GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF NORTH CAROLINA
SESSION 2005
SESSION LAW 2005-75
SENATE BILL 763
AN ACT to eliminate the requirement of an elected official recommendation for notary public applicants in counties with more than fifteen thousand notaries public.
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:
SECTION 1. G.S. 10A-4(b) reads as rewritten:
"(b) A person qualified for a notarial commission shall meet all of the following requirements:
(1) Be at least 18 years of age.
(2) Reside or work in this State.
(3) Satisfactorily complete a course of study that is approved by the Secretary and consists of not less than three hours nor more than six hours of classroom instruction provided by community colleges throughout the State, unless the person is a licensed member of the Bar of this State.
(4) Purchase and keep as a reference a manual approved by the Secretary that describes the duties, authority, and ethical responsibilities of notaries public.
(5) Submit an application
containing no significant misstatement or omission of fact. The
application form shall be provided by the Secretary and be available at the
register of deeds office in each county. Every application shall bear the
signature of the applicant written with pen and ink, and the signature shall be
acknowledged by the applicant before a person authorized to administer
oaths. The Except for any applicant who seeks to receive the
oath of office from the register of deeds of a county where more than 15,000
active notaries public are on record on January 1 of the year when the
application is filed, the applicant shall also obtain the recommendation of
one publicly elected official in North Carolina whose recommendation shall be
contained on the application.
(6) Pay a nonrefundable fee of fifty dollars ($50.00)."
SECTION 2. This act becomes effective January 1, 2006, and applies to notary public applications filed on or after that date.
In the General Assembly read three times and ratified this the 1st day of June, 2005.
s/ Beverly E. Perdue
President of the Senate
s/ James B. Black
Speaker of the House of Representatives
s/ Michael F. Easley
Governor
Approved 10:40 a.m. this 7th day of June, 2005