Effective - 28 Aug 2020
578.700. Notaries and notarial acts — prohibited acts — violations, penalties. — 1. For purposes of this section, all definitions from section 486.600 shall apply.
2. In performing a notarial act, a notary shall be guilty of a misdemeanor, punishable upon conviction by a fine not exceeding five hundred dollars or imprisonment for not more than six months, or both, for knowingly:
(1) Failing to require the presence of a principal at the time of a notarial act;
(2) Failing to identify a principal through personal knowledge or satisfactory evidence; or
(3) Executing a false notarial certificate under subsection 1 of section 486.660.
3. A notary who knowingly performs any other act prohibited by chapter 486 or fails to perform any other act required by chapter 486 shall be guilty of a misdemeanor, punishable upon conviction by a fine not exceeding five hundred dollars or imprisonment for not more than six months, or both.
4. Any person who is not a notary and who knowingly acts as or otherwise impersonates a notary shall be guilty of a misdemeanor, punishable upon conviction by a fine not exceeding five hundred dollars or imprisonment for not more than six months, or both.
5. Any person who knowingly obtains, conceals, defaces, or destroys the seal, journal, or official records of a notary shall be guilty of a misdemeanor, punishable upon conviction by a fine not exceeding five hundred dollars.
6. Any person who knowingly solicits, coerces, or in any way influences a notary to commit official misconduct shall be guilty of a misdemeanor, punishable upon conviction by a fine not exceeding five hundred dollars.
7. Any person who knowingly obtains, conceals, damages, or destroys the coding, disk, certificate, card, token, program, software, or hardware that is intended exclusively to enable an electronic notary public to produce a registered electronic signature, notary seal, or single element combining the required features of an electronic signature and notary seal, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor, punishable upon conviction by a fine not exceeding five hundred dollars or imprisonment for not more than six months, or both.
8. The penalties of this section shall not preclude other sanctions and remedies provided by law.
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(L. 2020 H.B. 1655)