Sweeping revisions in the law that will change how Notaries apply for a commission and perform notarizations in the Prairie State took effect on June 5, 2023. The revisions are the most forward-looking and far-reaching new laws to take effect in decades.
Over the next several weeks, The National Notary Bulletin will publish a series of articles to help Illinois Notaries understand and comply with these new laws. This article looks at the legislative process that produced Illinois’s most comprehensive new Notary laws since 1986.
How Illinois Notaries and lawmakers got here
The new Notary laws were several years in the making. It started in 2017 when remote notarization was still a new and unproven concept. Like chefs that would test pasta by throwing it against the wall to see if it’s fully cooked, the Notary community was waiting to see what would become of this new approach to notarization. Back then, only Virginia and Montana had enacted remote notarization laws. Fortunately, the spaghetti did stick. First Texas and then Nevada passed remote notarization laws in early 2017, opening the floodgates for over 40 states to follow in the coming years.
Illinois took a more cautious approach. In August 2017, it enacted Senate Bill 1459. Senate Bill 1459 established an Illinois electronic notarization task force to study the issue. Two years later, the task force submitted its final report to the Illinois General Assembly.
The task force recommendations resulted in the enactment of Senate Bill 2664 on July 23, 2021. The NNA was expecting Senate Bill 2664 to be a major remote notarization bill. It was that and much, much more. The new law also:
- Set new requirements for Illinois Notary commission applicants.
- Authorized the Secretary of State to require Notary commission applicants to take a course of study.
- Established a mandatory Notary journal requirement.
- Raised the fees Notaries could charge.
- Added penalties for certain offenses.
But it was remote notarization that was the main focus. Senate Bill 2664 created two types of remote notarization. “Remote notarization” is the term used to describe the “remote ink notarizations” that were temporarily performed on paper documents during the COVID-19 pandemic; now they are permanently authorized. “Electronic notarization” is a remote notarization performed on electronic documents using electronic signatures and electronic Notary seals. The Illinois Secretary of State has told the NNA that “electronic notarization” refers to “in-person electronic notarizations” (IPEN) as well.
There was one catch. Most of Senate Bill 2664 would take effect only after the Secretary of State adopted rules to implement the new laws. Notaries would have to wait longer for the remote notarization, journal, education, and other provisions of Senate Bill 2664 to be realized.
The administrative rules process
Illinois officials next turned to rules for performing these notarizations. The rulemaking process began with the Secretary of State publishing rules for comment on April 15, 2022. These “first notice” rules were over 100 pages long and covered Notary commissions, education course and examination provider certification, journals, Notary seals, electronic notarization system provider certification, administrative hearings, remote and electronic notarization, and more.
A 45-day public comment period followed. Many organizations, including the NNA, submitted comments. Illinois disseminated “second notice” rules incorporating the public comments late last fall. The rules then went to the Joint Committee on Administrative Rules (JCAR) of the Illinois General Assembly for a review and hearing. The JCAR objected to the rules, saying the public needed more time to comment.
So, the Secretary of State withdrew the rules and started the process again. The state delayed implementing the statutes and rules while they worked on these issues. Eventually, the Secretary’s office submitted its revised rules to the JCAR, which were approved. The Secretary of State set June 5, 2023 as the date when all the new laws and rules would finally take effect.
It took Illinois nearly six years, but now these new Notary changes are officially the law of the Land of Lincoln.
The Path Forward
Stay tuned for upcoming articles that will dig deeper into changes to how Illinois Notaries will perform their duties under the new laws and rules. The articles will cover the following topics:
- Rules for keeping a journal of notarial acts
- Requirements for Notary Public and Electronic Notary Public commissions
- Standards for performing traditional notarizations
- Principles for performing remote and electronic notarizations
Bill Anderson is Vice President of Government Affairs at the National Notary Association.