ME Senate Paper 809

Legislation

State: Maine
Signed: June 26, 2023

Effective: July 01, 2023
Chapter: 304

Summary
Senate Paper 809 permits Notaries to use an official stamp on tangible (paper) notarizations and requires one for electronic records that use in-person electronic or remote notarization.

Affects

Amends 4 MRSA Section 1916 and 5 MRSA Section 86.

Changes

Official Stamp

Clarifies that if a notarial act on a tangible record is performed by a notarial officer — including a Notary Public — an official stamp may be affixed to or embossed on the notarial certificate.
Clarifies that if a notarial act regarding an electronic record is performed by a Notary Public and the certificate contains the information specified in subsection 4 MRSA Section 1916, subsection 1, paragraphs B, C and D, an official stamp must be attached to or logically associated with the certificate.

Application Fees

Provides that for filing a new or renewal application for approval to be a provider of communication technology used to perform remote or electronic notarizations, the fee is $250.
Provides that for filing a new or renewal application to be a marriage officiant, the fee is $25.

Analysis

Senate Paper 809 clears up a confusing provision in Maine’s enactment of House Paper 1503 last year and effective this coming July 1. That bill had a provision permitting a Notary to use an official stamp and another that required it. Senate Now, a notarial officer — a broad term that includes any officer with notarial authority including a Notary Public — may use an official stamp on a tangible (paper) record. But some confusion still remains, since the bill actually requires a Notary to use an official electronic stamp on an electronic record. So, some notarial acts permit the seal while others require it. A Notary can avoid the confusion by using an official stamp for all notarial acts, a position the NNA endorses.

Notaries who become marriage officiants will have to pay a fee of $25 going forward. Technology platforms that seek approval for use by Maine Notaries to perform remote online and in-person electronic notarization must pay $250 for a new or renewal application.

Read Senate Paper 809.