Legislation
State: Mississippi
Signed: April 09, 2021
Effective: July 01, 2021
Chapter: 434
Summary
Mississippi authorizes a variant of so-called “paper printout copy certifications,” in which a Notary takes an attorney's oath or affirmation that a tangible copy of an electronic record is a true copy.
Affects
Amends Section 89-3-1 of the Mississippi Code Annotated.
Changes
- Provides that a tangible copy of an electronic document that is otherwise eligible for recording under Mississippi law may be recorded if the tangible copy of the electronic document has been certified to be a true and correct copy of the electronic document.
- Requires the certificate for a paper printout copy certification to be transmitted with and be recorded as a part of the tangible copy of the electronic document being recorded.
- Requires the certification for a paper printout copy certification to contain an original signature of a licensed attorney or custodian of the electronic document that is verified upon oath or affirmation before a Notary Public or notarial officer.
- Requires the certification for a paper printout copy certification to (a) identify the jurisdiction in which the certification is performed; (b) contain the title of the notarial officer; (c) indicate the date of expiration, if any, of the notarial officer's commission; and (d) include an official seal of the Notary affixed to the certificate.
- Provides a statutory certificate form for a paper printout copy certification.
- Provides that tangible copies of electronic documents recorded by a chancery clerk before the effective date of the Revised Mississippi Law on Notarial Acts shall be considered validly recorded with or without the certification provided. (Note: The Mississippi RULONA takes effect July 1, 2021).
- Requires the person making the certification that a paper printout of an electronic record is a true copy of the electronic record to (a) confirm that the electronic document contains an electronic signature that is capable of independent verification and renders any subsequent changes or modifications to the electronic document evident; (b) personally print or supervise the printing of the electronic document onto paper; and (c) not make any changes or modifications to the electronic document other than the certification described in this subsection (2).
- Provides that a certificate is completed with the information required for a paper printout copy certification and is attached to or made part of a tangible copy of an electronic document, the certificate is prima facie evidence that the requirements of the law have been satisfied.
- Clarifies that paper printout copy certifications do not apply to maps or plats that are subject to the requirements of MCA 19-27-23, 19-27-25, or 19-27-27.
AnalysisStates across the nation are authorizing a new form of copy certification in which a Notary certifies that a paper printout of an electronic record is a true copy. Most states put the onus for the requirements for this type of copy certification on the Notary, but Mississippi requires an attorney to make the certification. Senate Bill 2638 requires an attorney to print out the electronically signed electronic record and determine the electronic record was executed with a tamper-evident technology that renders any changes to the document evident. The attorney’s certification must be subscribed and sworn to before a Notary Public or other notarial officer. SB 2638 validates these types of notarizations before Mississippi’s RULONA takes effect on July 1, 2021.
Read Senate Bill 2638.