Minnesota Session Laws - 1985, Regular Session

  

                         Laws of Minnesota 1985 

                        CHAPTER 268-S.F.No. 276 
           An act relating to notaries; providing procedures for 
          various notarial acts; enacting the uniform law on 
          notarial acts; amending Minnesota Statutes 1984, 
          section 358.15; proposing coding for new law in 
          Minnesota Statutes, chapter 358; repealing Minnesota 
          Statutes 1984, sections 358.32 to 358.40.  
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
    Section 1.  Minnesota Statutes 1984, section 358.15, is 
amended to read: 
    358.15 [BY WHOM TAKEN IN THIS STATE EX OFFICIO NOTARY 
PUBLIC.] 
    The following named officers shall have power to take and 
certify acknowledgments the powers of a notary public within the 
state: 
    (1) every member of the legislature, while still a resident 
in the district from which he was elected; but he shall receive 
no fee or compensation may be received for so doing exercising 
these powers.  The form of his the official signature in such 
these cases shall be is:  "A.B., Representative (or Senator), 
.......................................  District, Minnesota, ex 
officio notary public.  My term expires January 1, 19.....;" 
    (2) the judges and clerks and deputy clerks of all courts, 
residing within the state, including those of the circuit and 
district courts of the United States, and resident United States 
commissioners; 
    (3) notaries public and the clerks or recorders of towns, 
and cities; and 
    (4) (3) court commissioners, county recorders, and county 
auditors, and their several deputies, and county commissioners, 
all within their respective counties. 
    Sec. 2.  [358.41] [DEFINITIONS.] 
    As used in sections 2 to 10: 
    (1) "Notarial act" means any act that a notary public of 
this state is authorized to perform, and includes taking an 
acknowledgment, administering an oath or affirmation, taking a 
verification upon oath or affirmation, witnessing or attesting a 
signature, certifying or attesting a copy, and noting a protest 
of a negotiable instrument.  
    (2) "Acknowledgment" means a declaration by a person that 
the person has executed an instrument for the purposes stated 
therein and, if the instrument is executed in a representative 
capacity, that the person signed the instrument with proper 
authority and executed it as the act of the person or entity 
represented and identified therein.  
    (3) "Verification upon oath or affirmation" means a 
declaration that a statement is true made by a person upon oath 
or affirmation.  
    (4) "In a representative capacity" means:  
    (i) for and on behalf of a corporation, partnership, trust, 
or other entity, as an authorized officer, agent, partner, 
trustee, or other representative;  
    (ii) as a public officer, personal representative, 
guardian, or other representative, in the capacity recited in 
the instrument;  
    (iii) as an attorney in fact for a principal; or 
    (iv) in any other capacity as an authorized representative 
of another.  
    (5) "Notarial officer" means a notary public or other 
officer authorized to perform notarial acts.  
    Sec. 3.  [358.42] [NOTARIAL ACTS.] 
    (a) In taking an acknowledgment, the notarial officer must 
determine, either from personal knowledge or from satisfactory 
evidence, that the person appearing before the officer and 
making the acknowledgment is the person whose true signature is 
on the instrument.  
    (b) In taking a verification upon oath or affirmation, the 
notarial officer must determine, either from personal knowledge 
or from satisfactory evidence, that the person appearing before 
the officer and making the verification is the person whose true 
signature is on the statement verified.  
    (c) In witnessing or attesting a signature the notarial 
officer must determine, either from personal knowledge or from 
satisfactory evidence, that the signature is that of the person 
appearing before the officer and named therein.  
    (d) In certifying or attesting a copy of a document or 
other item, the notarial officer must determine that the 
proffered copy is a full, true, and accurate transcription or 
reproduction of that which was copied.  
    (e) In making or noting a protest of a negotiable 
instrument the notarial officer must determine the matters set 
forth in section 336.3-509.  
    (f) A notarial officer has satisfactory evidence that a 
person is the person whose true signature is on a document if 
that person (i) is personally known to the notarial officer, 
(ii) is identified upon the oath or affirmation of a credible 
witness personally known to the notarial officer, or (iii) is 
identified on the basis of identification documents.  
    Sec. 4.  [358.43] [NOTARIAL ACTS IN THIS STATE.] 
    (a) A notarial act may be performed within this state by 
the following persons:  
    (1) a notary public of this state, 
    (2) a judge, clerk, or deputy clerk of any court of this 
state, 
    (3) a person authorized by the law of this state to 
administer oaths, or 
    (4) any other person authorized to perform the specific act 
by the law of this state.  
    (b) Notarial acts performed within this state under federal 
authority as provided in section 6 have the same effect as if 
performed by a notarial officer of this state.  
    (c) The signature and title of a person performing a 
notarial act are prima facie evidence that the signature is 
genuine and that the person holds the designated title.  
    Sec. 5.  [358.44] [NOTARIAL ACTS IN OTHER JURISDICTIONS OF 
THE UNITED STATES.] 
    (a) A notarial act has the same effect under the law of 
this state as if performed by a notarial officer of this state, 
if performed in another state, commonwealth, territory, 
district, or possession of the United States by any of the 
following persons:  
    (1) a notary public of that jurisdiction;  
    (2) a judge, clerk, or deputy clerk of a court of that 
jurisdiction; or 
    (3) any other person authorized by the law of that 
jurisdiction to perform notarial acts.  
    (b) Notarial acts performed in other jurisdictions of the 
United States under federal authority as provided in section 5 
have the same effect as if performed by a notarial officer of 
this state.  
    (c) The signature and title of a person performing a 
notarial act are prima facie evidence that the signature is 
genuine and that the person holds the designated title.  
    (d) The signature and indicated title of an officer listed 
in subsection (a)(1) or (a)(2) conclusively establish the 
authority of a holder of that title to perform a notarial act.  
    Sec. 6.  [358.45] [NOTARIAL ACTS UNDER FEDERAL AUTHORITY.] 
    (a) A notarial act has the same effect under the law of 
this state as if performed by a notarial officer of this state 
if performed anywhere by any of the following persons under 
authority granted by the law of the United States:  
    (1) a judge, clerk, or deputy clerk of a court;  
    (2) a commissioned officer on active duty in the military 
service of the United States;  
    (3) an officer of the foreign service or consular officer 
of the United States; or 
    (4) any other person authorized by federal law to perform 
notarial acts.  
    (b) The signature and title of a person performing a 
notarial act are prima facie evidence that the signature is 
genuine and that the person holds the designated title.  
    (c) The signature and indicated title of an officer listed 
in subsection (a)(1), (a)(2), or (a)(3) conclusively establish 
the authority of a holder of that title to perform a notarial 
act.  
    Sec. 7.  [358.46] [FOREIGN NOTARIAL ACTS.] 
    (a) A notarial act has the same effect under the law of 
this state as if performed by a notarial officer of this state 
if performed within the jurisdiction of and under authority of a 
foreign nation or its constituent units or a multi-national or 
international organization by any of the following persons:  
    (1) a notary public or notary;  
    (2) a judge, clerk, or deputy clerk of a court of record; 
or 
    (3) any other person authorized by the law of that 
jurisdiction to perform notarial acts.  
    (b) An "Apostille" in the form prescribed by the Hague 
Convention of October 5, 1961, conclusively establishes that the 
signature of the notarial officer is genuine and that the 
officer holds the indicated office.  
     (c) A certificate by a foreign service or consular officer 
of the United States stationed in the nation under the 
jurisdiction of which the notarial act was performed, or a 
certificate by a foreign service or consular officer of that 
nation stationed in the United States, conclusively establishes 
any matter relating to the authenticity or validity of the 
notarial act set forth in the certificate.  
     (d) An official stamp or seal of the person performing the 
notarial act is prima facie evidence that the signature is 
genuine and that the person holds the indicated title.  
     (e) An official stamp or seal of an officer listed in 
subsection (a)(1) or (a)(2) is prima facie evidence that a 
person with the indicated title has authority to perform 
notarial acts.  
     (f) If the title of office and indication of authority to 
perform notarial acts appears either in a digest of foreign law 
or in a list customarily used as a source for that information, 
the authority of an officer with that title to perform notarial 
acts is conclusively established.  
    Sec. 8.  [358.47] [CERTIFICATE OF NOTARIAL ACTS.] 
    (a) A notarial act must be evidenced by a certificate 
signed and dated by a notarial officer.  The certificate must 
include identification of the jurisdiction in which the notarial 
act is performed and the title of the office of the notarial 
officer and may include the official stamp or seal of office. If 
the officer is a notary public, the certificate must also 
indicate the date of expiration, if any, of the commission of 
office, but omission of that information may subsequently be 
corrected.  If the officer is a commissioned officer on active 
duty in the military service of the United States, it must also 
include the officer's rank.  
    (b) A certificate of a notarial act is sufficient if it 
meets the requirements of subsection (a) and it:  
    (1) is in the short form set forth in section 9;  
    (2) is in a form otherwise prescribed by the law of this 
state;  
    (3) is in a form prescribed by the laws or regulations 
applicable in the place in which the notarial act was performed; 
or 
    (4) sets forth the actions of the notarial officer and 
those are sufficient to meet the requirements of the designated 
notarial act.  
    (c) By executing a certificate of a notarial act, the 
notarial officer certifies that the officer has made the 
determinations required by section 3.  
    Sec. 9.  [358.48] [SHORT FORMS.] 
    The following short form certificates of notarial acts are 
sufficient for the purposes indicated, if completed with the 
information required by section 8, subsection (a):  
    (1) For an acknowledgment in an individual capacity;  
State of ..........................  
County of .........................  
    This instrument was acknowledged before me on 
..........(date) by ....................(name(s) of persons(s)). 
                                 ...............................
                                 (Signature of notarial officer)
(Seal, if any)
                                 ...............................
                                 Title (and Rank)
                                 My commission expires: ........
    (2) For an acknowledgment in a representative capacity:  
State of ..........................  
County of .........................  
    This instrument was acknowledged before me on 
..........(date) by ....................(name(s) of person(s)) 
as ........................................(type of authority, 
e.g., officer, trustee, etc.) of ............................. 
.................(name of party on behalf of whom the instrument 
was executed).  
                                 ...............................
                                 (Signature of notarial officer)
(Seal, if any)
                                 ...............................
                                 Title (and Rank)
                                 My commission expires: ........
    (3) For a verification upon oath or affirmation:  
State of .......................... 
County of ......................... 
    Signed and sworn to (or affirmed) before me on 
.........(date) by ...................(name(s) of person(s) 
making statement).  
                                 ...............................
                                 (Signature of notarial officer)
(Seal, if any)
                                 ...............................
                                 Title (and Rank)
                                 My commission expires: ........
    (4) For witnessing or attesting a signature:  
State of ..........................  
County of .........................  
    Signed or attested before me on ..........(date) by 
....................(name(s) of person(s)).  
                                 ...............................
                                 (Signature of notarial officer)
(Seal, if any)
                                 ...............................
                                 Title (and Rank)
                                 My commission expires: ........
    (5) For attestation of a copy of a document:  
State of .......................... 
County of ......................... 
    I certify that this is a true and correct copy of a 
document in the possession of .................... . 
      Dated: ............
                                 ...............................
                                 (Signature of notarial officer)
(Seal, if any)
                                 ...............................
                                 Title (and Rank)
                                 My commission expires: ........
    Sec. 10.  [358.49] [SHORT TITLE.] 
    Sections 2 to 10 may be cited as the uniform law on 
notarial acts.  
    Sec. 11. [NOTARIAL ACTS AFFECTED BY THIS ACT.] 
    Sections 2 to 10 apply to notarial acts performed after 
July 31, 1985. 
   Sec. 12.  [REPEALER.] 
    Minnesota Statutes 1984, sections 358.32, 358.33, 358.34, 
358.35, 358.36, 358.37, 358.38, 358.39, and 358.40 are repealed. 
    Sec. 13.  [TIME OF TAKING EFFECT.] 
    This act takes effect August 1, 1985. 
    Approved May 31, 1985