AnalysisIn what can only be described as an unintentional drafting error with potential consequences for Notaries in every U.S. jurisdiction, Senate Bill 340 requires Notaries to perform two notarial acts — an acknowledgment and a proof of execution by subscribing witness — on every document that will be recorded in an Indiana county beginning July 1, 2020. The prior statute required a document submitted for recording to be acknowledged or proved, but SB 340 changed “or” to “and.” It has been reported to the NNA that while the change was made to make the statute clearer, there was no intention to change existing law that required either and not both notarial acts to be performed on a document submitted for recording. The Indiana State Bar, Indiana Land Title Association and several title underwriters have issued advisories on the effect of the new law and have begun to educate their members on how to perform the common law notarial act of proof of execution. These associations and underwriters all agree that emergency legislation to fix the error in the 2021 legislative session will be necessary to revert the statute back to its original reading.
Read Senate Bill 340.
Read the Notary Bulletin article on this new law.