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SECTION TWO - Qualifications and Requirements of Being a Notary A. Qualifications You may be commissioned in your legal name (or a nickname of your legal name). You must sign notarial certificates and any other documents that you notarize in your commissioned name and your notary seal must bear that name.
If you are commissioned as a nonresident notary public and you move to Missouri , you may immediately be appointed and commissioned as a resident notary. You will need to return your nonresident notary certificate with a request to cancel that commission, alongwith a $25 fee for issuing another commission. B. Appointment and length of Term. Your term of office is four years. If you are appointed October 22, 2004 your commission will expire October 21, 2009 (12:00 a. m.) If your name changes, you must request an amended commission by submitting the appropriate application form, a rider to the notary bond, and a small fee. You should contact Huckleberry Notary Bonding for assistance. (1-800-422-1555) If you move to a new county you are required to request an amended commission form within 30 days and to purchase your replacement seal. This request must be made as soon as your county residence has changed. You must also register as a voter in your new county and know your new voter registration information in order to put it on the amended commission form. You would also need a rider to your bond and a new rubber stamp for a name change or a residence change. Call Huckleberry Notary Bonding for either of these amended commissions they will take care of the details and order your new stamp. 1-800-422-1555 C. Application Process. Request an application from Huckleberry Notary Bonding by calling 800-422-1555 or print an application from our website at www.notaries.com Once you have an application you must perform the following steps.
At the end of your four year notary term Missouri notaries do not renew they re-apply. You must re-apply and follow the same steps when became a notary for the first time. You should re-apply within two months prior to expiration of your present commission. Huckleberry Notary Bonding will notify you in advance that it is time for you to start the process for a new Notary commission. E. Change of County and Name You must notify the Commissions Division at the Secretary of State. Call our office for the proper forms for a change of address. If you want to resign you commission return you commission certificate, along with a letter or resignation. You are not required state a reason for resigning. F. Jurisdiction A Missouri notary can perform official duties only within the geographical boundaries of the state. You are not limited to the county in which you reside and you have the authority to notarize in any county in the State of Missouri . G. Bond What is a surety bond? A surety bond is written by a company qualified to write bonds in Missouri . Huckleberry Notary bonding has been approved by the Missouri Division of Insurance to write bonds. The surety bond guarantees to any third party that if the notary public fails to perform the duties allowed by law, the surety company will provide coverage to the third party for any damages caused up to $10,000. Bonding companies must provide their own bond application and bond form. H. Notary Seal and Notary Fees Missouri law requires every notary to use either a black self inking rubber stamp seal or and engraved embosser seal on every notarial certificate. Your rubber stamp will have your name as it appears on your commission, "Notary Public," "State of Missouri ," your expiration date and the county in which you are commissioned. It will also contain your commission number. Huckleberry Notary Bonding provides you with a top quality self-inking rubber stamp. An embosser may be purchased for and additional charge. We offer either a handheld embosser or an elegant desktop model. The Great Seal of the State of Missouri should not be used on your notary stamp. Be sure to keep your seal under your protection at all times. Keep your seal in a secure place so that no one else can use your seal to improperly notarize or to commit fraud. If your seal is lost or stolen you must report this in writing to the Secretary of State. You should include your commission name and number, date of birth and the last time that you used your seal or that it was in your possession. Then if someone tries to use your seal to commit fraud you will have some protection to prove that you did not misuse your seal. A Missouri Notary Public is allowed to charge fees for notarizing documents. Section 486.350, RSMO 2000, allows you to charge $2 for each signature on a document and theproper recording of the notarization in your journal. The maximum fee for any other notarial act is $1. You may charge $2 for each 8 � x 11 inch page you certify as a facsimile of an original document. The certification of a facsimile must also be recorded in your journal. You must also retain a copy of each page in your notary file. You are not permitted to charge a fee for notarizing the signature on any absentee ballot or an absentee voter registration card. A notary may charge a travel fee, not to exceed the approved federal mileage rate and may charge an expedited convience fee not to exceed $25 when traveling to perform a notarial act. The notary must explain to the person requesting the notarial act that the travel fee is separate from the notarial fee and is not specified or mandated by law. I. Authentication of a Notary's Authority When a document is traveling out of the country it may need authentication, verification or legalization of your notarial status or seal. There is a process that makes this simple. An international treaty called The Hague Convention governs it. A single certificate called an Apostille (a French word meaning "note") is attached to the notarized document. The Apostille entitles the document to full recognition in the country of intended use, and no further authentication or legalization by the Embassy or Consulate of that country is required. Documents being sent to another state or a country not participating in The Hague Convention may also require certification. That document would require a Certificate of Notarial Authority. This certificate would also be issued by the Secretary of State's office. 486.395. (Upon the receipt of a written request, the notarized document and fee of ten dollars payable to the director of revenue.) A certificate of authority The notary is not responsible for requesting an Apostille or a Certificate of Notarial Authority. The person who signed the document or the document bearer may request authentication of documents. These persons should contact the Secretary of State.
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