2005 North Carolina Code - General Statutes § 10B-3. Definitions.

§ 10B‑3.  Definitions.

The following definitions apply in this Chapter:

(1)       "Acknowledgment" means a notarial act in which an individual, at a single time and place:

a.         Appears in person before the notary and presents a record; and

b.         Is personally known to the notary or identified by the notary through satisfactory evidence and indicates to the notary that the signature on the record was voluntarily affixed by the individual for the purposes stated within the record.

(2)       "Affirmation" means a notarial act, or part thereof, which is legally equivalent to an oath and in which an individual at a single time and place:

a.         Appears in person before the notary;

b.         Is personally known to the notary or identified by the notary through satisfactory evidence; and

c.         Makes a vow of truthfulness on penalty of perjury, based on personal honor and without invoking a deity or using any form of the word "swear".

(3)       "Attest" or "attestation" means the act of completing the written evidence of a notarial act, to wit: completion of a certificate by a notary who has performed a notarial act by witnessing a signature or administering an oath or affirmation.

(4)       "Commission" means the empowerment to perform notarial acts and the written evidence of authority to perform those acts.

(5)       "Credible witness" means an honest, reliable, and impartial person who is personally known to the notary and takes an oath or affirmation from the notary to confirm a signer's identity.

(6)       "Department" means the North Carolina Department of the Secretary of State.

(7)       "Director" means the Division Director for the North Carolina Department of the Secretary of State Notary Public Section.

(8)       "Jurat" means a certification added to an affidavit or deposition that states when and before what authority an affidavit or deposition was made, to wit, "Subscribed and sworn to before me this the ____ day of ________ 20__." The notary's signature and seal shall be affixed below the sworn or affirmed statement and signature of the affiant. In so doing, the notary shall certify the following:

a.         That the person signing the affidavit or deposition did so in the notary's presence and indicates the county in which the notarial act took place;

b.         That the signer appeared before the notary on the date indicated;

c.         That the notary administered an oath or affirmation to the signer, who swore to or affirmed the contents of the document.

(9)       "Moral turpitude" means conduct contrary to expected standards of honesty, morality, or integrity.

(10)     "Nickname" means a descriptive, familiar, or shortened form of a proper name.

(11)     "Notarial act," "notary act," and "notarization" mean the act of taking an acknowledgment, taking a verification or proof or administering an oath or affirmation that a notary is empowered to perform under this Chapter, as authorized by G.S. 10B‑31.

(12)     "Notarial certificate" and "certificate" mean the portion of a notarized record that is completed by the notary, bears the notary's signature and seal, and states the facts attested by the notary in a particular notarization.

(13)     "Notary public" and "notary" mean a person commissioned to perform notarial acts under this Chapter. A notary is a public officer of the State of North Carolina and shall act in full and strict compliance with this act.

(14)     "Oath" means a notarial act, or part thereof, which is legally equivalent to an affirmation and in which an individual at a single time and place:

a.         Appears in person before a notary;

b.         Is personally known to the notary or identified by the notary through satisfactory evidence; and

c.         Makes a vow of truthfulness on penalty of perjury while invoking a deity or using any form of the word "swear".

(15)     "Official misconduct" means either of the following:

a.         A notary's performance of a prohibited act or failure to perform a mandated act set forth in this Chapter or any other law in connection with notarization.

b.         A notary's performance of a notarial act in a manner found by the Secretary to be negligent or against the public interest.

(16)     "Personal appearance" and "appear in person before a notary" mean an individual and a notary are in close physical proximity to one another so that they may freely see and communicate with one another and exchange records back and forth during the notarization process.

(17)     "Personal knowledge of identity" means familiarity with an individual resulting from interactions with that individual over a period of time sufficient to eliminate every reasonable doubt that the individual has the identity claimed.

(18)     "Principal" means an individual whose signature is notarized; or an individual other than a credible witness, taking an oath or affirmation from the notary.

(19)     "Record" means information that is inscribed on a tangible medium and called a traditional or paper record.

(20)     "Regular place of work or business" means a location, office or other workspace, where an individual regularly spends all or part of the individual's work time.

(21)     "Revocation" means the cancellation of the notary's commission stated in the order of revocation.

(22)     "Satisfactory evidence of a signer's identity" means identification of an individual based on either of the following:

a.         At least one current document issued by a federal, state, or federal or state‑recognized tribal government agency bearing the photographic image of the individual's face and either the signature or a physical description of the individual.

b.         The oath or affirmation of one credible witness unaffected by the record or transaction who is personally known to the notary and who personally knows the individual seeking to be identified.

(23)     "Seal" and "stamp" mean a device for affixing on a paper record an image containing a notary's name, the words "notary public," and other information as required in G.S. 10B‑37.

(24)     "Secretary" means the North Carolina Secretary of State or the Secretary's designee.

(25)     "Signature" means the act of personally signing one's name in ink by hand.

(26)     "Subscribing witness" means a person who either watches another individual sign a record or takes that individual's acknowledgment of an already‑signed record and appears before the notary on behalf of the principal. The subscribing witness must sign the document in addition to the principal, must be personally known by the notary or prove identity to the notary by satisfactory evidence, and must take an oath or affirmation stating that he or she witnessed the principal sign.

(27)     "Suspension" and "restriction" means the termination of a notary's commission for a period of time stated in an order of restriction or suspension. The terms "restriction" or "suspension" or a combination of both terms shall be used synonymously.

(28)     "Verification" or "proof" means a notarial act where a person certifies under oath or affirmation that the person witnessed the principal either execute, record, or acknowledge the principal's signature on an already‑executed record. (1991, c. 683, s. 2; 1998‑228, s. 2; 2005‑391, s. 4.)