IBA Compliance Connection

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We are aware that there are new journal and training requirements for notaries that were enacted over a year ago but will not go into effect until the Illinois Secretary of State finalizes administrative rules implementing the new requirements. Do you have any information as to when these new requirements will be released and become effective?

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A law enacted in 2021 substantially rewrote the Illinois Notary Public Act, which includes new journal and examination requirements for notaries, in addition to authority for remote and electronic notarizations. You are correct that these changes will not take effect until the Illinois Secretary of State’s proposed administrative rules are finalized. We do not know when this will be, but we will report on the adoption of the rules when it occurs on GoToIBA.com and in our IBA Compliance Connection Newsletter.

Also, there may be certain provisions of the final administrative rules that will not take effect immediately. For example, proposed Section 176.205 provides that applicants seeking a notarial commission must complete a course of study and acquire a passing score, with a delayed effective date for this requirement of January 1, 2024.

For resources related to our guidance, please see:

  • Illinois Notary Public Act, 5 ILCS 312/3-107(a), effective on adoption of final rules by the Secretary of State (“A notary public or an electronic notary public shall keep a journal of each notarial act or electronic notarial act which includes, without limitation, the requirements set by the Secretary of State in administrative rule, but shall not include any electronic signatures of the person for whom an electronic notarial act was performed or any witnesses.”)
  • Illinois Notary Public Act, 5 ILCS 312/2-101.5(a), effective on adoption of final rules by the Secretary of State (“Applicants applying for the first time as a notary public or as an electronic notary public or applying to renew his or her appointment as a notary public or as an electronic notary public shall:

(1) complete any course of study on notarization and electronic notarization that is required by the Secretary of State; and

(2) pass an examination at the completion of the course.”)

  • Public Act 102-160, Section 99 (“Effective date. This Act takes effect on the later of: (1) January 1, 2022; or (2) the date on which the Office of the Secretary of State files with the Index Department of the Office of the Secretary of State a notice that the Office of the Secretary of State has adopted the rules necessary to implement this Act, and upon the filing of the notice, the Index Department shall provide a copy of the notice to the Legislative Reference Bureau; except that, the changes to Sections 1-106, 2-103, and 2-106 of the Illinois Notary Public Act take effect July 1, 2022.”)
  • Illinois Secretary of State, Notice of Proposed Amendments, Notary Public Records, 47 Ill. Reg. 2881, 2984 (March 3, 2023) — Section 176.205 Course of Study and Examination (“(a) Beginning January 1, 2024, applicants seeking a commission as either a notary public or an electronic notary public must first successfully complete a course of study and acquire a passing score on the examination, as required by 5 ILCS 312/2-101.5. The successful completion of a course of study will remain valid for 2 years from the date of the examination.”)