Standard of care; special notarial commissions; false advertising

(a) State standards of care; authority of State regulatory officials Nothing in this Act may be construed to prevent a State, or a notarial regulatory official of a State, from— (1) adopting a requirement in this Act as a duty or standard of care under the laws of that State or sanctioning a notary public for breach of such a duty or standard of care; (2) establishing requirements and qualifications for, or denying, refusing to renew, revoking, suspending, or imposing a condition on, a commission or appointment as a notary public; (3) creating or designating a class or type of commission or appointment, or requiring an endorsement or other authorization to be received by a notary public, as a condition on the authority to perform notarizations with respect to electronic records or for remotely located individuals; or (4) prohibiting a notary public from performing a notarization under section 3 or 4 as a sanction for a breach of duty or standard of care or for official misconduct. (b) Special commissions or authorizations created by a State; sanction for breach or official misconduct; false advertising A notary public may not perform a notarization under section 3 or 4 if any of the following applies: (1) The notary public’s State has enacted a law that creates or designates a class or type of commission or appointment, or requires an endorsement or other authorization to be received by a notary public, as a condition on the authority to perform notarizations with respect to electronic records or for remotely located individuals, and— (A) the commission or appointment of the notary public is not of that class or type; or (B) the notary public has not received the endorsement or other authorization. (2) The notarial regulatory official of the notary public’s State has prohibited the notary public from performing the notarization as a sanction for a breach of duty or standard of care or for official misconduct. (3) (A) The notary public has engaged in false or deceptive advertising. (B) For the purposes of subparagraph (A), a notary public shall be considered to have engaged in false or deceptive advertising if the notary public (unless the notary public is an attorney licensed to practice law in a State)— (i) uses the term notario or notario publico; or (ii) states or represents in a record offering commercial notarial services that the notary public is authorized to— (I) assist in drafting legal records, give legal advice, or otherwise practice law; (II) act as an immigration consultant or an expert on matters pertaining to immigration; (III) represent a person in a judicial or administrative proceeding relating to immigration to the United States, United States citizenship, or related matters; or (IV) receive compensation for performing any activity described in this subparagraph. (C) For the purposes of a notarization performed by a notary public under section 4 for a remotely located individual, if a record executed by the remotely located individual attests that the notary public disclosed to the individual the prohibitions under this paragraph, and that the notary public did not make any statement or representation in violation of this paragraph, that record shall conclusively establish compliance by the notary public with the requirements of this paragraph, as of the date on which the individual executes that record.