The Florida Senate

118.10  Civil-law notary.--

(1)  As used in this section, the term:

(a)  "Authentic act" means an instrument executed by a civil-law notary referencing this section, which includes the particulars and capacities to act of transacting parties, a confirmation of the full text of the instrument, the signatures of the parties or legal equivalent thereof, and the signature and seal of a civil-law notary as prescribed by the Florida Secretary of State.

(b)  "Civil-law notary" means a person who is a member in good standing of The Florida Bar, who has practiced law for at least 5 years, and who is appointed by the Secretary of State as a civil-law notary.

(c)  "Protocol" means a registry maintained by a civil-law notary in which the acts of the civil-law notary are archived.

(2)  The Secretary of State shall have the power to appoint civil-law notaries and administer this section.

(3)  ¹A civil-law notary is authorized to issue authentic acts and may administer an oath and make a certificate thereof when it is necessary for execution of any writing or document to be attested, protested, or published under the seal of a notary public. A civil-law notary may also take acknowledgements of deeds and other instruments of writing for record, and solemnize the rites of matrimony, as fully as other officers of this state. A civil-law notary is not authorized to issue authentic acts for use in a jurisdiction if the United States Department of State has determined that the jurisdiction does not have diplomatic relations with the United States or is a terrorist country, or if trade with the jurisdiction is prohibited under the Trading With the Enemy Act of 1917, as amended, 50 U.S.C. ss. 1, et seq.

(4)  The authentic acts, oaths and acknowledgements, and solemnizations of a civil-law notary shall be recorded in the civil-law notary's protocol in a manner prescribed by the Secretary of State.

(5)  The Secretary of State may adopt rules prescribing:

(a)  The form and content of signatures and seals or their legal equivalents for authentic acts;

(b)  Procedures for the permanent archiving of authentic acts, maintaining records of acknowledgments, oaths and solemnizations, and procedures for the administration of oaths and taking of acknowledgments;

(c)  The charging of reasonable fees to be retained by the Secretary of State for the purpose of administering this section;

(d)  Educational requirements and procedures for testing applicants' knowledge of the effects and consequences associated with authentic acts;

(e)  Procedures for the disciplining of civil-law notaries, including the suspension and revocation of appointments for misrepresentation or fraud regarding the civil-law notary's authority, the effect of the civil-law notary's authentic acts, or the identities or acts of the parties to a transaction; and

(f)  Other matters necessary for administering this section.

(6)  The Secretary of State shall not regulate, discipline or attempt to discipline, or establish any educational requirements for any civil-law notary for, or with regard to, any action or conduct that would constitute the practice of law in this state, except by agreement with The Florida Bar. The Secretary of State shall not establish as a prerequisite to the appointment of a civil-law notary any test containing any question that inquires of the applicant's knowledge regarding the practice of law in the United States, except by agreement with The Florida Bar.

(7)  The powers of civil-law notaries include, but are not limited to, all of the powers of a notary public under any law of this state.

(8)  This section shall not be construed as abrogating the provisions of any other act relating to notaries public, attorneys, or the practice of law in this state.

History.--s. 7, ch. 97-241; s. 1, ch. 97-278; ss. 10, 20, ch. 98-246.

¹Note.--As amended by s. 20, ch. 98-246. The amendment to s. 118.10 by s. 10, ch. 98-246, does not include the first two sentences of this subsection.