AnalysisHouse 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.”
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