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VA House Bill 2055

Legislation

State: Virginia
Signed: May 05, 2013

Effective: July 01, 2013
Chapter: 86

Summary

House Bill 2055 no longer requires an applicant for a Notary commission to be a U.S. citizen, but requires an applicant to be a legal resident of the U.S., and authorizes the Secretary of the Commonwealth to revoke the commission of a Notary who ceases to be a legal resident of the U.S.

Affects

Amends Section 47.1-4 and 47.1-23 of the Code of Virginia.

Changes
  1. No longer requires an applicant for a Notary commission to be a U.S. citizen, but requires an applicant to be a legal resident of the U.S.
  2. Authorizes the Secretary of the Commonwealth to revoke the commission of a Notary who ceases to be a legal resident of the U.S.
  3. Makes non-technical changes.
Analysis

The 1984 U.S. Supreme Court case of Bernal v. Fainter struck down the requirement that applicants for a Notary commission must be U.S. citizens. Since this decision, the states have been updating their Notary statutes to bring their qualifications for the office of Notary Public in line with this decision. Virginia finally has updated its statute, effective July 1, 2013.

Read House Bill 2055.

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