Editor: The NNA presented the findings of its position paper, Paper, Pixels, and Policy, to the Notary Public Administrators Section of the National Association of Secretaries of State this past July. The full report is available at the link above.
The National Notary Association participated in the annual Notary Public Administrators (NPA) section meetings at the National Association of Secretaries of State (NASS) summer conference in Rapid City, South Dakota, where NNA VP of Government Affairs Bill Anderson and Director of Government Affairs and Policy Planning Brooke Merritt briefed NPAs on legislative trends, regulatory developments, and policy issues shaping the Notary office nationwide.
The conference drew Notary commissioning officials and industry stakeholders from across the country for sessions on deed fraud, remote online notarization, apostilles and authentications, and other timely issues.
Deed fraud remains top of mind for Notary officials
Deed fraud continues to drive discussions, with many states citing it as the top challenge facing their offices. Several states reported increases in fraudulent deeds, many involving Notary impersonation or forged Notary credentials. Conference attendees also discussed the latest draft legislation from the Uniform Law Commission’s Deed Fraud Study Committee, in which the NNA participates as observers.
Regulators pointed to a growing focus on Notary compliance and investigations, along with ongoing concerns about the volume of errors in notarial acts in documents submitted for apostilles. Sessions on notarial certificate compliance and Notary seal vendor oversight reinforced a common theme: consistent education and clearer standards help mitigate fraud and improve service to the public.
Legislative activity declined, but policy substance did not
Merritt presented the NNA’s annual “Policy Flyby,” an analysis of Notary-related legislation and regulations nationwide. Most active legislatures saw some Notary-related policy activity this year. Despite a drop in introduced bills, the enacted bills were far from lacking in substance. Many introductions focused on reducing fraud and increasing trust in notarized documents, raising commissioning standards, increasing penalties, and establishing new journal and training requirements.
Anderson presented the “Policies of the Year,” reporting on some of the more impactful policy changes. Pennsylvania finalized its long-awaited Revised Uniform Law on Notarial Acts (RULONA) rulemaking. Utah and Virginia adopted new journal requirements. Virginia became the first state to address deed fraud by requiring Notaries to take training specifically on deed fraud and elder financial exploitation.
Basic Notary errors drive authentication rejections
State offices reported a growing volume of apostille and authentication rejections tied to preventable Notary errors and the burden these errors place on their offices. The most frequent mistakes cited:
- Notaries signing their name differently than it appears on their official commission or oath;
- Missing dates on the notarial certificate;
- Notaries inserting their own name where the signer’s name belongs;
- Failure to sign the certificate at all; and
- Use of a noncompliant or illegible seal.
Commissioning officials noted these errors consume significant staff time.
NPAs discussed how “Apostille agents” in the private sector can help by catching notarial errors before a document reaches the state. Some raised concerns about Notaries who charge the public for Apostille and authentication services without first properly completing the underlying notarization, thereby adding to the very errors they are trying to reduce.
Challenges in cross-state notarization of absentee ballots
Merritt also presented original NNA research examining the nine jurisdictions where Notaries play a formal role in witnessing absentee ballots, highlighting conflicts between state election law and Notary law that result in Notaries rejecting requests to witness voters cast their ballots.
25 years that reshaped the Notary world
Anderson reported findings from an NNA study measuring the dramatic expansion of state Notary statutes from 2000–2025. On average, statutory word counts more than doubled, driven by the rise of technology-based notarial acts, modernization of outdated laws, expanded consumer protections, and enactments of the Revised Uniform Law on Notarial Acts.
The NNA’s presence at the NASS summer conference reflects its ongoing work to inform state commissioning authorities on policy trends, shape sound policy, and support Notaries and NPAs.
Brooke Merritt is the Director of Government Affairs and Policy Planning at the National Notary Association.