Notary Law Update: CA Assembly Bill 1179
State: California
Summary:Assembly Bill 1179 permits a county recorder to accept an embossed Notary seal in lieu of a photographically-reproducible seal under certain conditions.
Signed:
January 21, 2004
Effective:
January 21, 2004
Chapter: 6
Affects:Amends Government Code Section 6107; adds Government Code Section 27201.5 and amends Health and Safety Code Section 103526
Changes: - Permits a county recorder to accept a document for recordation without a photographically reproducible Notary seal if the Notary’s embossed seal is present and legible, and the name, county of the Notary’s principal place of business, commission number, commission expiration date, and phone number are typed or printed below or adjacent to the Notary’s signature.
- Permits the State Registrar, local registrar, or county recorder to accept a faxed acknowledgment accompanying a faxed request for a certified copy of a birth or death record or military service record without a photographically reproducible seal if the above-mentioned items are typed or printed near the Notary’s signature.
Analysis:Assembly Bill 1179 permits a county recorder to accept an embossed Notary seal in lieu of a photographically-reproducible seal under certain conditions. While considered an “urgency” statute taking immediate effect, this new law has minimal effect on Notaries using a photographically reproducible seal. It should be noted that the effect of the law for California Notaries is that an embossed seal impression is valid on recordable documents, provided the printed or typed information required is included. However, the embossed seal must be present; it is not sufficient to type or print the Notary’s information without affixing an embossed seal impression.
Read the bill text.