A. A commission shall not be issued until an oath of office and a ten-thousand-dollar ($10,000) bond have been provided on the application for appointment and approved by the secretary of state. The bond shall be executed by a licensed surety, for a term of four years commencing on the commission’s effective date and terminating on its expiration date, with payment of bond funds to any person conditioned upon the notary public’s misconduct.
B. A person damaged by an unlawful act, negligence or misconduct of a notary public in his official capacity may bring a civil action on the notary public’s official bond.
C. The surety for a notary public bond shall report all claims against the bond to the secretary of state.
D. If a notary public bond has been exhausted by claims paid out by the surety, the governor shall suspend the notary public’s commission until:
(1) a new bond in the amount of ten thousand dollars ($10,000) is obtained by the notary public; and
(2) the notary public’s fitness to serve the remainder of the commission is determined by the governor.
E. In the event of a suspension of a notary public’s commission by the governor, the notary public shall not perform any notarial acts until the requirements of Subsection D of this section have been fulfilled and the governor removes the notary public’s suspension.
History: Laws 2003, ch. 286, § 9.
ANNOTATIONS
Delayed repeals. — Laws 2021, ch. 21, § 36 repeals 14-12A-9 NMSA 1978, effective January 1, 2022.
Effective dates. — Laws 2003, ch. 286, § 28 Laws 2003, ch. 286, § 9 effective July 1, 2003.
Filing of bond and oath as condition precedent. — The filing of a notary’s bond and oath with the secretary of state is a condition precedent to the lawful and valid exercise of the duties of a notary public. 1962 Op. Att’y Gen. No. 62-18.