notary do not speak the same language. But the translator and signer both must be physically in the presence of the Notary at the time of the notarization.
To help Arizona Notaries understand and comply with the new changes, the National Notary Association is offering live seminars in July, and Webcast OnDemand training which is available now.
Another key provision of the law permits Notaries to notarize a translation of a foreign-language document, but the translator must sign an affidavit attesting to the accuracy of the translation. In addition, the affidavit and the notarized translation must be attached to the original, foreign-language document.
In addition, the new law:
- Requires Notaries to include additional information on any loose certificate, including the description and title of the notarized document, the number of pages, and names of any additional signers.
- Strengthens the definition of personal knowledge for the purposes of identifying a signer.