A competent number of notaries public for each county shall be appointed and commissioned by the probate judges of the several counties of the state and shall hold office for four years from the date of their commissions. The probate judges shall collect a fee of $1.00 for each such notary commission issued. The probate judges shall also report to the secretary of state the name, county, date of issuance and date of expiration of the commission of each notary public appointed and commissioned under this section.

Notaries public shall vacate their office by removal from the county.

Notaries public must give bond with sureties, to be approved by the judge of probate of the county for which they are appointed, in the sum of $10,000.00, payable to the State of Alabama and conditioned to faithfully discharge the duties of such office so long as they may continue therein or discharge any of the duties thereof. Such bond must be executed, approved, filed and recorded in the office of the judge of probate before they enter on the duties of such office.

For the authentication of his official acts, each notary must provide a seal of office, which must present, by its impression, his name, office, state and the county for which he was appointed.

Notaries public shall have authority to:

(1) Administer oaths in all matters incident to the exercise of their office;

(2) Take the acknowledgment or proof of instruments of writing relating to commerce or navigation and certify the same and all other of their official acts under their seal of office;

(3) Demand acceptance and payment of bills of exchange, promissory notes and all other writings which are governed by the commercial law as to days of grace, demand and notice of nonpayment and protest the same for nonacceptance or nonpayment and to give notice thereof as required by law; and

(4) Exercise such other powers as, according to commercial usage or the laws of this state, may belong to notaries public.

Notaries public are entitled to the following fees: The sum of $1.50 and necessary postage for all services rendered in connection with the protest of any bill of exchange for acceptance, or of any bill of exchange, promissory note, check or other writing for payment and shall not charge any other fees therefor; for any oath, certificate and seal taken under subdivision (1) of Section 36-20-5, $.50; for giving copies from register, $.20 for each 100 words; for each certificate and seal to such copy, $.25; and for giving any other certificate and affixing seal of office, $.50.

Each notary public must keep a fair register of all his official acts and give a certified copy therefrom, when required, on payment of his legal fees.

In case of the death, resignation, removal or expiration of his term of office, the registers of any notary must, within 30 days thereafter, be delivered to the judge of probate of the county, and any person having the same in possession and refusing to deliver them on demand to such judge is liable to an action for the recovery thereof in the name of such judge.

Any person who, after the death, resignation, removal or expiration of the term of office of any notary public, having in possession the register kept by such notary public, refuses, on demand, to deliver the same to the judge of probate of the county, shall, on conviction, be fined not less than $100.00.

The registers referred to in Section 36-20-8 may, by such judge, be delivered to any other notary of his county, who must give certified copies from the same to any person making application therefor on payment of the legal fees. While the registers are in the possession of the judge of probate, he must give certified copies from the same on application and the payment of the fees therefor in the same manner as notaries public.

Any person who, having been a notary or a notary public for the state at large, willfully performs or assumes the authority to perform a notarial act after his commission expires or any person who without a notary*s commission assumes the authority and performs a notarial act shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction, shall be punished by imprisonment for not more than one year.

A competent number of notaries public for the state at large shall be appointed and commissioned by the probate judges of the several counties of the state and shall hold office for four years from the date of their commission. Such notaries public for the state at large shall perform all the acts and exercise all authority now performed and exercised by notaries public under the general laws of the State of Alabama. The jurisdiction of such notaries public shall not be limited to the counties of their residence but shall extend to any county of the state. The probate judges shall collect a fee of $1.00 for each such notary commission issued. The probate judges shall also report to the Secretary of State the name, county of residence, date of issuance and date of expiration of the commission of each notary public appointed and commissioned under this section and the fact that said notary was appointed and commissioned for the state at large.

Notaries public appointed under this article must give bond with sureties to be approved by the judge of probate of the county of their residence in the sum of $10,000.00, payable to the State of Alabama and conditioned to faithfully discharge the duties of such office so long as they may continue therein or discharge any of the duties thereof. Such bond must be executed, approved, filed and recorded in the office of the judge of probate of the county of their residence before they enter on the duties of such office. Such notaries public for the state at large, in the event of any breach of the conditions of their official bonds, may be sued in the county of their residence or in the county in which the breach was committed or in the county where the party or parties who suffered damages from the breach reside.

For the authentication of his official acts, each such notary must provide a seal of office which must present, by its impression, his name, office and the state for which he was appointed.

For purposes of this article, the following terms shall have the following meanings:

(1) AUTHENTIC ACT. An instrument executed by a civil law notary referencing this article, which includes the particulars and capacities to act of transacting parties, a confirmation of the full text of any necessary instrument, the signatures or their legal equivalent thereof of any transacting parties, the signature and seal of a civil law notary, and such other information prescribed by the Secretary of State.

(2) BREVET. A private document in which the civil law notary attests to the authenticity of the signature or signatures, a fact or a contract. Brevets may be used, among other things, to certify signatures, prescribe oaths, certify a translation or a copy of a document that is not part of the civil law notaries protocol, or certify the identity of any object or thing.

(3) CIVIL LAW NOTARY. A person who is admitted to the practice of law in this state, who has practiced law in a United States jurisdiction for at least five years, and who is appointed by the Secretary of State as a civil law notary.

(4) MINUTE. An authentic act written by a civil law notary which contains the exact narration of a finding of fact or facts influencing the rights of private parties of which the civil law notary has personal knowledge and that due to the nature of the authentic act does not constitute a contract or juridical business. The types of minutes include, but may not be limited to, the following:

a. General Minutes. A minute providing a certification of general facts known to the civil law notary.

b. Minutes of Notoriety. A minute providing a certification that a fact is generally known by the people who have a direct or close relationship with the factual situation or its consequences, or who belong to the social or economic environment of the person affected by a particular fact.

c. Minutes of Correction. A minute for the purpose of rectifying minor errors in form or omissions made by the civil law notary in prior authentic acts.

d. Minutes of Addition. A minute for the purpose of including a document in the civil law notary*s protocol in order to provide for preservation of the document; limited memorialization of domestic private documents and/or execution of foreign legal documents.

(5) NOTARIAL DEED. An authentic act in which contains a contract, transaction or other juridical act and which may also include the certification of facts. Notarial deeds may involve either a single party, as in the case of a will, or multiple parties, as with a contract.

(a) The Secretary of State shall have the power to appoint civil law notaries and administer this article.

(b) A civil law notary is authorized to issue brevets, minutes, and notarial deeds and thereby may authenticate or certify any document, transaction, event, condition or occurrence. A civil law notary may also administer oaths and make certificates thereof when necessary for execution of any writing or document to be attested, protested, or published under the seal of a notary public. A civil law notary may also take acknowledgments of deeds and other instruments of writing for record.

(c) The authentic acts, and oaths and acknowledgments of a civil law notary shall be chronologically recorded in the civil law notary*s protocol in a manner prescribed by the Secretary of State.

(d) The civil law notary may, without prejudice to his or her duty to ensure professional confidentiality, issue certified copies of authentic acts to individuals who, in his or her opinion, have a legitimate interest in the contents of an authentic act. Certified copies of authentic acts shall have the same legal force and effect as the original.

(e) A civil law notary is obligated to do the following:

(1) Draw up authentic acts in accordance with their knowledge and comprehension and such documents shall clearly reflect the wishes of the contracting parties duly adopted to legal requirements necessary for the documents to have full legal force and effect.

(2) Represent the transaction itself in the creation of the authentic act. For this purpose, the civil law notary acts as an intermediary where there are multiple parties to a transaction.

(3) Use his or her best efforts to advise all parties to the transaction equally, accurately, fully and impartially regarding the nature and legal consequences of the transaction.

(4) Refrain from representing any party in any matter arising from or related to the civil law notary*s authentic act.

The Secretary of State may adopt rules prescribing all of the following:

(1) The form and content of authentic acts, oaths, acknowledgments, and signatures and seals or their legal equivalents.

(2) Procedures for the permanent archiving of authentic acts, maintaining records of acknowledgments and oaths, and procedures for the administration of oaths and taking of acknowledgments.

(3) The charging of reasonable fees to be retained by the Secretary of State for the purpose of administering this article.

(4) Educational requirements and procedures for testing applicants* knowledge of all matters relevant to the appointment, authority, duties or legal or ethical responsibilities of a civil law notary.

(5) Procedures for the disciplining of civil law notaries, including, but not limited to, the suspension and revocation of appointments for failure to comply with the requirements of this article or the rules of the Secretary of State, or for misrepresentation or fraud regarding the civil law notary*s authority, the effect of the civil law notary*s authentic acts, or the identities or acts of the parties to a transaction.

(6) Bonding or errors and omissions insurance requirements, or both, for civil law notaries.

(7) Other matters necessary for administering this article.

Repealed by Act 2001-967, 2001 3rd Special Session, effective September 26, 2001.

(a) The powers of civil law notaries include, but are not limited to, all of the powers of a notary public under the laws of this state.

(b) This article shall not be construed as abrogating the provisions of any other act relating to notaries public, attorneys, or the practice of law in this state.

If certification of a civil law notary*s authority is necessary for a particular document or transaction, it must be obtained from the Secretary of State. Upon receipt of a written request from a civil law notary and the fee prescribed by the Secretary of State, the Secretary of State shall issue a certification of the civil law notary*s authority, in a form prescribed by the Secretary of State, which shall include a statement explaining the legal qualifications and authority of a civil law notary in this state. The fee prescribed for the issuance of the certification under this section or an apostille shall not exceed twenty dollars ($20) per document. The Secretary of State may adopt rules to implement this section.