NOTARY SEALS (SECTIONS 486.245)

The act requires the Secretary of State to maintain a database that includes information contained on each notary public's seal or any lost seal of a notary public.

This provision is identical to a provision in HCS/SB 932 (2016), SCS/HB 2257 (2016), and HB 2724 (2016).

REGISTRATION OF NOTARY SEALS (SECTION 486.285)

A manufacturer of a notary public's seal is required to register with the Secretary of State and communicate with the Secretary when the manufacturer issues a seal to a someone in Missouri, and failure to do so results in a one thousand dollar fine for each violation.

This provision is identical to a provision in HCS/SB 932 (2016) and SCS/HB 2257 (2016).

LOST, MISPLACED, OR DESTROYED NOTARY SEALS (SECTION 486.305)

Any notary public who loses or misplaces their journal of notarial acts or official seal must immediately provide written notice of the fact to the Secretary of State. For a lost or misplaced official seal, upon receipt of the written notice, the Secretary of State is required to issue the notary a new commission number for the notary to order a new seal. The Secretary of State may post notice on the Secretary of State's website notifying the general public that the lost or misplaced notary seal and commission number of that notary is invalid and is not an acceptable notary commission number.

This provision is identical to a provision in HCS/SB 932 (2016) and HB 2725 (2016).

If a notary public's official seal is destroyed, broken, damaged, or otherwise rendered inoperable, the notary must immediately provide written notice of that fact to the Secretary of State.

This provision is substantially similar to a provision in HCS/SB 932 (2016).

CESSATION OF NOTARY DUTIES (SECTION 486.310)

If any notary public no longer desires to be a notary public, he or she must mail or deliver to the Secretary of State a letter of resignation and their notary seal, and their commission will cease to be in effect. The Secretary of State may post notice on the Secretary of State's website notifying the general public that the notary is no longer a commissioned notary public in the state of Missouri.

This provision is identical to a provision in HCS/SB 932 (2016) and HB 2725 (2016).

IMPERSONATION OF A NOTARY PUBLIC (SECTION 486.375)

A person who unlawfully acts as a notary public is guilty of a class D felony, rather than a misdemeanor punishable by a fine of less than five hundred dollars or by imprisonment for less than six months.

This provision is identical to a provision in SCS/HB 2257 (2016) and similar to a provision in HCS/SB 932 (2016).

FILING OF FALSE DOCUMENTS (SECTION 570.095)

This act creates the offense of filing a false document. A person commits the offense of filing a false document if he or she files, causes to be filed, attempts to file, creates, uses as genuine, transfers or has transferred, presents, or prepares with knowledge or belief that it will be filed, presented, or transferred certain documents to any of the following entities:

• the Secretary of State or his or her designee;

• any county recorder of deeds or his or her designee;

• any municipal, county, district, or state government entity or office; or

• any credit bureau or financial institution

and such documents contain materially false information, or are fraudulent, or are a forgery, or the document lacks the consent of all parties listed where mutual consent is required, or are otherwise invalid under Missouri law.

For the first offense, filing a false document is a Class D felony until December 31, 2016, and a Class E felony beginning January 1, 2017. Filing false documents is a Class C felony when certain criteria are met. Any person who pleads guilty or is found guilty of such a crime shall make full restitution to any person or entity which sustained actual losses or costs as a result of the crime.

The act requires any statewide or county agency which is responsible for receiving document filings or records to create a system in which suspicious filings are logged, and outlines the process for petitioning the court when a person has probable cause to believe a filing is fraudulent. Such system shall be created by January 1, 2017.

SCOTT SVAGERA