Increases the fees notary publics are entitled to from two to five dollars

1 Co-sponsor

• Eric Adams

Title of bill

An act to amend the executive law, in relation to increasing the fees a notary public shall be entitled to

Purpose or general idea of bill

The purpose of the bill is to increase the fee that can be charged by a notary public for the performance of a service.

Summary of specific provisions

Subdivisions 1 and 2 of section 136 of the Executive Law are amended to increase the amount a notary public may charge for services from two to five dollars.

Justification

Public notaries are licensed professionals who are registered with the Department of State (DOS). Notaries not only provide an important service by affirming, acknowledging and certifying legal documents, they can also be subpoenaed to provide evidence in court proceedings validating the signatory of those documents in question regardless of the number of years prior the notarization took place.

In 1991, the state gave authorization to allow notaries to charge $2.00 for a notarization. That same year, DOS charged $20.00 to renew a license plus an additional $10.00 to the county where the notary was qualified. Today, DOS charges $60.00 to renew a license and, in some counties, the additional county fee could be has high as $30.00. However, notaries have not been given that same authorization to increase their fee during that same period.

Over the past year, notaries have been experiencing an increased demand for their services and court appearances; however, the number of licensed notaries has decreased. This is because while the personal and professional cost of being a notary has increased, their fee has not.

Prior legislative history

2007-08: A.9080/S.4773

Fiscal implications

None to the state.

Effective date

This act shall take effect immediately.