July 7, 2026 Tuesday Notary Titans (TNT)! 🧨

Matt Miller's legislative update Matt brought a full slate of new laws this summer: Rhode Island (SB 2715): Targets deed fraud. Flags mismatched notary info on recorded instruments as suspicious, allows public logs of notarial acts on property records, and gives notaries explicit legal grounds to refuse an act when a signer won't complete identity proofing. Virginia (HB 1262): Cracks down harder on unauthorized immigration practice and use of terms like "notario publico." Penalties jump from $500 to $2,500 for a first offense, $1,000 to $5,000 for repeat offenses, plus recovery of restitution and legal fees. Virginia (HB 163 / SB 316): Adds mandatory education, testing, and record-keeping for notaries and e-notaries, with a specific focus on real estate fraud and elder financial exploitation. Most provisions start July 1, 2026; education requirements kick in July 1, 2027. Also sets a uniform five-year journal retention period. Arizona (SB 1479): Adds a mandatory thumbprint requirement for real estate documents and powers of attorney, essentially mirroring California's rule. Includes fallback rules if a thumb is unavailable, and extends audiovisual recording retention to 7 years for remote notarizations that skip the thumbprint. Connecticut (SB 294): Modernizes the apostille process, allowing electronic apostilles with the same legal weight as paper ones ($40 fee, or $15 for adoption documents). Also doubles the notarial fee cap from $5 to $10 and ties travel fees to the IRS mileage rate instead of a flat 35 cents. California (AB 1597): The one everyone was waiting on. Raises notary fee caps for the first time in 10 years: acknowledgments and jurats from $15 to $20, depositions from $30 to $35, oath and deposition certificates from $7 to $12, and certified copies of powers of attorney from $15 to $20. Vote by mail ballots and military benefit applications stay fee free. Matt credited the Raise the Fee campaign and community advocacy for getting the California bill across the line, and pointed out California's notary workforce has shrunk to 137,000 for 40 million residents, which was the core argument that won lawmakers over. Journal retention (Virginia): No historical standard existed since Virginia didn't require journals before. New law starts July 1; Matt needs to confirm the specific retention period once it takes effect. Thumbprint capture: No formal training exists. Matt described the basic method (inkless thumbprint pad or an electronic capture device for e-journals) and stressed making it a habit for every document, not just required ones, since missed prints on required documents in California carry a $2,500 penalty per occurrence. Laura noted Cornhuskers lotion helps when a signer's skin is too dry to get a clean print. Notarizing wills with witnesses: Whether witness signatures need notarizing depends on the document or the signer's instructions, not the notary's discretion. Self-proving affidavits typically require all three signatures notarized. Any signer whose signature is notarized, including a witness, goes in the journal. Using a home address as a witness: Check what the law actually requires. If it doesn't specify a residential address, a work address or PO box is fair game. Several participants (including one in law enforcement adjacent work) weighed in on using non-home addresses for safety reasons. Laura's stance: it's a personal decision, she's fine using her own address since she's a public figure by nature of the job, but she respects that others have real reasons not to. Thumbprints from witnesses: Not required in California, only from the signer. Laura and Matt both flagged collecting witness thumbprints as unnecessary "over collection" of biometric data. Scam signing requests: Dan Brewer raised the ongoing wave of scam signing requests coming through directories like Notary Rotary and Find a Notary. Matt's practical screening tip: reply asking for a callback number. Real requesters call. Scammers don't. Once a "Zoom session" gets proposed, that's the tell to block and walk away. Matt confirmed it's a phishing operation aimed at either data or eventual ransom, and blocking individual emails is largely a losing game since scammers just create new ones. Dropping documents at FedEx locations inside Walgreens/CVS: General consensus was no. Laura only hand-delivers for a receipt. Melissa added that box drops don't get scanned until FedEx actually arrives, and those locations get skipped first if a driver is running behind. Jen shared a cautionary story about signature pages getting stuck inside a drop box for months. New notary mentorship (New York): Laura pointed to Notary Stars, her own Inner Circle (Saturday mornings), and the New York Alliance (Marcy Tiberio) as options. Laura also offers a mock signing walkthrough for loan signings via Coach Me Laura, and the CNTDA program includes a full mock trust package.