§ 10B-3. Definitions. - North Carolina Statutes

§ 10B‑3.  Definitions.

The following definitionsapply in this Chapter:

(1)        Acknowledgment. – Anotarial act in which a notary certifies that at a single time and place all ofthe following occurred:

a.         An individualappeared in person before the notary and presented a record.

b.         The individual waspersonally known to the notary or identified by the notary through satisfactoryevidence.

c.         The individual dideither of the following:

i.          Indicated to thenotary that the signature on the record was the individual's signature.

ii.          Signed the recordwhile in the physical presence of the notary and while being personallyobserved signing the record by the notary.

(2)        Affirmation. – Anotarial act which is legally equivalent to an oath and in which a notarycertifies that at a single time and place all of the following occurred:

a.         An individualappeared in person before the notary.

b.         The individual waspersonally known to the notary or identified by the notary through satisfactoryevidence.

c.         The individual made avow of truthfulness on penalty of perjury, based on personal honor and withoutinvoking a deity or using any form of the word "swear".

(3)        Attest orattestation. – The completion of a certificate by a notary who has performed anotarial act.

(4)        Commission. – Theempowerment to perform notarial acts and the written evidence of authority toperform those acts.

(5)        Credible witness. – Anindividual who is personally known to the notary and to whom all of thefollowing also apply:

a.         The notary believesthe individual to be honest and reliable for the purpose of confirming to thenotary the identity of another individual.

b.         The notary believesthe individual is not a party to or beneficiary of the transaction.

(6)        Department. – TheNorth Carolina Department of the Secretary of State.

(7)        Director. – TheDivision Director for the North Carolina Department of the Secretary of StateNotary Public Section.

(8)        Jurat. – A notary'scertificate evidencing the administration of an oath or affirmation.

(9)        Moral turpitude. – Conductcontrary to expected standards of honesty, morality, or integrity.

(10)      Nickname. – Adescriptive, familiar, or shortened form of a proper name.

(11)      Notarial act, notaryact, and notarization. – The act of taking an acknowledgment, taking averification or proof or administering an oath or affirmation that a notary isempowered to perform under G.S. 10B‑20(a).

(12)      Notarial certificateand certificate. – The portion of a notarized record that is completed by thenotary, bears the notary's signature and seal, and states the facts attested bythe notary in a particular notarization.

(13)      Notary public andnotary. – A person commissioned to perform notarial acts under this Chapter. Anotary is a public officer of the State of North Carolina and shall act in fulland strict compliance with this act.

(14)      Oath. – A notarialact which is legally equivalent to an affirmation and in which a notarycertifies that at a single time and place all of the following occurred:

a.         An individualappeared in person before the notary.

b.         The individual waspersonally known to the notary or identified by the notary through satisfactoryevidence.

c.         The individual madea vow of truthfulness on penalty of perjury while invoking a deity or using anyform of the word "swear".

(15)      Official misconduct.– Either of the following:

a.         A notary'sperformance of a prohibited act or failure to perform a mandated act set forthin this Chapter or any other law in connection with notarization.

b.         A notary'sperformance of a notarial act in a manner found by the Secretary to benegligent or against the public interest.

(16)      Personal appearanceand appear in person before a notary. – An individual and a notary are in closephysical proximity to one another so that they may freely see and communicatewith one another and exchange records back and forth during the notarizationprocess.

(17)      Personal knowledge orpersonally know. – Familiarity with an individual resulting from interactionswith that individual over a period of time sufficient to eliminate everyreasonable doubt that the individual has the identity claimed.

(18)      Principal. – One ofthe following:

a.         In the case of anacknowledgment, the individual whose identity and due execution of a record isbeing certified by the notary.

b.         In the case of averification or proof, the individual other than a subscribing witness, whose:

i.          Identity and dueexecution of the record is being proven; or

ii.          Signature is beingidentified as genuine.

c.         In the case of anoath or affirmation, the individual who makes a vow of truthfulness on penaltyof perjury.

(19)      Record. – Informationthat is inscribed on a tangible medium and called a traditional or paperrecord.

(20)      Regular place of workor business. – A location, office or other workspace, where an individualregularly spends all or part of the individual's work time.

(21)      Revocation. – Thecancellation of the notary's commission stated in the order of revocation.

(22)      Satisfactoryevidence. – Identification of an individual based on either of the following:

a.         At least one currentdocument issued by a federal, state, or federal or state‑recognizedtribal government agency bearing the photographic image of the individual'sface and either the signature or a physical description of the individual.

b.         The oath oraffirmation of one credible witness who personally knows the individual seekingto be identified.

(23)      Seal or stamp. – Adevice for affixing on a paper record an image containing a notary's name, thewords "notary public," and other information as required in G.S. 10B‑37.

(24)      Secretary. – TheNorth Carolina Secretary of State or the Secretary's designee.

(25)      Repealed by SessionLaws 2006‑59, s. 1, effective October 1, 2006, except as otherwise setforth in the act, and applicable to notarial acts performed on or after October1, 2006.

(26)      Subscribing witness.– A person who signs a record for the purpose of being a witness to theprincipal's execution of the record or to the principal's acknowledgment of hisor her execution of the record. A subscribing witness may give proof of theexecution of the record as provided in subdivision (28) of this section.

(27)      Suspension andrestriction. – The termination of a notary's commission for a period of timestated in an order of restriction or suspension. The terms"restriction" or "suspension" or a combination of bothterms shall be used synonymously.

(28)      Verification orproof. – A notarial act in which a notary certifies that all of the followingoccurred:

a.         An individualappeared in person before the notary.

b.         The individual waspersonally known to the notary or identified by the notary through satisfactoryevidence.

c.         The individual wasnot a party to or beneficiary of the transaction.

d.         The individual tookan oath or gave an affirmation and testified to one of the following:

i.          The individual is asubscribing witness and the principal who signed the record did so while beingpersonally observed by the subscribing witness.

ii.          The individual isa subscribing witness and the principal who signed the record acknowledged hisor her signature to the subscribing witness.

iii.         The individualrecognized either the signature on the record of the principal or the signatureon the record of the subscribing witness and the signature was genuine. (1991, c. 683, s. 2; 1998‑228,s. 2; 2005‑391, s. 4; 2006‑59, s. 1.)