The National Notary Association’s Public Affairs Department serves state, local, and federal government agencies and officials with a range of information services on the Notary Public office. In addition to consulting with legislators, Notary commissioning officials, law enforcement, county recorders, court officials, and other public-sector stakeholders, the NNA provides the following information on our website.
What is a Notary Public?
The one-page What is a Notary Public provides an overview of the Notary Public’s important role and services by answering several key questions consumers and immigrants routinely ask about Notaries and notarization.
The Model Notary Act
The Model Notary Act is a comprehensive legislative prototype created by the NNA to assist lawmakers, policymakers, and Notary program administrators in modernizing and strengthening the Notary Public statutes and administrative rules in their state.
The Notary Public Code of Professional Responsibility
The NNA first introduced The Notary Public Code of Professional Responsibility, the most comprehensive and detailed code of ethical and professional conduct for America’s Notaries, in 1998. The Code addresses common problems, issues, and questions encountered by prescribing standards for notarial acts and illustrating them in specific and practical examples. The Code was most recently revised in 2020.
Policy Tracking
The NNA’s Public Affairs Department tracks hundreds of legislative bills and regulations each year in statehouses across the United States and in the U.S. Congress. The NNA’s policy tracking map enables all stakeholders of notarial services to see the specific policies the NNA is tracking in each state and the U.S. Congress.
New Law Updates
Once legislation or proposed regulations become law, the NNA issues a Notary law update on the particular policy in its new Notary laws database. The searchable database contains all new legislation, rules and regulations, significant court decisions, executive orders, and guidance affecting Notaries from 2004 to the present.
U.S. Notary Reference
The NNA's online U.S. Notary Reference is the definitive contemporary source on state Notary Public laws. All applicable laws are arranged under headings that facilitate search and comparison with the laws of other states.
Research and Special Reports
Over the years, the NNA has authored several position papers and special reports on matters of present concern to Notaries. Papers discuss topics such as Notary journals, education, electronic transactions, remote notarization, interstate recognition of notarial acts, property fraud, absentee voting — and more.
For questions, please reach out to us at governmentaffairs@nationalnotary.org.