Updated Notary Law Grimes Championed Becomes Law

Updated Notary Law Grimes Championed Becomes Law

FRANKFORT, Ky. (March 26, 2019) – A bill backed by Secretary of State Alison Lundergan Grimes and sponsored by Senator Morgan McGarvey (D-Louisville), updating Kentucky’s antiquated notary laws, was signed into law this week. The bill is based upon work by the Secretary of State’s Notary Task Force which began over four years ago. 

“Improving access to notary services through online and remote notarization not only brings Kentucky into the 21st century but it’s yet another layer in building a solid foundation to help Kentucky businesses succeed and our economy grow,” said Grimes.

Kentucky’s notary law will now provide for notarial acts to be executed electronically online and remotely. This legislation modernizes Kentucky’s notary laws and brings them into conformity with the Revised Uniform Law on Notarial Acts (“RULONA”) as set forth by the Uniform Law Commission.

Grimes, who led National Association of Secretaries of State (NASS) in updating their standards last year said, “I’m proud to have led the discussion nationally on this issue and to see such necessary legislation become law in Kentucky.”

Six other states are currently considering updating their notarization laws. Five states, including Kentucky, have led the way in adopting remote notarization.

During Grimes' tenure the Secretary of State's office has processed 161,884 notary applications. In 2018 alone, the office processed 21,333 applications for Notary-State At Large.

Senator McGarvey, who sponsored the bill, noted “Secretary Grimes’ exhaustive work on this policy both nationally and in the Commonwealth yielded a bipartisan, comprehensive bill which supports transactional security, the privacy of document signers, and the centuries-old assurances of the notarial act.”

Most of the nation's Secretaries of State are responsible for commissioning and regulating 4.5 million notaries public. Grimes, as Kentucky’s Chief Business Official, has worked to make it easier to do business in the Commonwealth. Kentucky has approximately 82,000 notaries commissioned by the Secretary of State.