Legislation
State: Mississippi
Signed: April 29, 2004
Effective: July 01, 2004
Chapter: 464
SummaryMississippi joins several states that have recently passed laws protecting immigrants from unscrupulous Notaries posing as immigration consultants.
AffectsCreates Sections 25-33-25, 25-33-27, 25-33-29, and 25-33-31 in the Mississippi Code.
Changes
- Requires nonattorney Notaries advertising in any language – foreign or English – to post the following notice in the ad: “I am not an attorney licensed to practice law in the state of Mississippi, and I may not give legal advice or accept fees for legal advice.”
- Prohibits nonattorney Notaries from representing themselves as immigration consultants or experts in advertisements unless they are accredited as a representative of an organization recognized by the Board of Immigration Appeals.
- Grants exemptions from the above to certain financial institutions or any offering of Notary services or listing of Notary fees in conjunction with the closing of any loan transaction, extension of credit, security instrument, or transfer of title.
- Prescribes criminal penalties for first, second and third offenses and allows for convictions of a similar nature in other states to be counted in computing a first, second, or third offense.
AnalysisMississippi joins several states that have recently passed laws protecting immigrants from unscrupulous Notaries posing as immigration consultants, but ups the ante by requiring the prescribed notice for any advertisement (and not just foreign-language ads) and specifying progressively stiffer criminal penalties for subsequent offenses.
Read Senate Bill 2370.