5 ILCS 312/ Illinois Notary Public Act.

(5 ILCS 312/3-107)

Sec. 3-107. Journal.

(a) 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.

(b) The Secretary of State shall adopt administrative rules that set forth, at a minimum:

(1) the information to be recorded for each notarization or electronic notarization;

(2) the period during which the notary public or electronic notary public must maintain the journal; and

(3) the minimum security requirements for protecting the information in the journal and access to the contents of the journal.

(c) A notary or electronic notary may maintain his or her journal in either paper form or electronic form and may maintain more than one journal or electronic journal to record notarial acts or electronic notarial acts.

(d) The fact that the employer or contractor of a notary or electronic notary public keeps a record of notarial acts or electronic notarial acts does not relieve the notary public of the duties required by this Section. A notary public or electronic notary public shall not surrender the journal to an employer upon termination of employment and an employer shall not retain the journal of an employee when the employment of the notary public or electronic notary public ceases.

(e) If the journal of a notary public or electronic notary public is lost, stolen, or compromised, the notary or electronic notary shall notify the Secretary of State within 10 business days after the discovery of the loss, theft, or breach of security.

(f) Notwithstanding any other provision of this Section or any rules adopted under this Section, neither a notary public nor an electronic notary public is required to keep a journal of or to otherwise record in a journal a notarial act or an electronic notarial act if that act is performed on any of the following documents to be filed by or on behalf of a candidate for public office:

(1) nominating petitions;

(2) petitions of candidacy;

(3) petitions for nomination;

(4) nominating papers; or

(5) nomination papers.

The exemption under this subsection (f) applies regardless of whether the notarial act or electronic notarial act is performed on the documents described in paragraphs (1) through (5) of this subsection before, on, or after the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 103rd General Assembly, and the failure of a notary public or an electronic notary public to keep a journal of or to otherwise record such an act does not affect the validity of the notarial act on that document and is not a violation of this Act. As used in this subsection (f), "public office" has the meaning given in Section 9-1.10 of the Election Code.

(Source: P.A. 102-160, eff. 6-5-23 (See Section 91 of P.A. 103-562 for effective date of P.A. 102-160); 103-562, eff. 11-17-23.)

(5 ILCS 312/Art. IV heading) ARTICLE IV CHANGE OF NAME OR MOVE FROM COUNTY

(5 ILCS 312/4-101) (from Ch. 102, par. 204-101)

Sec. 4-101. Changes causing commission to cease to be in effect.

(a) When any notary public legally changes his or her name, changes his or her residential address or business address, or email address, without notifying the Index Department of the Secretary of State in writing within 30 days thereof, or, if the notary public is a resident of a state bordering Illinois, no longer maintains a principal place of work or principal place of business in the same county in Illinois in which he or she was commissioned, the commission of that notary ceases to be in effect. When the commission of a notary public ceases to be in effect, his or her notarial seal or electronic notary seal shall be surrendered to the Secretary of State, and his or her certificate of notarial commission or certificate of electronic notarial commission shall be destroyed. These individuals who desire to again become a notary public must file a new application, bond, and oath with the Secretary of State.

(b) Any change to the information submitted by an electronic notary public in registering to perform electronic notarial acts in compliance with any Section of this Act shall be reported by the notary within 30 business days to the Secretary of State.

(c) Any notary public or electronic notary public that fails to comply with this Section shall be prohibited from obtaining a new commission for a period of not less than 5 years.

(Source: P.A. 102-160, eff. 6-5-23 (See Section 91 of P.A. 103-562 for effective date of P.A. 102-160).)

(5 ILCS 312/Art. V heading) ARTICLE V REAPPOINTMENT AS A NOTARY PUBLIC

(5 ILCS 312/5-101) (from Ch. 102, par. 205-101)

Sec. 5-101. Reappointment. No person is automatically reappointed as a notary public or electronic notary public. At least 60 days prior to the expiration of a commission, the Secretary of State shall mail notice of the expiration date to the holder of a commission. Every notary public or electronic notary public who is an applicant for reappointment shall comply with the provisions of Article II of this Act.

(Source: P.A. 102-160, eff. 6-5-23 (See Section 91 of P.A. 103-562 for effective date of P.A. 102-160).)

(5 ILCS 312/5-102) (from Ch. 102, par. 205-102)

Sec. 5-102. Solicitation to Purchase Bond. No person shall solicit any notary public and offer to provide a surety bond more than 60 days in advance of the expiration date of the commission of a notary public or electronic notary public.

Nor shall any person solicit any applicant for a commission or reappointment thereof and offer to provide a surety bond for the notary commission unless any such solicitation specifically sets forth in bold face type not less than 1/4 inch in height the following: "WE ARE NOT ASSOCIATED WITH ANY STATE OR LOCAL GOVERNMENTAL AGENCY".

Whenever it shall appear to the Secretary of State that any person is engaged or is about to engage in any acts or practices which constitute or will constitute a violation of the provisions of this Section, the Secretary of State may, in his discretion, through the Attorney General, apply for an injunction, and, upon a proper showing, any circuit court shall have power to issue a permanent or temporary injunction or restraining order without bond to enforce the provisions of this Act, and either party to such suit shall have the right to prosecute an appeal from the order or judgment of the court.

Any person, association, corporation, or others who violate the provisions of this Section shall be guilty of a business offense and punishable by a fine of not less than $500 for each offense.

(Source: P.A. 102-160, eff. 5-6-23 (See Section 91 of P.A. 103-562 for effective date of P.A. 102-160).)