Page 13 - September2019_BarJournal

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR COLUMN

THE NEW STATE

OF NOTARY ... IS HERE.

Sean Sobel Roni Sokol Sheldon Starke Mark Biggerman Rebecca Ruppert McMahon

n the April Bar Journal, I wrote about changes addition, non-lawyers will have a continuing Akron, Cincinnati, Dayton and Toledo —
that are coming to Ohio’s notary business. education requirement and be required to plus the Ohio State Bar Associations to create
Ready or not, those changes are kicking obtain a criminal background check every five a new entity called Ohio Notary Services, LLC
in on September 20 as the Ohio Notary years. The costs for non-lawyers include: $15 (ONS). This unique partnership of local and
IModernization Act becomes fully effective. notary application fee, $130 combined fee for state bar associations will make the new notary
You may recall that the overarching goals the three-hour notary class and the test, and process as accessible and easy as possible,
of the Modernization Act are to standardize up to $75 for a BCI background check. from the required educational training and
the notary public commission process and to Addition of eNotary: The addition of testing, to notary accessory sales and more.
permit both online and electronic notarization. electronic notary is another big change in By working together, our organizations will be
In order to achieve these goals, however, the Ohio. The Modernization Act authorizes able to extend our reach to better serve notaries
existing rules and process governing notary any commissioned notary to also apply for throughout northeast Ohio and beyond.
had to evolve. From the application and authorization to perform online notarizations. ONS is also the only organization in Ohio
educational requirements to the cost of being To become an eNotary, notaries will need to authorized by the Secretary of State to provide
a notary, lawyers and non-lawyers alike have attend a two-hour class and pass a test devoted education and testing for those notaries who
to play by a new set of rules. These changes will entirely to electronic notarizations. Applicants wish to become electronic notaries.This is new
impact all first time applicants — lawyer and will also be required to submit additional territory in Ohio — although at least nine other
non-lawyer — as well as non-lawyer notaries information regarding the type of technology states have been in the eNotary business for some
who want to renew their existing commissions. they will use to perform online notarizations. time. In the coming months, we’ll continue to
The good news is that if you are an attorney We invite you to Meet us at the Bar at noon share updates on the rollout of all these changes.
who already has a notary commission, you sharp on September 18 for a closer look at So as we move forward toward September 20,
need not do anything extra or different to keep all the changes coming to notaryland. Brian if you are seeking to renew your notary
your commission active. For everyone else, Cook, Executive Secretary of Notary for commission, apply to become a new notary,
here’s a glimpse into some of the changes. Cuyahoga County, and C. Allen Nichols, or if you just have questions about all these
Changes for Lawyers: Under the old law, Executive Director of the Akron Bar changes, you’ve got four options for help:
attorneys simply had to complete an application Association will be leading the discussion and 1. Attend our notary program on September 18
to receive their commission. The Modernization will be able to answer all of your questions. at noon;
Act now requires attorneys to take a three-hour In anticipation of the statewide move toward a 2. Visit the Cuyahoga County Notary Office
long notary class before applying for a notary standardized, more technology-driven process, located at 1 W. Lakeside Avenue, Suite 101 or
commission with the Ohio Secretary of State. the CMBA has joined forces with the Cuyahoga give them a call at (216) 443-8626;
Fortunately, once an attorney receives her/his County Notary Public Office to help with the 3. Call or visit the CMBA; or
notary commission, it will still be a lifelong offering of notary services going forward. This 4. Starting September 20, visit the ONS’s website
commission, with no need for renewals. partnership was made possible by the leadership – www.becomeanohionotary.com.
Attorneys will have to pay a $15 application fee and vision of Common Pleas Administrative We will continue to offer updates during the
and $75 to attend the notary class. & Presiding Judge John J. Russo, Brian Cook coming weeks and months, so stay tuned for
Changes for Non-Lawyers: For the non- and the CMBA Board of Directors. While more to come!
lawyers wishing to become notaries, they some of the changes are still being worked out,
too will be required to take a three-hour the Notary Office will continue to be located at
educational course before submitting an the County Courthouse on Lakeside through Rebecca Ruppert McMahon is the CEO of the
application to the Ohio Secretary of State. the end of 2019. CMBA. She has been a CMBA member since
Non-lawyers will also be required to pass a In addition, the CMBA is partnering with 1995. She can be reached at (216) 696-3525 or
test before receiving their commission. In four other metropolitan bar associations — rmcmahon@clemetrobar.org.

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