Legislation
State: California
Signed: September 24, 2003
Effective: January 01, 2004
Chapter: 513
SummaryAssembly Bill 1210 requires applicants for a Notary commission to take a mandatory 6-hour or 3-hour educational course.
AffectsAmends Sections 8201 and 8203.1 of and adds Section 8201.2 to the California Government Code.
Changes - Beginning January 1, 2005, requires Notary commission applicants topass a 6-hour course of study approved by the Secretary of State on the functions and duties of the Notary office.
- Provides that “renewing” Notaries need only take a 3-hour refresher course if they have taken the 6-hour course at least once.
- Clarifies that the education requirement also applies to the specially appointed Notaries on U.S. military bases in California.
- Provides that the Secretary of State must review and approve the 6-hour and 3-hour courses offered by any person or vendor, including all material that an applicant is expected to know in order to complete the mandatory, proctored written examination.
- Authorizes the Secretary of State to also offer the required courses.
- Requires the Secretary of State to compile a list of all persons offering an approved course.
- Provides that violators of the new rules governing the courses are subject to a $1,000 civil fine.
AnalysisCalifornia’s Notary education bill marks the dawn of a new era for California Notaries. California Notaries now must meet the most stringent qualifications of any U.S. state or jurisdiction (course, proctored exam and background check with fingerprints). Assembly Bill 1210 requires applicants for a Notary commission to take a mandatory 6-hour or 3-hour educational course. Other states will be looking to California to see if both mandatory education and a mandatory examination will produce better trained and more ethical Notaries.
Read Assembly Bill 1210.