2019 Illinois Compiled Statutes
Chapter 5 - GENERAL PROVISIONS
5 ILCS 312/ - Illinois Notary Public Act.
Article II - Appointment Provisions

(5 ILCS 312/Art. II heading)

(5 ILCS 312/2-101) (from Ch. 102, par. 202-101)
Sec. 2-101. Appointment. The Secretary of State may appoint and commission as notaries public for a 4-year term as many persons resident in a county in this State as he deems necessary. The Secretary of State may appoint and commission as notaries public for a one-year term as many persons who are residents of a state bordering Illinois whose place of work or business is within a county in this State as the Secretary deems necessary, but only if the laws of that state authorize residents of Illinois to be appointed and commissioned as notaries public in that state.
(Source: P.A. 91-818, eff. 6-13-00.)

(5 ILCS 312/2-102) (from Ch. 102, par. 202-102)
Sec. 2-102. Application. Every applicant for appointment and commission as a notary shall complete an application in a format prescribed by the Secretary of State to be filed with the Secretary of State, stating:
(a) the applicant's official name, as it appears on

his or her current driver's license or state-issued identification card;

(b) the county in which the applicant resides or, if

the applicant is a resident of a state bordering Illinois, the county in Illinois in which that person's principal place of work or principal place of business is located;

(c) the applicant's residence address, as it appears

on his or her current driver's license or state-issued identification card;

(c-5) the applicant's business address if different

than the applicant's residence address, if performing notarial acts constitutes any portion of the applicant's job duties;

(d) that the applicant has resided in the State of

Illinois for 30 days preceding the application or that the applicant who is a resident of a state bordering Illinois has worked or maintained a business in Illinois for 30 days preceding the application;

(e) that the applicant is a citizen of the United

States or an alien lawfully admitted for permanent residence in the United States;

(f) the applicant's date of birth;
(g) that the applicant is able to read and write the

English language;

(h) that the applicant has never been the holder of a

notary public appointment that was revoked or suspended during the past 10 years;

(i) that the applicant has not been convicted of a

felony;

(i-5) that the applicant's signature authorizes the

Office of the Secretary of State to conduct a verification to confirm the information provided in the application, including a criminal background check of the applicant, if necessary; and

(j) any other information the Secretary of State

deems necessary.

(Source: P.A. 99-112, eff. 1-1-16; 100-809, eff. 1-1-19.)

(5 ILCS 312/2-102.5)
Sec. 2-102.5. Online notary public application system.
(a) The Secretary of State may establish and maintain an online application system that permits an Illinois resident to apply for appointment and commission as a notary public.
(b) Any such online notary public application system shall employ security measures to ensure the accuracy and integrity of notary public applications submitted electronically under this Section.
(c) The Secretary of State may cross reference information provided by applicants with that contained in the Secretary of State's driver's license and Illinois Identification Card databases in order to match the information submitted by applicants, and may receive from those databases the applicant's digitized signature upon a successful match of the applicant's information with that information contained in the databases.
(d) An online notary public application shall contain all of the information that is required for a paper application as provided in Section 2-102 of this Act. The applicant shall also be required to provide:
(1) the applicant's full Illinois driver's license or

Illinois Identification Card number;

(2) the date of issuance of the Illinois driver's

license or Illinois Identification Card; and

(3) the applicant's e-mail address for notices to be

provided under this Section.

(e) For his or her application to be accepted, the applicant shall mark the box associated with the following statement included as part of the online notary public application: "By clicking on the box below, I swear or affirm all of the following:
(1) I am the person whose name and identifying

information is provided on this form, and I desire to be appointed and commissioned as a notary public in the State of Illinois.

(2) All the information I have provided on this form

is true and correct as of the date I am submitting this form.

(3) I authorize the Secretary of State to utilize my

signature on file with the Secretary of State driver's license and Illinois Identification Card databases and understand that such signature will be used on this online notary public application for appointment and commission as a notary public as if I had signed this form personally."

(f) Immediately upon receiving a completed online notary public application, the online system shall send by electronic mail a confirmation notice that the application has been received. Upon completion of the procedure outlined in subsection (c) of this Section, the online notary public application system shall send by electronic mail a notice informing the applicant of whether the following information has been matched with the Secretary of State driver's license and Illinois Identification Card databases:
(1) that the applicant has an authentic Illinois

driver's license or Illinois Identification Card issued by the Secretary of State and that the driver's license or Illinois Identification Card number provided by the applicant matches the driver's license or Illinois Identification Card number for that person on file with the Secretary of State;

(2) that the date of issuance of the Illinois

driver's license or Illinois Identification Card listed on the application matches the date of issuance of that license or card for that person on file with the Secretary of State;

(3) that the date of birth provided by the applicant

matches the date of birth for that person on file with the Secretary of State; and

(4) that the residence address provided by the

applicant matches the residence address for that person on file with the Secretary of State.

(g) If the information provided by the applicant matches all of the criteria identified in subsection (f) of this Section, the online notary public application system shall retrieve from the Secretary of State's database files an electronic copy of the applicant's signature from his or her Illinois driver's license or Illinois Identification Card and such signature shall be deemed to be the applicant's signature on his or her online notary public application.
(Source: P.A. 99-112, eff. 1-1-16.)

(5 ILCS 312/2-103) (from Ch. 102, par. 202-103)
Sec. 2-103. Appointment Fee. Every applicant for appointment and commission as a notary public shall pay to the Secretary of State a fee of $10.
(Source: P.A. 85-1396.)

(5 ILCS 312/2-104) (from Ch. 102, par. 202-104)
Sec. 2-104. Oath.
(a) Every applicant for appointment and commission as a notary public shall take the following oath:
"I, (name of applicant), solemnly affirm, under the penalty of perjury, that the answers to all questions in this application are true, complete, and correct; that I have carefully read the notary law of this State; and that, if appointed and commissioned as a notary public, I will perform faithfully, to the best of my ability, all notarial acts in accordance with the law.".
(b) In the event that the applicant completes a paper application for appointment and commission as a notary public, he or she shall take the oath in the presence of a person qualified to administer an oath in this State. The printed oath shall be followed by the signature of the applicant and notarized as follows:
" ................. (Signature of applicant)
Subscribed and affirmed before me on (insert date).
................... (Official signature and official seal of notary)".
(c) In the event that the applicant completes an online application for appointment and commission as a notary public, he or she shall affirm the oath electronically. An electronic affirmation of the oath in the online notary public application system shall have the same force and effect as an oath sworn and affirmed in person.
(Source: P.A. 99-112, eff. 1-1-16.)

(5 ILCS 312/2-105) (from Ch. 102, par. 202-105)
Sec. 2-105. Bond. Every application for appointment and commission as a notary public shall be accompanied by an executed bond commencing on the date of the appointment with a term of 4 years, in the sum of $5,000, with, as surety thereon, a company qualified to write surety bonds in this State. The bond shall be conditioned upon the faithful performance of all notarial acts in accordance with this Act. The Secretary of State may prescribe an official bond form.
(Source: P.A. 84-322.)

(5 ILCS 312/2-106) (from Ch. 102, par. 202-106)
Sec. 2-106. Appointment recorded by county clerk. The appointment of the applicant as a notary public is complete when the commission is recorded with the county clerk.
The Secretary of State shall forward the applicant's commission to the county clerk of the county in which the applicant resides or, if the applicant is a resident of a state bordering Illinois, the county in Illinois in which the applicant's principal place of work or principal place of business is located. Upon receipt thereof, the county clerk shall notify the applicant of the action taken by the Secretary of State, and the applicant shall either appear at the county clerk's office to record the same and receive the commission or request by mail to have the commission sent to the applicant with a specimen signature of the applicant attached to the request. The applicant shall have a record of the appointment, and the time when the commission will expire, entered in the records of the office of the county clerk. When the applicant appears before the county clerk, the applicant shall pay a fee of $5, at which time the county clerk shall then deliver the commission to the applicant.
If the appointment is completed by mail, the applicant shall pay the county clerk a fee of $10.00, which shall be submitted with the request to the county clerk. The county clerk shall then record the appointment and send the commission by mail to the applicant.
If an applicant does not respond to the notification by the county clerk within 30 days, the county clerk shall again notify the applicant that the county clerk has received the applicant's notary public commission issued by the Secretary of State. The second notice shall be in substantially the following form:
"The records of this office indicate that you have not

picked up your notary public commission from the Office of the County Clerk.

The Illinois Notary Public Law requires you to appear in

person in the clerk's office, record your commission, and pay a fee of $5.00 to the county clerk or request that your commission be mailed to you. This request must be accompanied by a specimen of your signature and a $10.00 fee payable to the county clerk.

Your appointment as a notary is not complete until the

commission is recorded with the county clerk. Furthermore, if you do not make arrangements with the clerk for recording and delivery of your commission within 30 days from the date of this letter, the county clerk will return your commission to the Secretary of State. Your commission will be cancelled and your name will be removed from the list of notaries in the State of Illinois.

I should also like to remind you that any person who

attests to any document as a notary and is not a notary in good standing with the Office of the Secretary of State is guilty of official misconduct and may be subject to a fine or imprisonment.".

The Secretary of State shall cancel the appointment of all notaries whose commissions are returned to his office by the county clerks. No application fee will be refunded and no bonding company is required to issue a refund when an appointment is cancelled.
(Source: P.A. 100-201, eff. 8-18-17.)

(5 ILCS 312/2-107)
(This Section may contain text from a Public Act with a delayed effective date)
Sec. 2-107. Notary public remittance agent.
(a) Every company, corporation, association, organization, or person that remits notary public applications to the Secretary of State on behalf of applicants for appointment and commission as a notary public, for compensation or otherwise, shall comply with standards to qualify for licensure as a notary public remittance agent.
(b) The standards to qualify for licensure as a notary public remittance agent shall include, but not be limited to, the following:
(1) the applicant has not been the subject of any

administrative citation, criminal complaint, or civil action arising from his or her duties as a notary public remittance agent;

(2) the agent holds a surety bond in the amount of

$20,000 for the purposes of acting as a remittance agent; and

(3) the agent complies with all requirements set

forth by the Secretary of State for the submission of the notary public applications.

(c) The provisions of this Section do not apply to units of local government.
(Source: P.A. 101-366, eff. 1-1-20.)