VA House Bill 1670

Legislation

State: Virginia
Signed: March 28, 2011

Effective: July 01, 2011
Chapter: 746

Summary

House Bill 1670 prohibits a Notary from notarizing any paper or electronic document in which the Notary is a signatory or is named, thereby adding specificity to the current law prohibiting notarization of documents in which the Notary or the Notary’s spouse has a direct financial interest.

Affects

Amends Section 47.1-30 of the Code of Virginia

Changes

Clarifies that a Notary has a disqualifying interest in a transaction if the Notary is a signatory or is named in the document to be notarized.

Analysis

House Bill 1670 strengthens its statute prohibiting Notaries from notarizing in a paper or electronic transaction in which they have a conflict of interest. Prior statute disqualified any Notary from acting if the Notary or the Notary’s spouse had a direct financial interest in the document. However, the Virginia General Assembly rightly saw that notarizing one’s own signature or a document in which the Notary is named also present clear cases when a Notary should recuse him- or herself. HB 1670 is consistent with the Model Notary Act, which states that “a notary shall not notarize if the Notary is a party to or named in the document that is to be notarized.”

Read the bill text.