Upon receipt of the completed application for appointment and the application fee, and upon approval of the applicant’s bond, the secretary of state shall notify the governor, who shall appoint the applicant as a notary public for a term of four years from the date of appointment unless sooner removed by the governor. The secretary of state shall issue a certificate of appointment to each notary public commissioned by the governor. A certificate of appointment shall not be possessed or used by any other person or surrendered to an employer upon termination of employment.
History: Laws 2003, ch. 286, § 5.
ANNOTATIONS
Delayed repeals. — Laws 2021, ch. 21, § 36 repeals 14-12A-5 NMSA 1978, effective January 1, 2022.
Effective dates. — Laws 2003, ch. 286, § 28 Laws 2003, ch. 286, § 5 effective July 1, 2003.
Date of commission. — A notary’s commission dates from the time of appointment and not from the date of qualification. 1945 Op. Att’y Gen. No. 45-4757.
Signing of renewal applications when appointment begins following year. — As the initial appointment is merely one step in the process of becoming a notary and, further, does not become effective until certain other acts are fulfilled, the present governor may sign notary public renewal applications even though the term of appointment begins next year. 1958 Op. Att’y Gen. No. 58-240.
Am. Jur. 2d, A.L.R. and C.J.S. references. — 58 Am. Jur. 2d Notaries Public §§ 5, 6, 10, 11.
66 C.J.S. Notaries §§ 3, 4.