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CO House Bill 04-1300

Legislation

State: Colorado
Signed: May 28, 2004

Effective: May 28, 2004
Chapter: 101

Summary

House Bill 1300 prescribes a unique approach to electronic notarization and makes amendments to the commissioning process.

Affects

Amends Colorado Revised Statutes Title 12, Article 55, Sections 12-55-102, 12-55-104, 12-55-106.5, 12-55-107, 12-55-111, 12-55-112, 12-55-121, and Title 38, Article 35, Section 38-35-106.

Changes
  1. Clarifies that applicants for a commission must be 18 years of age and residents of Colorado; the requirement that they be “qualified electors” was removed.
  2. Clarifies that applicants must state in the application that they have not been convicted of a “misdemeanor involving dishonesty” in the past 5 years.
  3. Provides that the application for a commission must include the applicant’s typed name and may include the applicant’s electronic signature if applicant is issued “authentication numbers” for eNotarization.
  4. Requires the Secretary of State to ensure that applications may be delivered electronically at the earliest practical time and that these e-applications must be stored in retrievable form.
  5. Requires rather than allows the Secretary of State to deny an application or revoke the commission of any person for one of the listed offenses.
  6. Adds a misdemeanor involving dishonesty to the list of offenses for which the Secretary of State must deny or revoke a commission.
  7. Disqualifies a person who has committed certain offenses from applying for or receiving a Notary commission – formerly they could do so after 7 years.
  8. Provides that a Notary’s electronic signature must contain or be accompanied by an authentication number issued by the Secretary of State, along with the currently required information.
  9. Requires a Notary to record the document authentication number issued by the Secretary of State on each electronic record or document electronically signed by the Notary and maintain a journal for the transaction if required by law.
  10. Authorizes a Notary to charge $10 for affixing the Notary’s electronic signature.
  11. Clarifies that documents affecting title to real property required or permitted to be acknowledged, which are signed by certain public officers in an official capacity, are deemed to have been properly acknowledged.
  12. Makes miscellaneous conforming changes.
Analysis

House Bill 1300 prescribes a unique approach to electronic notarization and makes amendments to the commissioning process. This unique approach to eNotarization (based on an idea from Mike Shea of the Secretary of State’s office) involves the Secretary of State issuing of a list of “authentication numbers” to each Notary who intends to notarize electronically. A respective number would be required to accompany each electronically notarized document and be recorded in the Notary’s e-journal.

Read House Bill 1300.

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