Requires notary publics to maintain a journal of notarial acts; clarifies the standards used by notary publics to identify document signers in order to safeguard against forged signatures on documents; provides standard forms for acknowledgements to be used by notary publics.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
3018
2011-2012 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY
January 21, 2011
___________
Introduced by M. of A. SCHROEDER, COOK -- read once and referred to the
Committee on Judiciary
AN ACT to amend the real property law, in relation to notary publics
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. Section 303 of the real property law is amended to read as
2 follows:
3 § 303. Requisites of acknowledgments. An acknowledgment must not be
4 taken by any officer unless he knows or has satisfactory evidence, that
5 the person making it is the person described in and who executed such
6 instrument. Satisfactory evidence of identity means reliance on at
7 least one current form of identification issued by a federal or state
8 government that contains the bearer's photograph and signature; or on
9 the oath or affirmation of an individual who is personally known to the
10 notary and who personally knows the acknowledger; or, in the case of an
11 acknowledger sixty-five years of age or older, on the oath or affirma-
12 tion of an individual who personally knows the acknowledger, and
13 provides at least one current form of identification as described in
14 this section, and has no involvement in the transaction requiring a
15 notarial act.
16 § 2. Section 309 of the real property law, as amended by chapter 179
17 of the laws of 1997, is amended to read as follows:
18 § 309. Acknowledgment by individual, corporation, partnership or
19 attorney in fact and form of certificate; form of certificate for proof
20 by subscribing witness. 1. The acknowledgment of a conveyance or other
21 instrument by a corporation, must be made by an officer or attorney in
22 fact duly appointed, or in case of a dissolved corporation, by an offi-
23 cer, director or attorney in fact duly appointed thereof authorized to
24 execute the same by the board of directors of said corporation.
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD06777-01-1
A. 3018 2
1 2. a. The certificate of acknowledgment must conform substantially
2 with one of the following alternative forms, the blanks being properly
3 filled:
4 State of New York )ss.:
5 County of..... )
6 On the....... day of....... in the year....... before me personally
7 came......., to me known, who, being by me duly sworn, did depose and
8 say that he/she/they reside(s) in....... (if the place of residence is
9 in a city, include the street and street number, if any, thereof); that
10 he/she/they is (are) the (president or other officer or director or
11 attorney in fact duly appointed) of the (name of corporation), the
12 corporation described in and which executed the above instrument; that
13 he/she/they know(s) the seal of said corporation; that the seal affixed
14 to said instrument is such corporate seal; that it was so affixed by
15 authority of the board of directors of said corporation, and that
16 he/she/they signed his/her/their name(s) thereto by like authority.
17 (Signature and office of person taking acknowledgment.)
18 State of New York )ss.:
19 County of..... )
20 On the....... day of....... in the year....... before me personally
21 came......., to me known, who, being by me duly sworn, did depose and
22 say that he/she/they reside(s) in....... (if the place of residence is
23 in a city, include the street and street number, if any, thereof); that
24 he/she/they is (are) the (president or other officer or director or
25 attorney in fact duly appointed) of the (name of corporation), the
26 corporation described in and which executed the above instrument; and
27 that he/she/they signed his/her/their name(s) thereto by authority of
28 the board of directors of said corporation.
29 (Signature and office of person taking acknowledgment.)
30 b. The certificate of acknowledgment of a conveyance or other instru-
31 ment by an individual on his or her own behalf must conform substantial-
32 ly with the following form, the blanks being properly filled:
33 State of New York ) ss.:
34 County of ..... )
35 On the ..... day of .......... in the year ..... before me personally
36 came ..............., to me known to be the individual described in and
37 who executed the foregoing instrument, and acknowledged that he/she
38 executed the same.
39 (Signature and office of person taking acknowledgment.)
40 c. The certificate of acknowledgment of a conveyance or other instru-
41 ment by a partner on behalf of a partnership must conform substantially
42 with the following form, the blanks being properly filled:
43 State of New York ) ss.:
44 County of ..... )
45 On the ..... day of .......... in the year ..... before me personally
46 came ..............., to me known to be the person who executed the
47 foregoing instrument, and who, being by me duly sworn, did depose and
48 say that he/she is a member of the firm of ..............., a co-part-
49 nership, and that he/she executed the foregoing instrument in the firm
50 name of ..............., and that he/she had authority to sign the same,
51 and he/she acknowledged to me that he/she executed the same as the act
52 and deed of said firm for the uses and purposes therein contained.
53 (Signature and office of person taking acknowledgment.)
54 d. The certificate of acknowledgment of a conveyance or other instru-
55 ment by an attorney in fact on behalf of another person must conform
56 substantially with the following form, the blanks being properly filled:
A. 3018 3
1 State of New York ) ss.:
2 County of ..... )
3 On the ..... day of .......... in the year ..... before me personally
4 came ..............., to me personally known to be the person described
5 and appointed attorney in fact and by a certain power of attorney
6 executed by .............., dated .......... and recorded in the office
7 of the clerk of ...... County on the ..... day of ......... in the year
8 ..... (or, to be recorded in the office of the clerk of ......... Coun-
9 ty simultaneously with the foregoing instrument) and acknowledged to me
10 that he/she had executed the foregoing instrument as the act of the said
11 ..........
12 (Signature and office of person taking acknowledgment.)
13 The certificate for a proof of execution by a subscribing witness must
14 conform substantially with the following form, the blanks being properly
15 filled:
16 State of New York ) ss.:
17 County of ..... )
18 On the ..... day of ......... in the year before me personally came
19 .............., the subscribing witness to the foregoing instrument,
20 with whom I am personally acquainted, who, being by me duly sworn, did
21 depose and say that he/she resides in .......... (if the place of resi-
22 dence is in a city, include the street and street number, if any, there-
23 of); that he/she knows ............. to be the individual described in
24 and who executed the foregoing instrument; that he/she, said subscribing
25 witness, was present and saw said ............... execute the same; and
26 that he/she, said witness, at the same time subscribed his/her name as
27 witness thereto.
28 (Signature and office of person taking proof.)
29 3. Subdivision two of this section shall be inapplicable to the
30 acknowledgment, within this state, of a conveyance or other instrument
31 in respect to real property situate in this state executed on or after
32 the first day of September, nineteen hundred ninety-nine. A certificate
33 of such an acknowledgment shall be subject to the provisions of section
34 three hundred nine-a of this article.
35 § 3. This act shall take effect immediately.
