NM Administrative Rules (2023)

Rule/Regulation

State: New Mexico

Effective: June 16, 2023

Summary
Amended rules adopted by the New Mexico Secretary of State mainly concern the application of several existing laws and rules to "automatic notarial officers" although a couple of the changes apply more broadly to Notaries Public.

Affects
Amends Sections 12.9.3.7, 12.9.3.8, 12.9.3.10, 12.9.3.4, 12.9.3.15, and 12.9.3.16 of the New Mexico Administrative Rules.

Changes

Official Seal

Removes the definition of "Notary seal" which is defined as "official stamp and the terms may be used interchangeably."
Strikes the current rule prohibiting an official stamp from containing the New Mexico state seal.
Requires an official stamp to include the notarial officer's official Notary seal.
Requires a new automatic notarial officer who is not a Notary Public to upload a copy of the officer's official stamp prior to the officer's first notarial act.
Provides that a Notary Public will be deemed non-compliant with the act upon failure to upload the Notary's official stamp to the Secretary of State's website within 45 days of receiving the Notary commission and will be referred to the state ethics commission.

Journal

Removes Section 12.9.3.15.C which currently states "A notarial officer shall provide a copy of a requested journal entry or audiovisual recording related to a specified notarial act to a member of the public upon request pursuant to Section 14-14A-29 NMSA 1978. The request shall name the subject of the record and the date the notarial act was performed.”

Mandatory Training and Examination

Amends Section 12.9.3.16 to require automatic notarial officers complete an approved training prior to performing their first notarial act.
Requires an existing automatic notarial officer to provide proof of successfully completing an approved course of study and passing the examination within 1 year of the effective date of the new rule.
Clarifies that automatic notarial officer must achieve a passing score of 80% or higher on the examination.
Clarifies that a person applying for a Notary commission must submit an electronic or paper application.

Other Provisions

Strikes a provision stating that the commission expiration date is December 31, 2021, for a notarial officer authorized to practice law in this state who was commissioned under the previous Unform Law on Notarial Acts.
Strikes a transitional provision requiring within six months of the effective date of the prior rule (January 1, 2022), Notaries with a commission expiration date prior to the effective date of the rule must upload a copy of the Notary’s official stamp that conforms to NMSA 14A-16.C and NMAC 12.9.3.14.

Analysis

The 2023 amendments to New Mexico’s administrative rules mainly concern the application of several rules to so-called “automatic notarial officers” that was the subject of amendments to New Mexico’s Notary statutes in Senate Bill 246 earlier this year but there are amended rules that apply more generally to Notaries Public. Automatic notarial officers are the following officials with notarial powers: (1) a judicial officer; (2) the Secretary of State or a full-time staff member of the Secretary’s office while performing a notarial act within the scope of the Secretary’s or staff member’s duties; and (3) an individual who is a member of the state bar of New Mexico and licensed to practice law. These officers must use an official seal and take a mandatory education course and pass the mandatory examination.

In an oddly written rule, the official Notary seal is said to require “the notarial officer’s official notary seal, as defined in Subsection L of 14-14A-2 NMSA 1978.” That statute defines “official notary seal” to essentially mean the state seal of the state of New Mexico. One wonders why they couldn’t have said this more plainly without introducing the obvious confusion between the terms “official stamp” and “official notary seal.”

Read the adopted administrative rules.