1. A Utah notary public must be 18 years of age, a resident of Utah for 30 days preceding appointment and maintain residency in Utah thereafter, be able to read, write, speak and understand English.

2. The appointment of a notary public is made by the Office of the Lieutenant Governor.

3. An application for notarial appointment may be denied based on an applicant's conviction for a criminal offense involving moral turpitude; on any revocation, suspension, or restriction of notarial commission issued to an applicant in this or any other state; or an applicant's official misconduct while acting in the capacity of a notary public.

4. The nonrefundable processing fee for a commission as a notary public is $30.00.

5. The term of office for a notary public is four years, unless suspended or revoked by the Office of the Lieutenant Governor or terminated by voluntary resignation.

6. A bond must be secured in the sum of $5,000 from a surety approved by the state. (A notary bond is not insurance for the notary, but protection for the public. The bond offers no protection to the notary.) No company may operate a surety business in the state unless authorized by its charter and qualified with the Insurance Department of the state of Utah . Important Note: The address listed on your bond is the address that will be used on your notary stamp and commission.

7. A Utah notary public is commissioned and authorized to perform notarial acts in all twenty-nine counties of the state, but not outside the geographic boundaries of Utah.

8. A notary public must keep an official notarial seal (for the purpose of authenticating official acts) that, when affixed in ink, makes a sharp, legible and photographically reproducible impression that includes the notary public's name exactly as indicated on the commission, the words "Notary Public," "State of Utah", and "my commission expires (commission expiration date)" the notary's commission number, official Great Seal of the State of Utah, and a rectangular border not to exceed 1 x 2 ½" surrounding the required words.

Important Note: A smudged notary seal may be corrected by reaffixing the seal nearby in a sharp, legible fashion.

9. A notary public must affix his or her official signature and seal on every document notarized. (The seal should be placed in the closest open area below the notary's signature without covering text or signature.) A notary public shall not use any name or initial in signing certificates other than that by which the notary was commissioned.

10. A notary public may execute, within the state of Utah , acknowledgments, jurats , oaths or affirmations. A notary may execute copy certifications only if the document is neither a public record nor publicly recorded and is presented to the notary by the person named in the document. Public records or publicly recorded documents can only be certified by the custodian of the original document.

11. A notary public should not notarize any document in which the notary has a beneficial, financial or disqualifying interest. If you have a disqualifying interest, someone else must provide the notarial service.

12. A notary public may charge a maximum fee of $5.00 per signature for acknowledgments and jurats , $5.00 per person for an oath or affirmation (without signature), and $5.00 per page for a certified copy. A notary may charge a travel fee, not to exceed the approved federal mileage rate, when traveling to perform a notarial act if the signer has been informed and agrees to the fee.

13. 13. A notary public must not perform an illegal notarization even though the notary's employer requests it (employer would be charged with a Class B Misdemeanor). The notary will be liable for such an act even though it was ordered by the employer.

14. A notarial act must be evidenced by a notarial certificate signed and dated by the notary public. The certificate must include identification of the jurisdiction / venue (where the notarization took place) and the official seal of office.

15. When notarizing a document where there is no remaining space available on the document for the official notary seal impression, the notary must staple a notarial certificate to the document for proper notarization.

16. A notarial certificate must include specific notarial language. The notarization is incomplete without a notarial certificate being completed by the notary. The notary seal and signature alone does not constitute a notarization.

Revised 07/14/08