Montana Code Annotated
TITLE 1. GENERAL LAWS AND DEFINITIONS
CHAPTER 5. PROOF AND ACKNOWLEDGMENT OF INSTRUMENTS - NOTARIES PUBLIC
Part 4. Notaries Public
1-5-401. Appointment. The secretary of state may appoint and commission as many notaries public for the state of Montana as in the secretary of state's judgment may be deemed best.
1-5-402. Qualifications -- residence. A person appointed as notary public may not, at the time of appointment, be a convicted felon. Each person appointed as a notary public must be a resident of Montana for at least 1 year immediately preceding appointment and must continue to reside within the state of Montana. Removal from the state or conviction of a felony vacates the office and is equivalent to resignation.
1-5-403. Term of office -- limit on commissions. (1) The term of office of a notary public is 4 years from the date of commissioning. (2) A person may not have more than one Montana notary public commission in effect at one time.
1-5-404. Penalties -- revocation of commission -- prosecution for violation of law. (1) Upon 10 days' notice, the secretary of state may revoke the commission of a notary public for just cause. (2) The county attorney of a county in which a violation of this chapter or another law applicable to notaries public or notarial acts occurs shall prosecute the violation.
1-5-405. Bond and commission -- dates -- fees and documents. (1) Each notary public shall submit an application, a signed oath of office, and an official bond in the amount of $10,000 for each 4-year term of office. The application and bond must be approved by the secretary of state. Upon the approval of the application and the bond, the payment of fees, and the filing in the office of the secretary of state of the official oath of the notary public, the secretary of state may issue a commission. (2) The effective date of the surety bond and the notary commission must be the same. (3) All required fees and required and properly completed documents must be submitted to the office of the secretary of state within 30 days before or within 30 days after the effective date of the surety bond.
1-5-406. Liabilities on official bond. For the official misconduct or neglect of a notary public, he and the sureties on his official bond are liable to the parties injured thereby for all damages sustained.
1-5-407. Certifying the official character of a notary. The secretary of state may certify to the official character of such notary public. Any notary public may file a copy of his commission in the office of any county clerk of any county in the state, and thereafter said county clerk may certify to the official character of such notary public.
1-5-408. Fees for filing or amending commission and issuing certificates. The secretary of state shall set and deposit fees in accordance with 2-15-405 for filing or issuing, in the manner provided for in 1-5-407, certificates. The secretary may charge a fee for changes made in the commission of a notary public, during the term of that commission, regarding the notary's name, residential address, business address, or residential or business telephone number. The secretary of state shall use application forms soliciting the information required by this part. The county clerk of any county in this state must receive a fee, as provided in 7-4-2631, for filing a copy of the commission and certifying to the official character.
1-5-409. Information to be filed -- amendments to commission. (1) A person appointed as a notary public shall file the person's business, if any, and residential addresses and telephone numbers with the office of the secretary of state. If the notary public changes the notary's address or telephone number during the notary's term of commission, the notary shall notify the office of the secretary of state in writing and shall sign the writing using the same signature that is used for notarial acts. (2) A notary public wishing to change the notary's name during the notary's term of commission shall file with the secretary of state a rider or other document from the notary's surety company showing the change of name. The notary public shall also file with the secretary of state a written example of the notary's new official signature.
1-5-415. Jurisdiction. A person receiving a commission as notary public has jurisdiction to perform the person's official duties and acts in every county of the state of Montana irrespective of the person's place of residence within the state. A notary public may perform notarial acts outside Montana pursuant to 1-5-605.
1-5-416. Powers and duties. (1) A notary public shall: (a) subject to subsection (2), take the acknowledgment or proof of any power of attorney, mortgage, deed, grant, transfer, or other instrument executed by any person and give a certificate of the proof or acknowledgment, endorsed on or attached to the instrument; (b) take depositions and affidavits, if the notary is knowledgeable of the applicable legal requirements, and administer oaths and affirmations in all matters incident to the duties of the notary public's office or to be used before any court, judge, officer, or board in this state; (c) whenever requested and upon payment of the required fees, make and give a certified copy of any record kept or that originated in the notary public's place of employment; (d) provide and keep an official crimper-type or ink stamp seal, upon which must be engraved the name of the state of Montana and the words "Notarial Seal" or “Notary Public”, with the name of the notary public exactly as that name appears on the notary's certificate of commission issued by the secretary of state; (e) authenticate with the notary public's official seal, and the notary's original signature as it appears on the notary's certificate of commission, all official acts. Whenever the notary public signs officially as a notary public, the notary public shall add to the signature the words "Notary Public for the State of Montana, residing at.... (stating the name of the town or city of the notary public's post office)" and shall endorse upon the instrument the date, showing the month, day, and four-digit year, of the expiration of the notary public's commission. (f) on every document on which the notary's seal of office is used, type, stamp, or legibly print the notary's name, as shown on the notary's certificate of commission, after or below the original signature of the notary.
(2) A notary public may not:
(a) notarize the notary's own signature;
(b) notarize a document in which the notary is individually named or has an interest from which the notary will directly benefit by a transaction involving the document; or
(c) certify a document issued by a public entity, such as a birth, death, or marriage certificate, unless the notary is employed by the entity issuing or holding the original version of that document.
1-5-417. Authority of notaries who are stockholders, officers, or employees of banks or other corporations. (1) Except as provided in this section, a notary public who is a stockholder, director, officer, or employee of a bank or other corporation may: (a) take the acknowledgment of a party to a written instrument executed to or by that bank or corporation; (b) administer an oath to any other stockholder, director, officer, employee, or agent of that bank or corporation; or (c) protest for nonacceptance or nonpayment bills of exchange, drafts, checks, notes, and other negotiable instruments that may be owned or held for collection by that bank or other corporation. (2) A notary public who is a stockholder, director, officer, or employee of a bank or other corporation and is individually named in an instrument or signs an instrument as a representative of the bank or other corporation may not: (a) take the acknowledgment of that instrument by or to that bank or other corporation; or (b) protest a negotiable instrument owned or held for collection by that bank or other corporation. (3) A notary public who violates this section is guilty of a misdemeanor and upon conviction must be punished as provided by law.
1-5-418. Maximum fees of notaries. Maximum fees of notaries public are as follows: (1) for drawing an affidavit, deposition, or other paper for which a maximum fee is not otherwise specified, $3.50 a page; (2) for taking an acknowledgment or proof of a deed or other instrument, including the seal and the writing of the certificate, for the first signature, $5; (3) for each additional signature of the same person as referred to in subsection (1), $1; (4) for administering an oath or affirmation, $5; (5) for certifying an affidavit, with or without seal, including oath, $5; and (6) for mileage or other charge to travel to or from or to and from the place of the notarial act, the amount provided by law for state employees when using the same mode of travel and traveling on state business.
1-5-419. Transfer of records upon termination of office. It is the duty of every notary public on his resignation or removal from office or at the expiration of his term and, in case of his death, of his legal representative to forthwith deposit all the records kept by him in the office of the county clerk of the county in which he was resident. On failure to do so, the person so offending is liable to damages to any person injured thereby.
1-5-420. Powers and duties of clerk with whom records deposited. It is the duty of each clerk aforesaid to receive and safely keep all such records and papers of the notary in the case above named and to give attested copies of them under his seal, for which he may demand such fees as by law may be allowed to the notaries, and such copies shall have the same effect as if certified by the notary.
Part 6. Notarial Acts
1-5-601. Short title. This part may be cited as the "Uniform Law on Notarial Acts".
1-5-602. Definitions. As used in this part, the following definitions apply:
(1) "Acknowledgment" means a declaration by a person that the person has executed an instrument for the purposes stated in the instrument and, if the instrument is executed in a representative capacity, that the person signed the instrument with proper authority and executed it as the act of the person or entity represented and identified in the instrument.
(2) "In a representative capacity" means:
(a) for and on behalf of a corporation, partnership, trust, or other entity as an authorized officer, agent, partner, trustee, or other representative;
(b) as a public officer, personal representative, guardian, or other representative in the capacity recited in the instrument;
(c) as an attorney in fact for a principal; or
(d) in any other capacity as an authorized representative of another.
(3) "Notarial act" means any act that a notary public of this state is authorized to perform and includes taking an acknowledgment, administering an oath or affirmation, taking a verification upon oath or affirmation, witnessing or attesting a signature, certifying or attesting a copy, and noting a protest of a negotiable instrument.
(4) "Notarial officer" means a notary public or other officer authorized to perform notarial acts.
(5) "Verification upon oath or affirmation" means a declaration that a statement is true made by a person upon oath or affirmation.
1-5-603. Notarial acts. (1) In taking an acknowledgment, the notarial officer shall determine, either from personal knowledge or from satisfactory evidence, that the person appearing before the officer and making the acknowledgment is the person whose true signature is on the instrument. (2) In taking a verification upon oath or affirmation, the notarial officer shall determine, either from personal knowledge or from satisfactory evidence, that the person appearing before the officer and making the verification is the person whose true signature is on the statement verified. (3) In witnessing or attesting a signature, the notarial officer shall determine, either from personal knowledge or from satisfactory evidence, that the signature is that of the person appearing before the officer and named in the instrument. (4) In certifying or attesting a copy of a document or other item, the notarial officer shall determine that the proffered copy is a full, true, and accurate transcription or reproduction of that which was copied. (5) (a) In making or noting a protest of a negotiable instrument, the notarial officer shall identify the instrument and certify either:
(i) that due presentment has been made; or
(ii) the reason why it is excused and that the instrument has been dishonored by nonacceptance or nonpayment.
(b) The protest may also certify that notice of dishonor has been given to all parties or to specified parties.
(6) A notarial officer has satisfactory evidence that a person is the person whose true signature is on a document if that person is:
(a) personally known to the notarial officer;
(b) identified upon the oath or affirmation of a credible witness personally known to the notarial officer; or
(c) identified on the basis of a current identification document or documents that show a photograph and signature of the person.
1-5-604. Notarial acts in this state. (1) A notarial act may be performed within this state by the following persons:
(a) a notary public of this state;
(b) a judge, clerk, or deputy clerk of any court of this state; or
(c) any other person authorized to perform the specific act by the law of this state.
(2) Notarial acts performed within this state under federal authority as provided in 1-5-607 have the same effect as if performed by a notarial officer of this state.
(3) Subject to the provisions of 1-5-605, notarial acts performed within Montana by notarial officers of bordering states have the same effect as if performed by a notarial officer of Montana.
(4) The signature and title of a person performing a notarial act are prima facie evidence that the signature is genuine and that the person holds the designated title.
1-5-605. Reciprocity of notarial acts. (1) A Montana notarial officer may perform a notarial act in a bordering state if the state recognizes the officer's authority within the state. (2) A notarial act performed in Montana by a notarial officer of a bordering state has the same effect under Montana law as if the act were performed by a Montana notarial officer, provided that the bordering state grants Montana's notarial officers similar authority within the bordering state.
1-5-606. Notarial acts in other jurisdictions of the United States. (1) A notarial act has the same effect under the law of this state as if performed by a notarial officer of this state if it is performed in another state, commonwealth, territory, district, or possession of the United States by any of the following persons:
(a) a notary public of that jurisdiction;
(b) a judge, clerk, or deputy clerk of a court of that jurisdiction; or
(c) any other person authorized by the law of that jurisdiction to perform notarial acts.
(2) Notarial acts performed in other jurisdictions of the United States under federal authority as provided in 1-5-607 have the same effect as if performed by a notarial officer of this state.
(3) The signature and title of a person performing a notarial act are prima facie evidence that the signature is genuine and that the person holds the designated title.
(4) The signature and indicated title of an officer listed in subsection (1)(a) or (1)(b) conclusively establish the authority of a holder of that title to perform a notarial act.
1-5-607. Notarial acts under federal authority. (1) A notarial act has the same effect under the law of this state as if performed by a notarial officer of this state if it is performed anywhere by any of the following persons under authority granted by the law of the United States:
(a) a judge, clerk, or deputy clerk of a court;
(b) a commissioned officer on active duty in the military service of the United States;
(c) an officer of the foreign service or consular officer of the United States; or
(d) any other person authorized by federal law to perform notarial acts.
(2) The signature and title of a person performing a notarial act are prima facie evidence that the signature is genuine and that the person holds the designated title.
(3) The signature and indicated title of an officer listed in subsection (1)(a), (1)(b), or (1)(c) conclusively establish the authority of a holder of that title to perform a notarial act.
1-5-608. Foreign notarial acts. (1) A notarial act has the same effect under the law of this state as if performed by a notarial officer of this state if it is performed within the jurisdiction of and under authority of a foreign nation or its constituent units or a multinational or international organization by any of the following persons:
(a) a notary public or notary;
(b) a judge, clerk, or deputy clerk of a court of record; or
(c) any other person authorized by the law of that jurisdiction to perform notarial acts.
(2) An "apostille" in the form prescribed by the Hague Convention of October 5, 1961, conclusively establishes that the signature of the notarial officer is genuine and that the officer holds the indicated office.
(3) A certificate by a foreign service or consular officer of the United States stationed in the nation under the jurisdiction of which the notarial act was performed or a certificate by a foreign service or consular officer of that nation stationed in the United States conclusively establishes any matter relating to the authenticity or validity of the notarial act set forth in the certificate.
(4) An official stamp or seal of the person performing the notarial act is prima facie evidence that the signature is genuine and that the person holds the indicated title.
(5) An official stamp or seal of an officer listed in subsection (1)(a) or (1)(b) is prima facie evidence that a person with the indicated title has authority to perform notarial acts.
(6) If the title of office and indication of authority to perform notarial acts appears either in a digest of foreign law or in a list customarily used as a source for that information, the authority of an officer with that title to perform notarial acts is conclusively established.
1-5-609. Certificate of notarial acts. (1) A notarial act must be evidenced by a certificate signed and dated by a notarial officer. The certificate must include identification of the jurisdiction in which the notarial act is performed, the date on which the notarial act is performed, the type of notarial act being performed, and the title of the office of the notarial officer and must include the official seal of office. If the officer is a Montana notary public, the certificate must also indicate the place of the notarial officer's residence and the date of expiration of the commission of office, but omission of that place or date may subsequently be corrected. If the officer is a commissioned officer on active duty in the military service of the United States, it must also include the officer's rank.
(2) A certificate of a notarial act is sufficient if it meets the requirements of subsection (1) and it:
(a) is in the short form set forth in 1-5-610;
(b) is in a form otherwise prescribed by the law of this state;
(c) is in a form prescribed by the laws or regulations applicable in the place in which the notarial act was performed; or
(d) sets forth the actions of the notarial officer and those are sufficient to meet the requirements of the designated notarial act.
(3) By executing a certificate of a notarial act, the notarial officer certifies that the officer has made the determinations required by 1-5-603.
1-5-610. Short forms. The following short-form certificates of notarial acts are sufficient for the purposes indicated if they are completed with the information required by 1-5-416 and 1-5-609(1):
(1) For an acknowledgment in an individual capacity:
State of___________________
County of_________________
This instrument was acknowledged before me on (date) by (name(s) of person(s)______________________
(Signature of notarial officer)
(Seal, if any)
_____________________________
(Name - typed, stamped, or printed)
_____________________________
Title (and Rank)
_____________________________
(Residing at)
[My commission expires: ________]
(2) For an acknowledgment in a representative capacity:
State of___________________
County of_________________
This instrument was acknowledged before me on (date) by (name(s) of person(s)) as (type of authority, e.g., officer, trustee, etc.) of (name of party on behalf of whom instrument was executed).
(Signature of notarial officer)
(Seal, if any)
_____________________________
(Name - typed, stamped, or printed)
_____________________________
Title (and Rank)
_____________________________
(Residing at)
[My commission expires: ________]
(3) For a verification upon oath or affirmation:
State of___________________
County of_________________
Signed and sworn to (or affirmed) before me on (date) by (name(s) of person(s) making statement)
______________________________
______________________________
(Signature of notarial officer)
(Seal, if any)
_____________________________
(Name - typed, stamped, or printed)
_____________________________
Title (and Rank)
_____________________________
(Residing at)
[My commission expires: ________]
(4) For witnessing or attesting a signature:
State of___________________
County of_________________
Signed or attested before me on (date) by (name(s) of person(s)) ______________________________
____________________________________
(Signature of notarial officer)
(Seal, if any)
_____________________________
(Name - typed, stamped, or printed)
_____________________________
Title (and Rank)
_____________________________
(Residing at)
[My commission expires: ________]
(5) For attestation of a copy of a document:
State of___________________
County of__________________
I certify that this is a true and correct copy of a document in the possession of_____________________________.
Dated ____________________
(Signature of notarial officer)
(Seal, if any)
_____________________________
(Name - typed, stamped, or printed)
_____________________________
Title (and Rank)
_____________________________
(Residing at)
[My commission expires: ________]
1-5-611. Uniformity of application and construction. This part must be applied and construed to effectuate the general purpose to make uniform the law with respect to the subject of this part among states enacting it.
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