WI Assembly Bill 40 (2011)

As part of a massive budget bill and in an effort to curtail expenses, Assembly Bill 40 transfers the commissioning and oversight of Notaries to the Department of Financial Institutions. While the Secretary of State’s office has traditionally been the state office responsible for Notaries in most jurisdictions across the nation, it is not the sole commissioning authority for Notaries. In some states, the state lieutenant governor or attorney general commissions Notaries, and in others, Notaries are commissioned by county judges, with a central state office such as the Secretary of State merely serving as a record-keeper. One other state – New Jersey – has assigned the state Department of Revenue as the commissioning authority for Notaries, and it appears as though Wisconsin has followed this model in transferring commissioning duties to the Secretary of the Department of Financial Institutions.

Read Assembly Bill 40.