NV Assembly Bill 65

Legislation

State: Nevada
Signed: May 27, 2015

Effective: July 01, 2015
Chapter: 199

Summary

AB 65 amends the laws related to Notaries Public, documentation preparation services and the issuance of authentications by the Secretary of State.

Affects

Amends Sections 240.010, 240.015, 240.018, 240.075, 240.085, 240.150, 240.1657, 240.195, 240A.030, 240A.100, 240A.110, 225.083, and adds a new as yet uncodified section to Chapter 240A of the Nevada Revised Statutes.

Changes

Notary Public Provisions

Clarifies that convictions prohibiting a person from appointment as a Notary include a conviction that follows a plea of nolo contendere or no contest.
Prohibits the Secretary of State from appointing a person as a Notary public whose previous appointment as a Notary public in Nevada or another state has been revoked for cause.
Expands prohibition against a person representing him- or herself as a Notary if the person has not been appointed as a Notary to include those persons whose appointment has expired or been suspended or revoked, and provides a civil penalty for such a violation.
Shortens the mandatory course required to become a Notary from 4 hours to 3 hours and requires an examination,
Requires a person renewing his or her appointment as a Notary to retake the mandatory education course.
Allows the Secretary of State to require a Notary who has violated any provision of chapter 240 of NRS to retake the mandatory education course.
Authorizes the Secretary of State to use an outside vendor to administer the course and examination.
Makes similar conforming changes to the mandatory course and examination requirements for an electronic Notary.
Prohibits a notary public from affixing his or her stamp to any document which does not contain a notarial certificate.
Extends this prohibition against use of the term “notario” or “notario publico” in any signage or advertisement by a Notary who is not also an attorney licensed to practice law in Nevada to the employers of notaries public, and requires the imposition of a civil penalty for violating such a prohibition.

Document Preparation Service Provisions

Allows a person who holds employment authorization from the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services to register as a documentation preparation service.
Provides that an application for registration as a documentation preparation service that is not completed within 6 months must be denied.
Prohibits the Secretary of State from registering as a document preparation service any person whose previous registration as a document preparation service in this State or another state has been revoked for cause.
Clarifies which nonprofit organizations are not required to register as a documentation preparation service and adds collection agencies to the list of such persons.
Repeals the existing requirement that a document prepared by a documentation preparation service must include the name, address, phone number and registration number of the document preparation service, but requires a document preparation service to provide this information on any document on which the information is requested.
Authorizes the Secretary of State to inspect the documents required to be maintained by document preparation services to ensure compliance with the law.

Authentications and Document Filing Provisions

Requires a request for authentication to include a statement signed under penalty of perjury that the document will not be used to: (1) harass a person; or (2) accomplish any fraudulent, criminal or other unlawful purpose.
Prohibits bringing a civil action against the Secretary of State on the basis that: (1) the Secretary of State has issued an authentication; and (2) the document has been used to harass a person or accomplish any fraudulent, criminal or other unlawful purpose.
Provides that a person who uses a document for which an authentication has been issued by the Secretary of State for such unlawful purposes is guilty of a category C felony.
Authorizes the Secretary of State also to adopt regulations prescribing procedures to prevent the filing of documents in his or her office that: (1) are fraudulent; (2) contain a false statement of material fact; or (3) are filed for the purpose of harassing or defrauding a person.

Analysis

Assembly Bill 65 revises several laws related to Notaries and documentation preparation services, and the filing of documents with the Secretary of State's office. The Notary provisions comprise the substantive portion of the new law. Most notable new provisions are the scaling back of the mandatory education course from 4 to 3 hours, requiring Notaries renewing their appointments to take the course and adding a mandatory examination to the course requirement. Notable also are provisions prohibiting a Notary from affixing a Notary seal to a document that does not contain a notarial certificate and applying the very same penalties against Notaries who are not attorneys for use of the term “notario” or “notario publico” to their employers as well. Since the Secretary of State's office registers documentation preparation services, low-cost legal services provided by persons who are not attorneys to consumers at their specific direction, and also since many persons providing these services are Notaries, we inlcude the provisions of AB 65 that relate to these services. Finally, AB 65 also reforms the law related to authentications of notarized documents issued by the Secretary of State's office.

Read Assembly Bill 65.