HB1619.html

To amend Chapter 17 of Title 45 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to notaries public, so as to define certain terms; to provide that a notary public shall have personal knowledge or evidence of the identity of the person whose signature he or she notarizes; to require a notary public to maintain a journal of notarial acts; to prohibit fees for certain notarial acts for veterans, firefighters, police officers, and sheriff´s deputies; to provide for related matters; to repeal conflicting laws; and for other purposes.

Chapter 17 of Title 45 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to notaries public, is amended by inserting immediately following Code Section 45_17_8.2 new Code sections 45_17_8.3 and 45_17_8.4 to read as follows:
"45_17_8.3.
(a) As used in this Code section, the term:
(1) 'Personal knowledge' means familiarity with an individual resulting from interactions with that individual over a period of time sufficient to ensure beyond a reasonable doubt that the individual has the identity he or she claims.
(2) 'Satisfactory evidence of identity' consists of either:
(A) At least one current document issued by a federal or state governmental agency bearing the photographic image of an individual´s face, his or her signature, and a physical description of the individual;
(B) A valid passport;
(C) The oath or affirmation of one credible person of whom the notary public has personal knowledge who is unaffected by the document or transaction being notarized that he or she has personal knowledge of the individual being identified; or

(D) The oath or affirmation of two credible persons who are unaffected by the document or transaction being notarized that each has personal knowledge of an individual and each of whom presents documentation set forth in subparagraph (A) or (B) of this paragraph.
(b) A notary public shall not perform a notarial act unless he or she has personal knowledge or satisfactory evidence of the identity of the person whose signature is being notarized.

45_17_8.4.
(a) A notary public shall maintain in a sequential journal a record of all notarial acts performed. The journal shall be kept under the exclusive control of the notary.
(b) For every notarial act, the notary shall record in the journal:
(1) The date and time of the notarial act;
(2) The type of notarial act, such as acknowledgment or jurat;
(3) The type, title, or description and the date of every document notarized;
(4) A statement as to how the signer´s identity was confirmed, including, if applicable, the type of identification document, with its serial number and date of issuance or expiration, or the name and signature of any identifying witness, with the type of any document used to identify the witness, along with its serial number and date of issuance or expiration; and
(5) The fee charged for the notarial act.
(c) In lieu of a sequential journal of notarial acts, a notary public who is an attorney at law admitted to practice in this state may maintain a record of notarial acts in the form of office files regularly maintained for the attorney´s law practice."

Said chapter is further amended by inserting at the end of Code Section 45_17_11, relating to fees of notaries, a new subsection (e) to read as follows:
"(e) No notary public may receive compensation from or charge any fee to a United States military veteran or a firefighter, police officer, or sheriff´s deputy for notarization of an application or a claim for a pension, allotment, allowance, compensation, insurance policy, or any other benefit resulting from any such person´s public service."