The Secretary of State shall require an applicant for appointment and commission as a notary public to complete an application form and submit a photograph of their person as prescribed by the Secretary of State. Information on this form filed by an applicant with the Secretary of State, except for the applicant’s name and address, is confidential and no individual record shall be divulged by an official or employee having access to it to any person other than the applicant, the applicant’s authorized representative, or an employee or officer of the federal government, the state government, or a local agency, as defined in § 7920.510 of the Government Code, acting in official capacity. That information shall be used by the Secretary of State for the sole purpose of carrying out the duties of this chapter.

(Amended by Stats. 2021, Ch. 615, Sec. 149. (AB 474) Effective January 1, 2022. Operative January 1, 2023, pursuant to Sec. 463 of Stats. 2021, Ch. 615.)