As used in this chapter, unless the context requires otherwise:

“Acknowledgment” means a declaration by a person before a notary public that the person has signed a document for the purpose stated in the document and, if the document is signed in a representative capacity, that the person signed the document with proper authority and signed it as the act of the person or entity identified in the document.

“Alter” means to change by means of erasure, obliteration, deletion, insertion of new content, or transposition of content.

“Document” means information that is inscribed on a tangible medium or that is stored in an electronic or other medium and is retrievable in perceivable form.

“Electronic” means relating to technology having electrical, digital, magnetic, wireless, optical, electromagnetic, or similar capabilities.

“Electronic signature” means an electronic symbol, sound, or process attached to or logically associated with a document and executed or adopted by a person with the intent to sign the document.

“In a representative capacity” means acting as:

(1) An authorized officer, agent, partner, trustee, or other representative for a person other than an individual;

(2) A public officer, personal representative, guardian, or other representative, in the capacity stated in an applicable document;

(3) An agent or attorney-in-fact for a principal; or

(4) An authorized representative of another in any other capacity.

“Notarial act” means an act, whether performed with respect to a tangible or electronic document, that a notary public may perform under the laws of this State. “Notarial act” includes taking an acknowledgment, administering an oath or affirmation, taking a verification upon oath or affirmation, witnessing or attesting a signature, certifying or attesting a copy, and noting a protest of a negotiable instrument.

“Notary public” means an individual commissioned to perform a notarial act by the attorney general under this chapter.

“Proof of the signer’s signature and identity” means satisfactory evidence of the identity of an individual appearing before the notary public if the notary public can identify the individual:

(1) By means of:

(A) Having personal knowledge of the identity of an individual before the officer if the individual is personally known to the notary public through dealings sufficient to provide reasonable certainty that the individual has the identity claimed;

(B) A passport, driver’s license, or government issued non-driver identification card that is valid or expired no more than three years prior to the performance of the notarial act and contains the signature and photograph of the individual;

(C) Another form of government identification issued to an individual that is valid or expired no more than three years prior to performance of the notarial act, contains the signature and photograph of the individual, and is satisfactory to the notary public; or

(D) By verification on oath or affirmation of a credible witness personally appearing before the notary public and known to the notary public or whom the notary public can identify on the basis of a passport, driver’s license, or government-issued non-driver identification card that is valid or expired no more than three years prior to performance of the notarial act; or

(2) By requiring an individual to provide additional information or identification credentials necessary to assure the notary public of the identity of the individual.

“Sign” means, with present intent to authenticate or adopt a document:

(1) To execute or adopt a tangible symbol; or

(2) To attach or logically associate with the document an electronic symbol, sound, or process.

“Signature” means a tangible symbol or an electronic signature that evidences the signing of a document.

“Stamping device” means:

(1) A physical device capable of stamping or impressing upon a tangible document a notary seal; or

(2) An electronic device or process capable of attaching to, or logically associating with, an electronic document a notary seal.

“Tamper-evident” means any change to an electronic document that displays evidence of the change.

“Verification on oath or affirmation” means a declaration, made by a person on oath or affirmation before a notary public, that a statement in a document is true.