26 V.S.A. § 5301 Short title
5301. Short title
This chapter may be cited as the Uniform Law on Notarial Acts.
Added 2017, No. 160 (Adj. Sess.), § 1, eff. July 1, 2019.
General Provisions
V.S.A. tit. 26, ch. 103, subch. 1
in effect26 V.S.A. § 5302 Uniformity of application and construction
5302. Uniformity of application and construction
In applying and construing this uniform act, consideration shall be given to the need to promote uniformity of the law with respect to its subject matter among states that enact it.
Added 2017, No. 160 (Adj. Sess.), § 1, eff. July 1, 2019.
26 V.S.A. § 5303 Relation to Electronic Signatures in Global and National Commerce Act
5303. Relation to Electronic Signatures in Global and National Commerce Act
This chapter modifies, limits, and supersedes the Electronic Signatures in Global and National Commerce Act, 15 U.S.C. § 7001 et seq., but does not modify, limit, or supersede Section 101(c) of that act, 15 U.S.C. § 7001(c), or authorize electronic delivery of any of the notices described in Section 103(b) of that act, 15 U.S.C. § 7003(b).
Added 2017, No. 160 (Adj. Sess.), § 1, eff. July 1, 2019.
26 V.S.A. § 5304 Definitions
5304. Definitions
As used in this chapter:
(1) “Acknowledgment” means a declaration by an individual before a notary public that the individual has signed a record for the purpose stated in the record and, if the record is signed in a representative capacity, that the individual signed the record with proper authority and signed it as the act of the individual or entity identified in the record.
(2) “Certificate” or “notarial certificate” means the part of, or attachment to, a notarized document that is completed by a notary public, bears the required information set forth in section 5367 of this chapter, and states the facts attested to or certified by the notary public in a particular notarization.
(3) “Commission term” means the two-year period commencing on February 1 and continuing through January 31 of the second year following the commencement of the term.
(4) “Communication technology” means an electronic device or process operating in accordance with section 5380 of this chapter and any standards adopted by the Office pursuant to section 5323 of this chapter that:
(A) allows a notary public and a remotely located individual to communicate with each other simultaneously by sight and sound; and
(B) when necessary and consistent with other applicable laws, facilitates communication with a remotely located individual who has a vision, hearing, or speech impairment.
(5) “Electronic” means relating to technology having electrical, digital, magnetic, wireless, optical, electromagnetic, or similar capabilities.
(6) “Electronic signature” means an electronic symbol, sound, or process attached to or logically associated with a record and executed or adopted by an individual with the intent to sign the record.
(7) “Foreign state” means a government other than the United States, a state, or a federally recognized Indian tribe.
(8) “Identity proofing” means a process or service operating in accordance with section 5380 of this chapter and any standards adopted by the Office pursuant to section 5323 of this chapter by which a third person provides a notary public with a means to verify the identity of a remotely located individual by a review of personal information from public or private data sources.
(9) “In a representative capacity” means acting as:
(A) an authorized officer, agent, partner, trustee, or other representative for a person other than an individual;
(B) a public officer, personal representative, guardian, administrator, executor, trustee, or other representative, in the capacity stated in a record;
(C) an agent or attorney-in-fact for a principal; or
(D) an authorized representative of another in any other capacity.
(10)(A) “Notarial act” means an act, whether performed with respect to a tangible or an electronic record, that a notary public may perform under the law of this State. The term includes taking an acknowledgment, administering an oath or affirmation, taking a verification on oath or affirmation, attesting a signature, certifying or attesting a copy, and noting a protest of a negotiable instrument.
(B) “Notarial act” does not include a corporate officer attesting to another corporate officer’s signature in the ordinary course of the corporation’s business.
(C) Nothing in this chapter shall be construed to require the use of a notary public to witness a signature that is allowed by law to be witnessed by an individual who is not a notary public.
(11) “Notarial officer” means a notary public or other individual authorized to perform a notarial act
(12) “Notary public” means an individual commissioned to perform a notarial act by the Office.
(13) “Office” means the Office of Professional Regulation within the Office of the Secretary of State.
(14) “Official stamp” means a physical image affixed to or embossed on a tangible record or an electronic image attached to or logically associated with an electronic record.
(15) “Outside the United States” means a location outside the geographic boundaries of the United States; Puerto Rico; the U.S. Virgin Islands; and any territory, insular possession, or other location subject to the jurisdiction of the United States.
(16) “Person” means an individual, corporation, business trust, statutory trust, partnership, limited liability company, association, joint venture, public corporation, government or governmental subdivision, agency, or instrumentality, or any other legal or commercial entity.
(17) “Record” means information that is inscribed on a tangible medium or that is stored in an electronic or other medium and is retrievable in perceivable form.
(18) “Remotely located individual” means an individual who is not in the physical presence of the notary public who performs a notarial act under section 5379 of this chapter.
(19) “Sign” means, with present intent to authenticate or adopt a record:
(A) to execute or adopt a tangible symbol; or
(B) to attach to or logically associate with the record an electronic symbol, sound, or process.
(20) “Signature” means a tangible symbol or an electronic signature that evidences the signing of a record.
(21) “Stamping device” means:
(A) a physical device capable of affixing to or embossing on a tangible record an official stamp; or
(B) an electronic device or process capable of attaching to or logically associating with an electronic record an official stamp.
(22) “State” means a state of the United States, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, or any territory or insular possession subject to the jurisdiction of the United States.
(23) “Verification on oath or affirmation” means a declaration, made by an individual on oath or affirmation before a notary public, that a statement in a record is true.
Added 2017, No. 160 (Adj. Sess.), § 1, eff. July 1, 2019; amended 2019, No. 30, § 27; 2021, No. 171 (Adj. Sess.), § 5, eff. July 1, 2022.
26 V.S.A. § 5305 Exemptions
5305. Exemptions
(a) Judiciary- and law enforcement-related employees.
(1) Employee exemptions.
(A) Judiciary-related.
(i) The persons set forth in subdivision (2)(A) of this subsection (a), when acting within the scope of their official duties, are exempt from all of the requirements of this chapter, including the requirement to pay the fee set forth in section 5324 of this chapter, except for the requirement to apply for a commission as set forth in subsections 5341(a), (c), (d), and (e) and subdivisions 5341 (b)(1)-(3) of this chapter.
(ii) A commission issued to a person under this subdivision (A) shall not be considered a license.
(B) Law enforcement-related.
(i) The persons set forth in subdivision (2)(B) of this subsection (a), when acting within the scope of their official duties, shall be commissioned as notaries public authorized to perform a notarial act as a matter of law and are exempt from all of the requirements of this chapter, including the requirement to pay the fee set forth in section 5324 of this chapter.
(ii) A notarial act that identifies the notary public as a person who is exempt under this subdivision (B) shall establish as a matter of law that the person is commissioned as a notary public for the purpose of acting within the scope of official duties under this subsection (a).
(2) Employees, defined.
(A) Judiciary-related. Persons employed by the Judiciary, including judges, Superior Court clerks, court operations managers, Probate registers, case managers, docket clerks, assistant judges, county clerks, and after-hours relief from abuse contract employees.
(B) Law enforcement-related. Persons employed as law enforcement officers certified under 20 V.S.A. chapter 151; who are noncertified constables; or who are employed by a Vermont law enforcement agency, the Department of Public Safety, of Fish and Wildlife, of Motor Vehicles, of Liquor and Lottery, of Corrections, or for Children and Families, the Office of the Defender General, the Office of the Attorney General, or a State’s Attorney or Sheriff.
(3) Official duties, defined. As used in subdivision (1) of this subsection, “acting within the scope of official duties” means that a person is notarizing a document that:
(A) the person believes is related to the execution of the person’s duties and responsibilities of employment or is the type of document that other employees notarize in the course of employment;
(B) is useful or of assistance to any person or entity identified in subdivision (2) of this subsection (a);
(C) is required, requested, created, used, submitted, or relied upon by any person or entity identified in subdivision (2) of this subsection (a);
(D) is necessary in order to assist in the representation, care, or protection of a person or the State;
(E) is necessary in order to protect the public or property;
(F) is necessary to represent or assist crime victims in receiving restitution or other services;
(G) relates to a Vermont or federal court rule or statute governing any criminal, postconviction, mental health, family, juvenile, civil, probate, Judicial Bureau, Environmental Division, or Supreme Court matter; or
(H) relates to a matter subject to Title 4, 12, 13, 15, 18, 20, 23, or 33 of the Vermont Statutes Annotated.
(b) Attorneys.
(1) Attorneys licensed and in good standing in this State are exempt from:
(A) the examination requirement set forth in subsection 5341(b) of this chapter; and
(B) the continuing education requirement set forth in section 5343 of this chapter.
(2) If a complaint of a violation of this chapter is filed in regard to a Vermont licensed attorney, the Office shall refer the complaint to the Professional Responsibility Board and shall request a report back from the Board regarding the final disposition of the complaint.
(c) Town clerks, assistants, and justices of the peace.
(1)(A) A town clerk and his or her assistants may perform notarial acts as notaries public throughout the town clerk’s county, provided that they shall comply with all of the requirements of this chapter, except as provided in subdivision (2) of this subsection (c).
(B) Subject to the provisions of subdivision (A) of this subdivision (1), performing notarial acts as a notary public shall be considered within the scope of the official duties of a town clerk and his or her assistants.
(2) Justices of the peace and town clerks and their assistants are exempt from the fee set forth in section 5324 of this chapter.
(d) Unauthorized practice. Nothing in this section is intended to prohibit prosecution of a person under 3 V.S.A. § 127 (unauthorized practice).
Added 2017, No. 160 (Adj. Sess.), § 1, eff. July 1, 2019; amended 2019, No. 30, § 28; 2019, No. 73, § 36; 2023, No. 16, § 1, eff. May 15, 2023.
Source: Vermont General Assembly (legislature.vermont.gov)URL: https://legislature.vermont.gov/statutes/chapter/26/103Fetched: 10/21/2026