New York State Bar Association Wants New Rules for In-Person Notarization Repealed
4.1.2023
The New York State Bar Association is recommending that the new record-keeping rules for in-person notarizations be repealed, arguing they are unworkable and will have a negative impact on attorneys and clients alike.
“The record keeping and record retention regulations are superfluous for attorneys,” said Sherry Levin Wallach, president of the New York State Bar Association. “If these regulations are not repealed, attorneys and their employees notarizing documents in the regular course of their business should be exempt.”
The association’s House of Delegates approved the recommendations of its Task Force on Notarization at its quarterly meeting today. The task force concluded that the new rules are unnecessary for attorneys who already are bound by professional rules of conduct and that they won’t have their intended effect of reducing fraud.
Under the new rules, notaries are required to keep a journal of each document notarized – including the type of identification provided – for 10 years. Electronic notaries must maintain a journal and an audio and video record.
Notaries who handle remote online notarizations must use communications software meeting standards set by the Secretary of State. While the association isn’t recommending that the rules be repealed for electronic notarizations, it is urging the Secretary of State’s office to license vendors to make it clear which companies meet the standards.
