Section 32-3-123 - Prohibited acts; penalties(a) A notarial officer shall not: (i) Perform a notarial act with respect to a record to which the officer or the officer's spouse or civil partner is a party or in which either of them has a direct beneficial interest;(ii) Notarize the officer's own signature;(iii) Notarize a record in which the officer is individually named or from which the officer will directly benefit by a transaction involving the record;(iv) Certify a copy of an official record issued by a public entity, such as a birth, death or marriage certificate, a court record or a school transcript, unless the officer is employed by the entity issuing or holding the original version of the record;(v) Affix the notarial officer's official signature or stamp to any record that does not contain the officer's completed notarial certificate;(vi) Investigate, ascertain or attest the lawfulness, propriety, accuracy or truthfulness of a record or transaction involving a notarial act;(vii) Execute a certificate containing information known or believed by the notarial officer to be false;(viii) Perform any official action with the intent to deceive or defraud; or(ix) Use the official notarial officer title or stamp to endorse, promote, denounce or oppose any product, service, contest, candidate or other offering.(b) A commission as a notary public does not authorize an individual to:(i) Assist persons in drafting legal records, give legal advice, influence or otherwise practice law;(ii) Act as an immigration consultant or an expert on immigration matters;(iii) Represent a person in a judicial or administrative proceeding relating to immigration to the United States, United States citizenship or related matters; or(iv) Receive compensation for performing any of the activities listed in this subsection.(c) A notary public shall not engage in false or deceptive advertising.(d) A notary public, other than an attorney licensed to practice law in this state, shall not use the term "notario" or "notario publico".(e) A notary public, other than an attorney licensed to practice law in this state, shall not advertise or represent that the notary public may assist persons in drafting legal records, give legal advice or otherwise practice law. If a notary public who is not an attorney licensed to practice law in this state in any manner advertises or represents that the notary public offers notarial services, whether orally or in a record, including broadcast media, print media and the internet, the notary public shall include the following statement, or an alternate statement authorized or required by the secretary of state, in the advertisement or representation, prominently and in each language used in the advertisement or representation: "I am not an attorney licensed to practice law in this state. I am not allowed to draft legal records, give advice on legal matters, including immigration, or charge a fee for those activities". If the form of advertisement or representation is not broadcast media, print media or the internet and does not permit inclusion of the statement required by this subsection because of size, it must be displayed prominently or provided at the place of performance of the notarial act before the notarial act is performed.(f) Except as otherwise allowed by law, a notary public shall not withhold access to or possession of an original record provided by a person that seeks performance of a notarial act by the notary public.(g) Nothing in this act shall be construed to deny a notarial officer the right to obtain an assurance in the form of a surety bond or errors and omissions insurance on a voluntary basis to provide coverage for liability.Added by Laws 2021 , ch. 27, § 1, eff. 7/1/2021.