Sec. 31.

(1) A notary public shall not certify or notarize that a record is either of the following:

(a) An original.

(b) A true copy of another record.

(2) A notary public shall not do any of the following:

(a) Perform a notarial act upon any record executed by himself or herself.

(b) Notarize his or her own signature.

(c) Take his or her own deposition or affidavit.

(3) A notary public shall not claim to have powers, qualifications, rights, or privileges that the office of notary does not provide, including the power to counsel on immigration matters.

(4) A notary public shall not, in any document, advertisement, stationery, letterhead, business card, or other comparable written material describing the role of the notary public, literally translate from English into another language terms or titles including, but not limited to, notary public, notary, licensed, attorney, lawyer, or any other term that implies the person is an attorney.

(5) A notary public who is not a licensed attorney and who advertises notarial services in a language other than English shall include in the document, advertisement, stationery, letterhead, business card, or other comparable written material the following, prominently displayed in the same language:

(a) The statement: "I am not an attorney and have no authority to give advice on immigration or other legal matters".

(b) The fees for notarial acts as specified by statute.

(6) A notary public may not use the term "notario publico" or any equivalent non-English term in any business card, advertisement, notice, or sign.

(7) A notary public shall not perform any notarial act in connection with a transaction if the notary public has a conflict of interest. As used in this subsection, "conflict of interest" means either or both of the following:

(a) The notary public has a direct financial or beneficial interest, other than the notary public fee, in the transaction.

(b) The notary public is named, individually, as a grantor, grantee, mortgagor, mortgagee, trustor, trustee, beneficiary, vendor, vendee, lessor, or lessee or as a party in some other capacity to the transaction.

(8) A notary public shall not perform a notarial act for a spouse, lineal ancestor, lineal descendant, or sibling including in-laws, steps, or half-relatives.

(9) A notary public who is a stockholder, director, officer, or employee of a bank or other corporation may take the acknowledgment of a party to a record executed to or by the corporation, or to administer an oath to any other stockholder, director, officer, employee, or agent of the corporation. A notary public shall not take the acknowledgment of a record by or to a bank or other corporation of which he or she is a stockholder, director, officer, or employee, under circumstances where the notary public is named as a party to the record, either individually or as a representative of the bank or other corporation and the notary public is individually a party to the record.

(10) For purposes of subsection (7), a notary public has no direct financial or beneficial interest in a transaction where the notary public acts in the capacity of an agent, employee, insurer, attorney, escrow, or lender for a person having a direct financial or beneficial interest in the transaction.

History: 2003, Act 238, Eff. Apr. 1, 2004 ;-- Am. 2006, Act 426, Imd. Eff. Oct. 5, 2006