1. The bond required to be filed pursuant to NRS 240.030 must be executed by the person applying to become a notary public as principal and by a surety company qualified and authorized to do business in this State. The bond must be made payable to the State of Nevada and be conditioned to provide indemnification to a person determined to have suffered damage as a result of an act by the notary public which violates a provision of NRS 240.001 to 240.169, inclusive or, if applicable, an act by the electronic notary public which violates a provision of NRS 240.001 to 240.206, inclusive. The surety company shall pay a final, nonappealable judgment of a court of this State that has jurisdiction, upon receipt of written notice of final judgment. The bond may be continuous but, regardless of the duration of the bond, the aggregate liability of the surety does not exceed the penal sum of the bond.

2. If the penal sum of the bond is exhausted, the surety company shall notify the Secretary of State in writing within 30 days after its exhaustion.

3. The surety bond must cover the period of the appointment of the notary public, except when a surety is released.

4. A surety on a bond filed pursuant to NRS 240.030 may be released after the surety gives 30 days’ written notice to the Secretary of State and notary public, but the release does not discharge or otherwise affect a claim filed by a person for damage resulting from an act of the notary public which is alleged to have occurred while the bond was in effect.

5. The appointment of a notary public is suspended by operation of law when the notary public is no longer covered by a surety bond as required by this section and NRS 240.030 or the penal sum of the bond is exhausted. If the Secretary of State receives notice pursuant to subsection 4 that the bond will be released or pursuant to subsection 2 that the penal sum of the bond is exhausted, the Secretary of State shall immediately notify the notary public in writing that his or her appointment will be suspended by operation of law until another surety bond is filed in the same manner and amount as the bond being terminated.

6. The Secretary of State may reinstate the appointment of a notary public whose appointment has been suspended pursuant to subsection 5, if the notary public, before his or her current term of appointment expires:

(a) Submits to the Secretary of State:

(1) An application for an amended certificate of appointment as a notary public; and

(2) A certificate issued by the clerk of the county in which the applicant resides or, if the applicant is a resident of an adjoining state, the county in this State in which the applicant maintains a place of business or is employed, which indicates that the applicant filed a new surety bond with the clerk.

(b) Pays to the Secretary of State a fee of $10.

(Added to NRS by 1995, 189; A 1997, 933; 2005, 2275; 2017, 80)