No, we do not believe that a tribal identification card is an acceptable identification document that a notary can accept under the current Illinois Notary Public Act.

In-Person Notarizations Under the Notary Public Act

Under the Illinois Notary Public Act, a notary must identify the signer by personal knowledge, identification by a credible witness personally known to the notary, or “identification documents . . . issued by a state agency, federal government agency, or consulate, and bearing the photographic image of the individual’s face and signature of the individual.” Because identification documents must be issued by a state agency, federal government agency, or consulate, we do not believe that an identification card issued by a tribal government is an acceptable identification document for a notarization.

In-Person, Remote, and Electronic Notarizations Under the Upcoming Notary Public Act Amendments

We note that the Illinois Notary Public Act has been amended to allow remote and electronic notarizations in Illinois. The amendments have a delayed effective date — they will not become effective until the Secretary of State finalizes implementing rules. As of this writing, the Secretary of State has not adopted final rules. Once the rules are finalized and the amendments become effective, the identification standards for in-person notarizations will not change, and similar identification standards will apply to remote notarizations. Consequently, we do not believe that an identification card issued by a tribal government will be an acceptable identification document for in-person or remote notarizations under the amended Notary Public Act.

Different identification standards will apply to electronic notarizations, but we think that the result will be the same. For electronic notarizations, if a notary does not have personal knowledge of the signer’s identity, the signer must be identified by a “government-issued identification credential” (plus a “credential analysis of the front and back” of the identification credential and a “dynamic knowledge-based authentication assessment”). A “government-issued identification credential” means “a tangible record evidencing the identity of a person, including a valid and unexpired identification card or other document issued by the federal government or any state government that contains the photograph and signature of the principal.”

We do not believe a tribal identification card would qualify as a government-issued identification credential for purposes of an electronic notarization. However, it is unclear whether the term “government-issued” would apply to an identification card issued by a federally-recognized tribal government, and we will be monitoring the Secretary of State’s final administrative rules for further guidance on the meaning of this term.

For resources related to our guidance, please see:

• Illinois Notary Public Act, 5 ILCS 312/6-102(a) (“In taking an acknowledgment, the notary public must determine, either from personal knowledge or from satisfactory evidence, that the person appearing before the notary and making the acknowledgment is the person whose true signature is on the instrument.”)

• Illinois Notary Public Act, 5 ILCS 312/6-102(d) (“A notary public has satisfactory evidence that a person is the person whose true signature is on a document if that person: . . . (3) is identified on the basis of identification documents. Identification documents are documents that are valid at the time of the notarial act, issued by a state agency, federal government agency, or consulate, and bearing the photographic image of the individual’s face and signature of the individual.”)

• Illinois Notary Public Act, 5 ILCS 312/6-102.5, subject to a delayed effective date as described above (“Any commissioned notary public may perform any notarial act described under Section 6-102 remotely, after first determining, either from personal knowledge or from satisfactory evidence, that the signature is that of the person appearing before the notary and named therein. A notary public has satisfactory evidence that a person is the person whose true signature is on a document if that person: . . . (3) is identified on the basis of identification documents. Identification documents are documents that are (i) valid at the time of the notarial act, (ii) issued by a State agency, federal government agency, or consulate, and (iii) bearing the photographic image of the individual’s face and signature of the individual.”)

• Illinois Notary Public Act, 5 ILCS 312/6A-103(b), subject to a delayed effective date as described above (“In performing an electronic notarization, an electronic notary public shall verify the identity of a person creating an electronic signature at the time that the signature is taken by using two-way audio and video conference technology that meets the requirements of this Act and rules adopted under this Article. For the purposes of performing an electronic notarial act for a person using audio-video communication, an electronic notary public has satisfactory or documentary evidence of the identity of the person if the electronic notary public confirms the identity of the person by:

(1) the electronic notary public’s personal knowledge of the person creating the electronic signature; or

(2) each of the following:

     (A) remote electronic presentation by the person creating the electronic signature
     of a government-issued identification credential, including a passport or
     driver’s license, that contains the signature and a photograph of the person;

     (B) credential analysis of the front and back of the government-issued
     identification credential and the data thereon; and

     (C) a dynamic knowledge-based authentication assessment.”)

• Illinois Notary Public Act, 5 ILCS 312/1-104, subject to a delayed effective date as described above (“‘Credential’ means a tangible record evidencing the identity of a person, including a valid and unexpired identification card or other document issued by the federal government or any state government that contains the photograph and signature of the principal.”)

• Illinois Notary Public Act, 5 ILCS 312/1-104, subject to a delayed effective date as described above (“‘Electronic presentation’ means the transmission of a quality image of a government-issued identification credential to an electronic notary public through communication technology for the purpose of enabling the electronic notary public to identify the person appearing before the electronic notary public and to perform a credential analysis.”)