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IL House Bill 4277

Legislation

State: Illinois
Signed: June 26, 2026

Effective: January 01, 2027
Chapter: Public Act 104-0486

Summary

House Bill 4277 lets individuals with a prior felony conviction become Notaries once they have completed all sentence requirements and 10 years have passed since completing sentence requirements.

Affects

Amends Section 2-102 of Chapter 5, Act 312 of the Illinois Compiled Statutes.

Changes
  1. Eliminates the prior requirement that an applicant attest he or she has not been convicted of a felony as a condition of eligibility for a Notary Public or electronic Notary Public commission.
  2. Requires instead that an applicant who has ever been convicted of a felony must have completed all requirements of all felony case sentences and waited 10 years from the completion of those sentences before submitting the application.
Analysis

Illinois HB 4277, effective January 1, 2027, replaces the lifetime felony bar on Notary Public and Electronic Notary Public applicants with a conditional pathway: applicants with a prior felony conviction may now qualify if they have completed all sentence requirements and 10 years have passed since completion. The change reflects a broader trend of easing collateral consequences and expanding occupational licensing access for rehabilitated individuals, while preserving public protection through the 10-year waiting period and the Secretary of State’s existing background-check and application-rejection authority.

Read House Bill 4277.

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