PRINTER'S NO. 2080
THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA
HOUSE BILL
No.
1605
Session of
2019
INTRODUCED BY DONATUCCI, HILL-EVANS, McNEILL, CALTAGIRONE,
YOUNGBLOOD, WARREN, KINSEY, CIRESI, SANCHEZ AND MADDEN,
JUNE 11, 2019
REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON PROFESSIONAL LICENSURE, JUNE 11, 2019
AN ACT
Amending Title 57 (Notaries Public) of the Pennsylvania
Consolidated Statutes, in revised uniform law on notarial
acts, further providing for official stamp.
The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
hereby enacts as follows:
Section 1. Section 317 of Title 57 of the Pennsylvania
Consolidated Statutes is amended to read:
ยง 317. Official stamp.
(a) Requirements.--The following shall apply to the official
stamp of a notary public:
(1) A notary public shall provide and keep an official
seal, which shall be used to authenticate all the acts,
instruments and attestations of the notary public. The seal
must be a rubber stamp and must show clearly in the following
order:
(i) The words "Commonwealth of Pennsylvania."
(ii) The words "Notary Seal."
(iii) The name as it appears on the commission of
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the notary public and the words "Notary Public."
(iv) The name of the county in which the notary
public maintains an office.
(v) The date the notary public's commission expires.
(v.1) The sequential identification number assigned
to the stamp manufacturer or vendor.
(vi) Any other information required by the
department.
(2) The seal must have a maximum height of one inch and
width of three and one-half inches, with a [plain] serrated
or scalloped border containing the stamp manufacturer or
vendor identification number.
(3) The seal must be capable of being copied together
with the record to which it is affixed or attached or with
which it is logically associated.
(b) Authorization of notary stamps.--The following shall
apply:
(1) No notary stamp shall be manufactured, duplicated,
sold or offered for sale unless authorized by the department.
(2) The department shall:
(i) Issue a permit with a sequential identification
number to each manufacturer or vendor authorized to issue
notary stamps. The department may establish a fee for the
issuance of the permit which may not exceed the actual
costs of issuing the permit.
(ii) Develop a certificate of authorization to
purchase a notary stamp from an authorized manufacturer
or vendor. The certificate of authorization shall be
designed to prevent forgeries and shall contain a
sequential identification number.
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(c) Certificates of authorization.--
(1) The department shall issue a certificate of
authorization developed under subsection (b)(2)(ii) for a
notary public to obtain an official notary stamp.
(2) A manufacturer or vendor shall be authorized to
provide a notary public with an official stamp only upon
presentation by the notary public of a certificate of
authorization.
(3) A manufacturer or vendor shall note the receipt of a
certificate of authorization and sequential identification
number of certificates presented by a notary public upon a
certificate of authorization.
(4) A copy of a certificate of authorization shall be
retained by a vendor and the original, which shall contain a
sample impression of the seal issued to the notary public,
shall be submitted to the department for verification and
recordkeeping.
(5) A notary public whose official stamp is lost,
misplaced, destroyed, broken, damaged or is rendered
otherwise unworkable shall immediately mail or deliver
written notice of such to the department. The department,
within five business days after receipt of the notice, if
requested by a notary public, shall issue a certificate of
authorization which a notary public may use to obtain a
replacement stamp.
(6) A list of authorized stamp manufacturers and vendors
shall be mailed to a notary public in this Commonwealth upon
the issuance of a commission.
(d) Current stamps.--A notary public who holds a commission
on the effective date of this subsection may continue to use the
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notary public's official stamp until the expiration of that
commission.
(e) Guidelines.--The department shall issue guidelines for
the implementation of this section.
Section 2. This act shall take effect in 120 days.
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