AnalysisThe North Dakota Legislature authorizes Notaries to charge a technology fee in addition to the maximum fee for a remote or in-person electronic notarial act. Since the maximum fee for any notarial act in North Dakota is $5, the addition of being able to charge a technology fee is welcome news. Without it, Notaries would not have had any incentive to offer technology-based notarial services because the cost of paying for the platform to perform these acts would easily eclipse the $5 collected for the notarial act.
The bill also now authorizes the Secretary of State to send the required notice of an expiring commission term to the Notary in a manner prescribed by the Secretary. This would include by electronic mail, which is faster and less expensive.
Read Senate Bill 2144.