California Government Code 8231.15 – (a) An online notarization platform or depository shall not have …
(a) An online notarization platform or depository shall not have access to a notary public’s electronic signature or electronic seal.
(b) An online notarization platform or depository shall not access, use, share, sell, disclose, produce, provide, release, transfer, disseminate, or otherwise communicate the contents of the notary public’s electronic journal, except to comply with any other applicable federal, state, or local law, a lawful subpoena or court order, or a lawful request from a law enforcement or regulatory agency.
Terms Used In California Government Code 8231.15
- Audio-video recording: means a recording of the audio-video communication of an online notarial act required by Section 8231. See California Government Code 8231.1
- Depository: means an individual or entity that has an active registration with the Secretary of State pursuant to Section 8231. See California Government Code 8231.1
- Electronic: means relating to technology having electrical, digital, magnetic, wireless, optical, electromagnetic, or similar capabilities. See California Government Code 8231.1
- Electronic journal: means an active sequential record of official acts performed while using an online notarization system performed by a person acting as a notary public authorized to perform online notarization maintained in a secure electronic format according to the requirements of this article and any rules or regulations adopted by the Secretary of State pursuant to this article. See California Government Code 8231.1
- Electronic seal: means information within a notarized electronic record that corresponds to information in notary seals used on paper records and that, where applicable, conforms to the requirement of this article, including, but not limited to, subdivision (b) of Section 8231. See California Government Code 8231.1
- Electronic signature: means an electronic sound, symbol, or process attached to or logically associated with an electronic record and executed or adopted by a person with the intent to sign the electronic record. See California Government Code 8231.1
- Express written request: means a request made in writing and initiated by a principal to access, use, share, sell, disclose, produce, provide, release, transfer, disseminate, or otherwise communicate the specified information for a specific purpose. See California Government Code 8231.1
- Fraud: Intentional deception resulting in injury to another.
- 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
- Online notarization platform: means an individual or entity that has an active registration with the Secretary of State pursuant to Section 8231. See California Government Code 8231.1
- Person: includes any person, firm, association, organization, partnership, limited liability company, business trust, corporation, or company. See California Government Code 17
- Principal: means an individual, other than a credible witness pursuant to §. See California Government Code 8231.1
- Process: includes a writ or summons issued in the course of judicial proceedings of either a civil or criminal nature. See California Government Code 22
- Record: means information that is inscribed on a tangible medium or that is stored in an electronic or other medium and is retrievable in both physical and electronic form. See California Government Code 8231.1
- Records of online notarial acts: means , collectively, the electronic journal entries required by Section 8231. 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
- Subpoena: A command to a witness to appear and give testimony.
(c) An online notarization platform or depository shall not access, use, share, sell, disclose, produce, provide, release, transfer, disseminate, or otherwise communicate the contents of a document notarized by a notary public absent express written request from the principal or to comply with any other applicable federal, state, or local law, a lawful subpoena or court order, or a lawful request from a law enforcement or regulatory agency.
(d) An online notarization platform or depository shall not access, use, share, sell, disclose, produce, provide, release, transfer, disseminate, or otherwise communicate the contents of an audio-video recording of an online notarial act absent express written request from the principal or to comply with any other applicable federal, state, or local law, a lawful subpoena or court order, or a lawful request from a law enforcement or regulatory agency.
(e) An online notarization platform or depository shall not access, use, share, sell, disclose, produce, provide, release, transfer, disseminate, or otherwise communicate the personal information of a principal absent express written request from the principal or to comply with any other applicable federal, state, or local law, a lawful subpoena or court order, or a lawful request from a law enforcement or regulatory agency.
(f) Notwithstanding subdivisions (a), (b), (c), (d), and (e), an online notarization platform or depository may access, use, share, disclose, produce, provide, release, transfer, disseminate, or otherwise communicate the notary public’s electronic signature or electronic seal, the contents of the notary public’s electronic journal, the contents of a notarized document or audio-video recording, or the personal information of a principal, to the extent necessary to do any of the following:
(1) Facilitate the performance of an online notarial act.
(2) Comply with the requirements of Article 1 (commencing with Section 8200), this article, rules and regulations adopted by the Secretary of State pursuant to this article, or any other applicable federal, state, or local law, or a lawful subpoena or court order, or a lawful request from a law enforcement or regulatory agency.
(3) Administer, affect, enforce, or process a record provided by or on behalf of a principal or the transaction of which the record is a part.
(4) As necessary to implement the requirements of this article and any rules or regulations adopted by the Secretary of State and to implement the fraud mitigation measures as outlined in NIST Special Publication 800-63A, dated June 2017, promulgated by the National Institutes of Standards and Technology, or any successor publication.
(g) An online notarization platform or depository shall, in the most expedient time possible and without unreasonable delay, notify the Secretary of State, using a notification process designated by the Secretary of State, all appropriate law enforcement agencies, any affected online notaries public, and any affected principals, of the unauthorized access or use by or disclosure to another person, loss, compromise, theft, vandalism, corruption, or breach of any of the following:
(1) A notary public’s electronic signature or electronic seal.
(2) A notary public’s electronic journal.
(3) Any records of online notarial acts.
(Added by Stats. 2023, Ch. 291, Sec. 8. (SB 696) Effective January 1, 2024.)