News for Notary Publics

Like many other attorneys I know, I became a notary public purely as a convenience to my clients (and myself) to aid in the execution of such documents as wills, copyright assignments, Marital Dissolution Agreements, etc.  I was never very formal in my notary recordkeeping for the specific reason that I have never notarized a document where I did not know the person executing that document personally.  That has all changed.  The Tennessee Legislature recently passed an amendment to the notary public statute which reads:

            Notaries public are entitled to demand and receive reasonable fees and compensation for the notary public's services.  The notaries public shall keep a record in a well-bound book of each of the notaries public's acts, attestations, protestations, and other instruments of publications. 

            Although I have never charged for these services, the part that is currently important  is the requirement to keep a record in a "well-bound book" of each document notarized.  This may be relevant information for some of my fellow notaries; it was to me.   For what it's worth, the attorney general has issued an opinion stating that the required information may be stored in electronic form rather than in a "well-bound book" but I am partial to the well-bound book myself