AnalysisFrom the bill analysis of House Bill 5083: “Last session, legislation was passed into law that exempts occupational license holders from public information requests to protect the license holder's personal contact information. One of the unintended results of this legislation was that much of the publicly available contact information for notaries public became unavailable.
“One of the primary responsibilities of notaries public is to witness the signing of important legal documents, such as wills, real estate deeds, and powers of attorney. In addition to serving as a witness, notaries are required to maintain records of these signings, providing crucial evidence in case of legal disputes or court proceedings related to the documents.
“The secretary of state (SOS) is responsible for appointing notaries. The application for a person to be appointed as notary public requires an address and contact information so that the notary can be contacted whenever there are disputes over legal documents. It is highly common for notaries to use their home address, home phone, and personal email whenever filing to become a notary public since many people do not have a second address, phone number, or email.
“Prior to the last legislative session, SOS's office held and shared the home address, home phone number, and personal email address of notaries if that was the only contact information the notary provided when filing to become a notary public. Under statute implemented after last session, SOS can no longer share the home address, home phone number, or personal emails of notaries.
H.B. 5093 would allow the contact information and address of a notary public to be available publicly, and accessible through SOS's office as was the standard practice before 2023.”
Read House Bill 5093.