§12. Names to be given in full, together with parties' permanent mailing addresses; identification numbers

A.(1) Notaries shall insert in their acts the Christian names and surnames of the parties in full and not their initial letters alone or the full names of the parties and not their initial letters alone, together with the permanent mailing addresses of the parties, and shall print or type the full names of the witnesses and of themselves under their respective signatures.

(2) For the purposes of this Section, a full name or a name in full shall include at least one given name and other initials in addition to the surname. It may be any combination of first name and middle initial or initials, if any, and the surname; or the first initial and at least one middle name and the surname; or the complete first and middle name or names and the surname. The notary shall type, print, or stamp his or her name as it appears on his or her commission.

B. Every document notarized in this state shall bear the notary identification number assigned by the secretary of state, except that if the notary is an attorney licensed to practice law in this state, he may use his Louisiana state bar roll number in lieu of his notary identification number. The number shall be typed or printed legibly and placed next to the typed, printed, or stamped name of the notary as required by Subsection A of this Section.

C. No person other than a regularly commissioned notary public shall use the title "Notary Public". Every person, other than a regularly commissioned notary, who is otherwise given notarial powers or authorized as a notary ex officio, shall clearly indicate his actual position or title from which his authority to notarize is derived, in addition to his notary identification number.

D.(1) Any document notarized in this state on or after January 1, 2005, submitted for filing or recording in the office of notarial records, register of conveyances, or recorder of mortgages in and for the parish of Orleans, or in the office of any clerk of court or recorder of mortgages or conveyances may be refused by the clerk or his employee if the document fails to contain the notary identification or attorney bar roll number and the typed, printed, or stamped name of the notary and the witnesses. However, documents filed in the civil or criminal suit records of any court shall not be subject to the provisions of this Subsection.

(2) Except as otherwise provided in this Section, no state office, agency, department, or political subdivision shall accept, file, or record any document notarized in this state on or after January 1, 2005, unless the document contains the notary identification or attorney bar roll number and the typed, printed, or stamped name of the notary and the witnesses.

(3) No office, agency, department, or political subdivision, or any officer or employee thereof, refusing to accept, file, or record any notarized document pursuant to the provisions of this Section shall be liable for any damages resulting from the refusal to accept, file, or record a notarized document for its failure to comply with the provisions of this Section.

Amended by Acts 1950, No. 481, §1; Acts 1954, No. 430, §1; Acts 2003, No. 1142, §1, eff. Jan. 1, 2004; Acts 2004, No. 62, §2; Acts 2004, No. 455, §1.