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ND Senate Bill 2144

Legislation

State: North Dakota
Signed: March 18, 2025

Effective: August 01, 2025
Chapter: TBD

Summary

Senate Bill 2144 authorizes Notaries who perform in-person electronic and remote notarial acts to charge a technology fee if certain requirements, as specified are met.

Affects

Amends Sections 44-06.1-20 and 44-06.1-28 of the North Dakota Century Code.

Changes
  1. Authorizes a Notary to charge a technology fee when performing remote notarizations under NDCC 44-06.1-13.1 or 44-06.1 if: (a) the notary has incurred fees for use of the communication technology; (b) the Notary and the person requesting the notarial act agree upon the technology fee in advance; and (c) the Notary explains to the person requesting the notarial act the technology fee is separate from the notarial act fee.
  2. No longer requires the Secretary of State to send the required notice related to the expiration of the Notary’s term to the Notary at the last known place of residence, but instead requires the notice to be sent in a manner prescribed by the Secretary.
Analysis

The 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.

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