Maine Notary Rules and Duties

A signer or person making a statement must appear personally, either physically or, for approved remote notaries, through approved communication technology. Under section 1907 you identify the person by personal knowledge (dealings that give reasonable certainty of identity), by documents, or by a credible witness.

Maine's statute lists a passport, a driver's license or a government-issued nondriver ID card, or another government ID with the person's signature or photograph that satisfies you. Unlike some RULONA states, Maine's text does not add an allowance for recently expired credentials, so be cautious with expired documents. A credible witness must appear in person and be known to you or identified by one of those documents. You may always ask for more.

Section 1904(3) is broader than the uniform act. You may not perform any notarial act for your spouse, domestic partner, parent, sibling or child, or for an in-law or a step or half relative. Nor may you notarize a record to which any of them, or you, is a party or in which any of you has a direct beneficial interest. The rules define that interest as any fee beyond the customary notarial fee, or any advantage, right, property or other consideration connected with the record. An act done in violation is voidable.

Employees of banks and other corporations may notarize instruments for their employer, but not when they are a party to the instrument themselves. A notary who provides other services to promote a direct initiative or people's veto may not swear in that petition's circulators.

Every notarial act needs a certificate under section 1916, executed at the time of the act, signed as on file with the Secretary of State, identifying the jurisdiction, stating your title and commission expiration date, and including your legibly printed or typed name. Short forms appear in section 1917. If a paper record arrives with no certificate, the Secretary of State's guidance is that the signer chooses the certificate.

For a paper notarization Maine makes the official stamp optional, though the Secretary of State strongly suggests using one. For electronic and remote acts a stamp is required. Any stamp must show your name as commissioned, Notary Public and State of Maine (or Maine), and your expiration date, and must copy legibly. Keep the stamping device secure, disable it when your commission ends, and report a loss or theft promptly under section 1919.

Section 1920 requires a journal for every electronic and remote notarization and makes one optional, though strongly recommended, for paper acts. A paper journal must be a permanent bound book with numbered pages, and you may keep only one at a time for tangible records. An electronic journal must be permanent and tamper-evident.

Each entry is made at the time of the act and records the date and time, a description of the record and type of act, the full name and address of each person served, how identity was established (including issue and expiration dates of any ID), and any fee charged. Keep journals for 10 years after the last entry, notify the Secretary of State promptly if one is lost or stolen, and tell the office where your journal is if you resign or are removed. The commission, stamp and journal belong to you, not your employer.

Maine sets no statutory fee schedule for notarial acts. Instead, the Chapter 700 rules require you to disclose any fee in writing before the act and to obtain the person's agreement first. The Secretary of State suggests keeping a fee schedule to hand out on request.

A Maine notary may certify a copy only after personally making it, or watching it made, or comparing it carefully with the original. Vital records and public records are off limits, as is any document that says on its face that copying it is illegal. The Attorney General has advised the Secretary of State that a notary should not act as both a witness and the notary on the same transaction.

Section 1926 states that a commission does not authorize drafting legal records, giving legal advice, acting as an immigration consultant or representing someone in immigration proceedings, or taking pay for any of those. Non-attorneys may not use the title notario or notario publico, and any advertisement of notary services must include, in each language used, a statement that the notary is not an attorney and cannot draft legal records, give legal advice or charge for those activities.

A violation of section 1926 is a civil violation with a fine of up to $5,000, and an injured person may sue for actual damages, three times actual damages, and attorney's fees. Separately, the Secretary of State may deny, refuse to renew, suspend, revoke or condition a commission for conflicts, prohibited acts, fraud or deceit, qualifying convictions, misleading advertising, false application statements or failure to cooperate, with a right to a hearing.

Before your first electronic or remote act you must file the Notice to Perform Electronic and/or Remote Online Notarizations and receive the Secretary of State's approval. The notice names your approved technology providers and includes their certification that you were trained on their platform, your certification that you have read chapter 39 and the rules, and samples of your electronic signature and stamp. General tools such as Zoom or FaceTime are not allowed.

You must be physically in Maine for every act. Under section 1915, a remote act requires reliable identification (personal knowledge, a credible witness, or two types of identity proofing), confirmation that the record is the one signed, and an audiovisual recording kept for at least 10 years. Certain election-related acts, such as witnessing absentee ballots or swearing in candidates and petition circulators, may never be done remotely. Report a change of technology provider within 10 business days.