(i) Charging fees in excess of fees authorized by this chapter.
(j) Failure to maintain the bond required by this section.
(5)(a) If a notary public receives notice from the Department of State that his or her office has been declared
vacant, the notary shall forthwith mail or deliver to the Secretary of State his or her notary commission.
(b) A notary public who wishes to resign his or her commission, or a notary public who does not
maintain legal residence in this state during the entire term of appointment, or a notary public whose
resignation is required by the Governor, shall send a signed letter of resignation to the Governor and shall
return his or her certificate of notary public commission. The resigning notary public shall destroy his or
her official notary public seal of office, unless the Governor requests its return.
(6) No person may be automatically reappointed as a notary public. The application process must be
completed regardless of whether an applicant is requesting his or her first notary commission, a renewal
of a commission, or any subsequent commission.
(7)(a) A notary public shall, prior to executing the duties of the office and throughout the term of office,
give bond, payable to any individual harmed as a result of a breach of duty by the notary public acting in
his or her official capacity, in the amount of $7,500, conditioned for the due discharge of the office and
shall take an oath that he or she will honestly, diligently, and faithfully discharge the duties of the notary
public. The bond shall be approved and filed with the Department of State and executed by a surety
company for hire duly authorized to transact business in this state.
(b) Any notary public whose term of appointment extends beyond January 1, 1999, is required to
increase the amount of his or her bond to $7,500 only upon reappointment on or after January 1, 1999.
(c) Beginning July 1, 1996, surety companies for hire which process notary public applications, oaths,
affidavits of character, and bonds for submission to the Department of State must properly submit these
documents in a software and hard copy format approved by the Department of State.
(8) Upon payment to any individual harmed as a result of a breach of duty by the notary public, the
entity who has issued the bond for the notary public shall notify the Governor of the payment and the
circumstances which led to the claim.
117.021 Electronic notarization.
(1) Any document requiring notarization may be notarized electronically. The provisions of ss. 117.01,
117.03, 117.04, 117.05(1)-(11), (13), and (14), 117.105, and 117.107 apply to all notarizations under
this section.
(2) In performing an electronic notarial act, a notary public shall use an electronic signature that is:
(a) Unique to the notary public;
(b) Capable of independent verification;
(c) Retained under the notary public’s sole control; and
(d) Attached to or logically associated with the electronic document in a manner that any subsequent
alteration to the electronic document displays evidence of the alteration.
(3) When a signature is required to be accompanied by a notary public seal, the requirement is satis-
fied when the electronic signature of the notary public contains all of the following seal information:
(a) The full name of the notary public exactly as provided on the notary public’s application for commission;
(b) The words “Notary Public State of Florida”;
(c) The date of expiration of the commission of the notary public; and
(d) The notary public’s commission number.
(4) Failure of a notary public to comply with any of the requirements of this section may constitute
grounds for suspension of the notary public’s commission by the Executive Office of the Governor.
(5) The Department of State may adopt rules to ensure the security, reliability, and uniformity of
signatures and seals authorized in this section.
117.03 Administration of oaths.
A notary public may administer an oath and make a certificate thereof when it is necessary for the
execution of any writing or document to be published under the seal of a notary public. The notary public
may not take an acknowledgment of execution in lieu of an oath if an oath is required.
117.04 Acknowledgments.
A notary public is authorized to take the acknowledgments of deeds and other instruments of writing
for record, as fully as other officers of this state.
117.045 Marriages.
A notary public is authorized to solemnize the rites of matrimony. For solemnizing the rites of matri-
mony, the fee of a notary public may not exceed those provided by law to the clerks of the circuit court
for like services.
117.05 Use of notary commission; unlawful use; notary fee; seal; duties; employer liabil-
ity; name change; advertising; photocopies; penalties.
(1) No person shall obtain or use a notary public commission in other than his or her legal name, and it
is unlawful for a notary public to notarize his or her own signature. Any person applying for a notary public
commission must submit proof of identity to the Department of State if so requested. Any person who
violates the provisions of this subsection is guilty of a felony of the third degree, punishable as provided
in s. 775.082, s. 775.083, or s. 775.084.
(2)(a) The fee of a notary public may not exceed $10 for any one notarial act, except as provided in s.
117.045.
(b) A notary public may not charge a fee for witnessing an absentee ballot in an election, and must
witness such a ballot upon the request of an elector, provided the notarial act is in accordance with the
provisions of this chapter.
(3)(a) A notary public seal shall be affixed to all notarized paper documents and shall be of the rubber
stamp type and shall include the words “Notary Public-State of Florida.” The seal shall also include the name
of the notary public, the date of expiration of the commission of the notary public, and the commission number.
The rubber stamp seal must be affixed to the notarized paper document in photographically reproducible black
ink. Every notary public shall print, type, or stamp below his or her signature on a paper document his or her
name exactly as commissioned. An impression-type seal may be used in addition to the rubber stamp seal, but
the rubber stamp seal shall be the official seal for use on a paper document, and the impression-type seal may
not be substituted therefor.
(b) Any notary public whose term of appointment extends beyond January 1, 1992, is required to use a rub-
ber stamp type notary public seal on paper documents only upon reappointment on or after January 1, 1992.
(c) The notary public official seal and the certificate of notary public commission are the exclusive property
of the notary public and must be kept under the direct and exclusive control of the notary public. The seal
and certificate of commission must not be surrendered to an employer upon termination of employment,
regardless of whether the employer paid for the seal or for the commission.
(d) A notary public whose official seal is lost, stolen, or believed to be in the possession of another person
shall immediately notify the Department of State or the Governor in writing.
(e) Any person who unlawfully possesses a notary public official seal or any papers or copies relating to notarial
acts is guilty of a misdemeanor of the second degree, punishable as provided in s. 775.082 or s. 775.083.
(4) When notarizing a signature, a notary public shall complete a jurat or notarial certificate in substantially
the same form as those found in subsection (13). The jurat or certificate of acknowledgment shall contain
the following elements:
(a) The venue stating the location of the notarization in the format, “State of Florida,
County of _______________.”
(b) The type of notarial act performed, an oath or an acknowledgment, evidenced by the words “sworn”
or “acknowledged.”
(c) That the signer personally appeared before the notary public at the time of the notarization.
(d) The exact date of the notarial act.
(e) The name of the person whose signature is being notarized. It is presumed, absent such specific nota-
tion by the notary public, that notarization is to all signatures.
(f) The specific type of identification the notary public is relying upon in identifying the signer, either based
on personal knowledge or satisfactory evidence specified in subsection (5).
(g) The notary’s official signature.
(h) The notary’s name, typed, printed, or stamped below the signature.
(i) The notary’s official seal affixed below or to either side of the notary’s signature.
(5) A notary public may not notarize a signature on a document unless he or she personally knows, or has
satisfactory evidence, that the person whose signature is to be notarized is the individual who is described
in and who is executing the instrument. A notary public shall certify in the certificate of acknowledgment
or jurat the type of identification, either based on personal knowledge or other form of identification, upon
which the notary public is relying.
(a) For purposes of this subsection, “personally knows” means having an acquaintance, derived from asso-
ciation with the individual, which establishes the individual’s identity with at least a reasonable certainty.
(b) For the purposes of this subsection, “satisfactory evidence” means the absence of any information,
evidence, or other circumstances which would lead a reasonable person to believe that the person whose
signature is to be notarized is not the person he or she claims to be and any one of the following:
1. The sworn written statement of one credible witness personally known to the notary public or the
sworn written statement of two credible witnesses whose identities are proven to the notary public upon the
presentation of satisfactory evidence that each of the following is true:
a. That the person whose signature is to be notarized is the person named in the document;
b. That the person whose signature is to be notarized is personally known to the witnesses;
c. That it is the reasonable belief of the witnesses that the circumstances of the person whose signature
is to be notarized are such that it would be very difficult or impossible for that person to obtain another
acceptable form of identification;
d. That it is the reasonable belief of the witnesses that the person whose signature is to be notarized does
not possess any of the identification documents specified in subparagraph 2.; and
e. That the witnesses do not have a financial interest in nor are parties to the underlying transaction; or
2. Reasonable reliance on the presentation to the notary public of any one of the following forms of
identification, if the document is current or has been issued within the past 5 years and bears a serial or
other identifying number:
a. A Florida identification card or driver’s license issued by the public agency authorized to issue
driver’s licenses;
b. A passport issued by the Department of State of the United States;
c. A passport issued by a foreign government if the document is stamped by the United States Bureau
of Citizenship and Immigration Services;
d. A driver’s license or an identification card issued by a public agency authorized to issue driver’s licenses
in a state other than Florida, a territory of the United States, or Canada or Mexico;
e. An identification card issued by any branch of the armed forces of the United States;
f. An inmate identification card issued on or after January 1, 1991, by the Florida Department of
Corrections for an inmate who is in the custody of the department;
g. An inmate identification card issued by the United States Department of Justice, Bureau of Prisons, for
an inmate who is in the custody of the department;
h. A sworn, written statement from a sworn law enforcement officer that the forms of identification for an
inmate in an institution of confinement were confiscated upon confinement and that the person named in
the document is the person whose signature is to be notarized; or
i. An identification card issued by the United States Bureau of Citizenship and Immigration Services.
(6) The employer of a notary public shall be liable to the persons involved for all damages proximately
caused by the notary’s official misconduct, if the notary public was acting within the scope of his or her
employment at the time the notary engaged in the official misconduct.
(7) Any person who acts as or otherwise willfully impersonates a notary public while not lawfully
appointed and commissioned to perform notarial acts is guilty of a misdemeanor of the second degree,
punishable as provided in s. 775.082 or s. 775.083.
(8) Any notary public who knowingly acts as a notary public after his or her commission has expired is
guilty of a misdemeanor of the second degree, punishable as provided in s. 775.082 or s. 775.083.
(9) Any notary public who lawfully changes his or her name shall, within 60 days after such change,
request an amended commission from the Secretary of State and shall send $25, his or her current
commission, and a notice of change form, obtained from the Secretary of State, which shall include the
new name and contain a specimen of his or her official signature. The Secretary of State shall issue an
amended commission to the notary public in the new name. A rider to the notary public’s bond must
accompany the notice of change form. After submitting the required notice of change form and rider to
the Secretary of State, the notary public may continue to perform notarial acts in his or her former name
for 60 days or until receipt of the amended commission, whichever date is earlier.
(10) A notary public who is not an attorney who advertises the services of a notary public in a language other
than English, whether by radio, television, signs, pamphlets, newspapers, or other written communication, with
the exception of a single desk plaque, shall post or otherwise include with the advertisement a notice in English
and in the language used for the advertisement. The notice shall be of a conspicuous size, if in writing, and
shall state: “I AM NOT AN ATTORNEY LICENSED TO PRACTICE LAW IN THE STATE OF FLORIDA, AND I
MAY NOT GIVE LEGAL ADVICE OR ACCEPT FEES FOR LEGAL ADVICE.” If the advertisement is by radio
or television, the statement may be modified but must include substantially the same message.
(11) Literal translation of the phrase “Notary Public” into a language other than English is prohibited
in an advertisement for notarial services.
(12)(a) A notary public may supervise the making of a photocopy of an original document and attest
to the trueness of the copy, provided the document is neither a vital record in this state, another state,
a territory of the United States, or another country, nor a public record, if a copy can be made by the
custodian of the public record.
(b) A notary public must use a certificate in substantially the following form in notarizing an
attested copy:
STATE OF FLORIDA
COUNTY OF…
On this…day of…, (year) , I attest that the preceding or attached document is a
true, exact, complete, and unaltered photocopy made by me of… (description of
document)…presented to me by the document’s custodian,…, and, to the best of
my knowledge, that the photocopied document is neither a vital record nor a public
record, certified copies of which are available from an official source other than a
notary public.
…(Official Notary Signature and Notary Seal)
…(Name of Notary Typed, Printed or Stamped)
(13) The following notarial certificates are sufficient for the purposes indicated, if completed with
the information required by this chapter. The specification of forms under this subsection does not
preclude the use of other forms.
(a) For an oath or affirmation:
STATE OF FLORIDA
COUNTY OF…
Sworn to (or affirmed) and subscribed before me this…day of…, (year) , by (name of
person making statement) .
…(Signature of Notary Public - State of Florida)
…(Print, Type, or Stamp Commissioned Name of Notary Public)
Personally Known…OR Produced Identification…
Type of Identification Produced…
(b) For an acknowledgment in an individual capacity:
STATE OF FLORIDA
COUNTY OF…
The foregoing instrument was acknowledged before me this…day of __________, (year) ,
by (name of person acknowledging) .
…(Signature of Notary Public - State of Florida)
…(Print, Type, or Stamp Commissioned Name of Notary Public)
Personally Known…OR Produced Identification…
Type of Identification Produced…
(c) For an acknowledgment in a representative capacity:
STATE OF FLORIDA
COUNTY OF…
The foregoing instrument was acknowledged before me this…day of…, (year) , by (name
of person) as (type of authority, e.g. officer, trustee, attorney in fact) for (name of party
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