Notary Public Handbook - California Page 6
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AMENDMENTS AND NEW LAWS EFFECTIVE JANUARY 1, 2006
The Governor signed the following bills, which became effective January 1, 2006:
• Assembly Bill 361, chaptered as Statutes of 2005, Chapter 295, makes several significant
changes in current notarial law as described below:
- Under the new law, the California certificate of acknowledgment must be in the form set
forth in the statute, rather than “substantially” in the form. The form set forth in the
statute did not change, but variations in the California form are no longer permitted. (The
law regarding acknowledgments to be used with documents filed in other states was not
changed.) (Civil Code section 1189)
- If a notary public is convicted of a crime related to notarial misconduct, including the
completion of a false notarial certificate, or of any felony, the court must revoke the notary
public’s commission and require the notary public to surrender to the court the notary
public seal. The court will then forward the notary public’s seal to the Secretary of State.
(Government Code section 8214.8)
- Any person who solicits, coerces, or in any manner influences a notary public to improperly
maintain the notary public’s journal is guilty of a misdemeanor. (Government Code section
8225)
- A notary public is guilty of a misdemeanor if the notary public does any of the following
(Government Code section 8228.1):
- Willfully fails to properly maintain the notary public’s journal; or
- Willfully fails to notify the Secretary of State if the notary public’s journal is lost,
stolen, rendered unusable or surrendered to a peace officer; or
- Willfully fails to permit a lawful inspection or copying of the notary public’s journal; or
- Willfully fails to keep the notary public’s seal under the notary public’s direct and
exclusive control; or
- Willfully surrenders the notary public seal to any person not authorized to possess it.
- A notary public may be guilty of forgery if the notary public issues an acknowledgment
knowing it to be false. A person who falsifies the acknowledgment of a notary public may
also be guilty of forgery. (Penal Code section 470(d)) Forgery is punishable by
imprisonment in the state prison, or by imprisonment in the county jail for not more than
one year. (Penal Code section 473)
• Senate Bill 302 was chaptered as Statutes of 2005, Chapter 627, and authorizes, in a stepparent
adoption, the consent of either or both birth parents to be signed in the presence of a notary
public. (Family Code section 9003)
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