AnalysisSection 113 of Title 49 of the Oklahoma Statutes provides the baseline requirements for performing notarial acts under Oklahoma’s Uniform Law on Notarial Acts. Essentially, Section 113 requires a notarial officer to determine the identity and signature of the person when taking an acknowledgment, verification on oath or affirmation, and signature witnessing. Section 113 also provides that the notarial officer must determine that any copy of a document in a copy certification is a full, true, and accurate transcription or reproduction of that which was copied. Further, Section 113 provides a standard for making or noting a protest, a lesser-known notarial act. Finally, Section 113 defines “satisfactory evidence of identity” for the purpose of verifying a document signer’s identity for an acknowledgment, verification on oath or affirmation, and signature witnessing.
With that background in mind, Senate Bill 556 authorizes the Secretary of State to take administrative action against the commission of a Notary Public for failure to comply in good faith with Section 113. The new law also sets a misdemeanor penalty for not making a good faith determination of the identity of the person for whom a notarial act is performed. The NNA cannot help but think Senate Bill 556 was enacted, at least in part, to address the vexing problem of seller impersonation deed fraud sweeping the country.
Read Senate Bill 556.