Report Title:

Notary Public

Description:

Clarifies the law with respect to the duties of a notary public.

THE SENATE	S.B. NO.	1349
TWENTY-FIFTH LEGISLATURE, 2009
STATE OF HAWAII

A BILL FOR AN ACT

RELATING TO NOTARIES PUBLIC.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF HAWAII:

     SECTION 1.  Chapter 710, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by adding two new sections to be appropriately designated and to read as follows:

     "§710-  Authorized changes to documents after notarization. The following shall not be considered misrepresentations or alterations prohibited by sections 710-1069 and 710-1069.5:

(a) Filling in the effective date or date of execution of the document, as instructed by the parties to the document;

(b) Filling in document numbers and land court certificate of title numbers within the body of a document or exhibit attached to the document, as instructed by the parties to the document, or adding such other information to the document as may be requested or required by the bureau of conveyances or the office of the assistant registrar of the land court in order to allow the document to be recorded in the bureau of conveyances or the office of the assistant registrar; and

(c) Correcting typographical errors or abbreviations in the name of a party to an instrument, correcting a party's marital status, or correcting a legal entity's state of incorporation or formation, in order to comply with the recording requirements of the bureau of conveyances or the office of the assistant registrar.

§710-  Changes ratified by the parties to a document after notarization. For the purposes of sections 710-1069 and 710‑1069.5, it shall not be considered a misrepresentation of a notarized document if a person submits or invites reliance on a document that has been altered after the document has been notarized by a notary public in this or any other jurisdiction; provided that the alteration of the document was subsequently approved by all of the parties who have signed the document."

     SECTION 2.  Section 456-21, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by amending subsection (a) to read as follows:

     "(a)  A person commits the offense of failure to authenticate with a certification statement if the person is a commissioned notary public and knowingly notarizes a document and fails to include any of the following in the notary certification:

     (1)  Date of notarization and signature of the notary public;

     (2)  The printed name and stamp or seal of the notary public;

     (3)  Identification of the jurisdiction in which the notarial act is performed;

     (4)  Identification or description of the document being notarized, placed in close proximity to the acknowledgment or jurat; and

     (5)  A statement of the number of pages and date of the document[.]; provided that if the number of pages cannot be readily ascertained, the commissioned notary shall state that the number of pages is unknown."

     SECTION 3.  Statutory material to be repealed is bracketed and stricken.  New statutory material is underscored.

     SECTION 4.  This Act shall take effect upon its approval.

INTRODUCED BY:

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