Vermont Notary Rules and Duties

Rule 5-1 limits a commissioned notary to five acts: taking an acknowledgment, taking a verification on oath or affirmation, attesting a signature, noting a protest of a negotiable instrument, and certifying that a paper copy of an electronic record is accurate. That last item is the only copy certification allowed; Vermont notaries may not certify copies of other records. The rules also clarify that swearing in witnesses for oral testimony, issuing subpoenas and administering oaths of office are not notarial acts under these rules.

A basic commission covers only paper records for people physically present. Rule 5-2 defines personal appearance as sharing the same physical space. Section 5341(d) requires a special endorsement for anything electronic or remote. You must be physically in Vermont for every act (rule 4-4), and a Vermont commission gives no authority in other states.

Section 5365 allows three methods. Vermont's personal-knowledge test asks whether your past dealings with the signer give you reasonable certainty that they are who they claim to be. Satisfactory evidence means a passport, driver's license or government-issued nondriver ID that is current or expired no more than three years, or another government ID within the same window that bears the person's signature or photo and satisfies you. The third route is a credible witness who appears in person and is known to you or identified by one of those primary documents.

Section 5365(c) lets you require more information or credentials if you are not assured. Under section 5372 and rule 5-4 you may refuse if you doubt the signer's competence or that the signature is voluntary, and generally for any reason not prohibited by law.

Section 5362(b) bars a notarial act on a record to which you or your spouse is a party, or in which either of you has a direct beneficial interest, and makes such an act voidable. OPR's FAQ notes that the interest may be financial, real estate or other.

Section 5345 makes it an offense to perform or offer notarial acts without a commission, to use titles implying you are a notary when you are not, or to notarize while your commission is suspended or revoked, punishable by a fine of up to $5,000, up to a year in prison, or both. The same section states that a commission does not authorize drafting legal records, giving legal advice or practicing law, and forbids withholding someone's original record. Section 5342 lets OPR deny, revoke, suspend or condition a commission for dishonesty, qualifying convictions, misleading advertising, rule violations or discipline elsewhere, with notice and hearing rights.

Every act is evidenced by a certificate under section 5367: completed at the time of the act, signed and dated in the same manner as your signature on file, identifying the jurisdiction, stating your title of office, which OPR says is simply notary public, and showing your commission expiration date. On a paper record you must either affix a stamp or print or type your name and commission number. You may not sign the certificate until the act has been performed, and it must be part of or securely attached to the record.

Rule 5-2(f) asks you to make every effort to put the certificate on the same page as the signer's name and signature; if that is impossible, the certificate must name the signer. Short-form certificates for acknowledgments, verifications and attestations appear in section 5368, and OPR's Stamps and Certificates page reproduces them.

Vermont does not require a stamp. Under rule 5-3 you may use a stamp, print or type the information, or combine the two, as long as every required element appears. A stamp you do use must be an ink stamp or embosser, must copy legibly, must not include the Vermont State Seal, and must show at least your name as signed on your oath, the word Vermont, the title Notary Public and your commission number; OPR's stamp page says the last seven digits of the number are enough.

If your stamp shows an expiration date, replace it or stop using it when the commission expires. Never let anyone else use it, and notify OPR within 48 hours of discovering it lost or stolen.

Neither chapter 103 nor OPR's rules sets a schedule of fees that notaries may charge for notarial acts, and neither requires a journal for traditional paper acts; the $30 amounts in section 5324 are what OPR charges for commissions and endorsements. Ask OPR if you are unsure about charging for a particular service.

For documents from elsewhere, sections 5374 through 5376 give acts from other states, tribes and federal officers the same effect as Vermont acts, and section 5378 covers foreign notarial acts, including the rule that a Hague Convention apostille conclusively establishes the foreign officer's signature and office. When a Vermont-notarized document is headed abroad, OPR's FAQ points signers to the Vermont State Archives and Records Administration for apostilles and certificates of authenticity.

With a special endorsement, section 5379 lets a notary located in Vermont act for a remotely located individual if identity is established by personal knowledge, a credible witness, or two different types of identity proofing; the notary can confirm the record is the one signed; and an audiovisual recording of the act is made. The certificate must state that communication technology was used. OPR's rules require the recording to be kept for at least seven years, and rule 5-2(e) does not let a representative sign for someone simply because that person is remotely located.

Endorsement holders renew with an extra hour of continuing education focused on electronic or remote acts.