U.S. Department of State Rule (2024)
Rule/Regulation
State: United States
Signed: October 28, 2024
Effective: November 27, 2024
Chapter: N/A
Summary
The Bureau of Consular Affairs expands the list of State Department officials authorized to designate certain employees as notarizing officers abroad.
AffectsAmends 22 CFR 92.1
Changes
- Provides that the Director, Deputy Directors, and regional Division Chiefs of the Office of American Citizens Services and Crisis Management, Overseas Citizens Services of the U.S. Department of State, may designate certain U.S. citizen employees of the State Department abroad as notarizing officers.
Analysis
The National Notary Association is the clearinghouse for the U.S. Notary office. Typically, our focus is on the fifty states and the District of Columbia, whose new laws and policy changes are reflected in this new Notary laws database. The NNA also tracks developments at the federal level since federal notarial acts performed at U.S consulates abroad are within the scope of our mandate.
Prior to the adoption of this rule, the Deputy Assistant Secretary for Overseas Citizen Services was the sole official authorized to designate U.S. citizen employees of the State Department to perform notarial services at U.S. embassies and consulates abroad.
The Federal Register notice of final adoption noted the change was needed due to the increase in requests for notarial services. According to the data provided, there has been a 44% increase in global notarial service volume since 2022.
This rule expands the list of officials who may designate notarizing officers to meet these increasing demands.