(a) The Secretary of State may approve registrations of notaries public authorized to perform online notarizations for the military and naval reservations of the Army, Navy, Coast Guard, Air Force, and Marine Corps of the United States that are located in the State of California. Such registrants shall meet the requirements of Article 1 (commencing with Section 8200) in addition to the requirements of this article.

(b) Notwithstanding Section 8203.2, a notary public authorized to perform online notarizations approved for registration under subdivision (a) may perform notarial acts for principals who are stationed at the reservation for which that notary public was approved, regardless of whether the principal was physically located on the reservation at the time of the notarial act.

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Terms Used In California Government Code 8231.12

  • Electronic: means relating to technology having electrical, digital, magnetic, wireless, optical, electromagnetic, or similar capabilities. See California Government Code 8231.1
  • Notarial act: means the performance of an act by an individual that is authorized under the laws of this state, including acts described in Sections 8202, 8205, this article, and Sections 1185 and 1195 of the Civil Code. See California Government Code 8231.1
  • Principal: means an individual, other than a credible witness pursuant to §. See California Government Code 8231.1
  • State: means the State of California, unless applied to the different parts of the United States. See California Government Code 18
  • Subdivision: means a subdivision of the section in which the term occurs unless some other section is expressly mentioned. See California Government Code 10
  • United States: means a state of the United States, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the United States Virgin Islands, or any territory or insular possession subject to the jurisdiction of the United States. See California Government Code 8231.1

(c) Notwithstanding Section 8203.5, the electronic online notarial certificate by a notary public authorized to perform online notarizations shall contain the name of the reservation for which the notary public was approved and where the principal for which the online notarization was performed was stationed at the time of the online notarial act. A notation in the following form shall be sufficient for purposes of this subdivision:


State of California Online Notarial Act

Military Reservation of ________


(Added by Stats. 2023, Ch. 291, Sec. 8. (SB 696) Effective January 1, 2024.)

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