Public Act 098-0029
 
HB2269 EnrolledLRB098 10267 JDS 40446 b


  
    AN ACT concerning government.
  
 
    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
 
represented in the General Assembly:
  
 
 
    Section 5. The Illinois Notary Public Act is amended  by 
changing Sections 3-102, 3-104, and 6-102 as follows:
 


    (5 ILCS 312/3-102)  (from Ch. 102, par. 203-102)




    Sec. 3-102. Notarial Record; Residential Real Property 
Transactions. 
    (a) This Section shall apply to every notarial act in 
Illinois involving a document of conveyance that transfers or 
purports to transfer title to residential real property located 
in Cook County.
    (b)  As used in this Section, the following terms shall have 
the meanings ascribed to them:
        (1) "Document of Conveyance" shall mean a written 
    instrument that transfers or purports to transfer title 
    effecting a change in ownership to Residential Real 
    Property, excluding:
            (i) court-ordered and court-authorized conveyances 
        of Residential Real Property, including without 
        limitation, quit-claim deeds executed pursuant to a 
        marital settlement agreement incorporated into a 
        judgment of dissolution of marriage, and transfers in 
        the administration of a probate estate;
            (ii) judicial sale deeds relating to Residential 
        Real Property, including without limitation, sale 
        deeds issued pursuant to proceedings to foreclose a 
        mortgage or execute on a levy to enforce a judgment;
            (iii) deeds transferring ownership of Residential 
        Real Property to a trust where the beneficiary is also 
        the grantor;
            (iv) deeds from grantors to themselves that are 
        intended to change the nature or type of tenancy by 
        which they own Residential Real Property;
            (v) deeds from a grantor to the grantor and another 
        natural person that are intended to establish a tenancy 
        by which the grantor and the other natural person own 
        Residential Real Property;
            (vi) deeds executed to the mortgagee in lieu of 
        foreclosure of a mortgage; and
            (vii) deeds transferring ownership to a revocable 
        or irrevocable grantor trust where the beneficiary 
        includes the grantor.
        (2) "Financial Institution" shall mean a State or 
    federally chartered bank, savings and loan association, 
    savings bank, credit union, or trust company.

        (3)  "Notarial Record" shall mean the written document 
    created in conformity with this Section by a notary in 
    connection with Documents of Conveyance.
        (4)  "Residential Real Property" shall mean a building 
    or buildings located in Cook County, Illinois and  
    containing one to 4 dwelling units or an individual 
    residential condominium unit.
        (5) "Title  Insurance Agent" shall have the meaning 
    ascribed to it under the Title Insurance Act.

        (6) "Title Insurance Company" shall have the meaning 
    ascribed to it under the Title Insurance Act.

    (c) A notary appointed and commissioned as a notary in 
Illinois shall, in addition to compliance with other provisions 
of this Act,  create a Notarial Record of each notarial act 
performed in connection with a Document of Conveyance.  The 
Notarial Record shall contain:
        (1) The date of the notarial act;
        (2) The type, title, or a description of the Document 
    of Conveyance being notarized, and the property index 
    number ("PIN") used to identify the Residential Real 
    Property for assessment or taxation purposes and the common 
    street address for the Residential Real Property that is 
    the subject of the Document of Conveyance;
        (3) The signature, printed name, and residence street 
    address of each person whose signature is the subject of 
    the notarial act and a certification by the person that the 
    property is Residential Real Property as defined in this 
    Section, which states "The undersigned grantor hereby 
    certifies that the real property identified in this 
    Notarial Record is Residential Real Property as defined in 
    the Illinois Notary Public Act".
        (4) A description of the satisfactory evidence 
    reviewed by the notary to determine the identity of the 
    person whose signature is the subject of the notarial act;
        (5) The date of notarization, the fee charged for the 
    notarial act, the Notary's home or business phone number, 
    the Notary's residence street address, the Notary's 
    commission expiration date, the correct legal name of the 
    Notary's employer or principal, and the business street 
    address of the Notary's employer or principal; and
        (6) The notary public shall require the person signing 
    the Document of Conveyance (including an agent acting on 
    behalf of a principal under a duly executed power of 
    attorney), whose signature is the subject of the notarial 
    act, to place his or her right thumbprint on the Notarial 
    Record. If the right thumbprint is not available, then the 
    notary shall have the party use his or her left thumb, or 
    any available finger, and shall so indicate on the Notarial 
    Record.  If the party signing the document is physically 
    unable to provide a thumbprint or fingerprint, the notary 
    shall so indicate on the Notarial Record and shall also 
    provide an explanation of that physical condition.  The 
    notary may obtain the thumbprint by any means that reliably 
    captures the image of the finger in a physical or 
    electronic medium.
    (d)  If a notarial act under this Section is performed by a 
notary who is a principal, employee, or agent of a Title 
Insurance Company, Title Insurance Agent, Financial 
Institution, or attorney at law, the notary shall deliver the 
original Notarial Record to the notary's employer or principal 
within 14 days after the performance of the notarial act for 
retention for a period of 7 years as part of the employer's or 
principal's business records.  In the event of a sale or merger 
of any of the foregoing entities or persons, the successor or 
assignee of the entity or person shall assume the 
responsibility to maintain the Notarial Record for the balance 
of the 7-year business records retention period.  Liquidation or 
other cessation of activities in the ordinary course of 
business by any of the foregoing entities or persons shall 
relieve the entity or person from the obligation to maintain 
Notarial Records after delivery of  Notarial Records to the 
Recorder of Deeds of Cook County, Illinois.
    (e) If a notarial act is performed by a notary who is not a 
principal, employee, or agent of a Title Insurance Company, 
Title Insurance Agent, Financial Institution, or attorney at 
law, the notary shall deliver the original Notarial Record 
within 14 days after the performance of the notarial act to the 
Recorder of Deeds of Cook County, Illinois  for retention for a 
period of 7 years, accompanied by a filing fee of $5.
    (f) The Notarial Record required under subsection (c) of 
this Section shall be created and maintained for each person 
whose signature is the subject of a notarial act regarding a 
Document of Conveyance and shall be in substantially the 
following form:
 
NOTARIAL RECORD - RESIDENTIAL REAL PROPERTY TRANSACTIONS

Date Notarized:

Fee: $

 
The undersigned grantor hereby certifies that the real property 
identified in this Notarial Record is Residential Real Property 
as defined in the Illinois Notary Public Act.
 
Grantor's (Signer's) Printed Name:

 
Grantor's (Signer's) Signature:

 
Grantor's (Signer's) Residential Street Address, City, State, 
and Zip:

 
Type or Name of Document of Conveyance:

 
PIN No. of Residential Real Property:

 
Common Street Address of Residential Real Property:

 
Thumbprint or Fingerprint:

 
Description of Means of Identification:

 
Additional Comments:

 
Name of Notary Printed:

 
Notary Phone Number:

 
Commission Expiration Date:

 
Residential Street Address of Notary, City, State, and Zip:

 
Name of Notary's Employer or Principal:

 
Business Street Address of Notary's Employer or Principal, 
City, State, and Zip:

 
    (g) No copies of the original Notarial Record may be made 
or retained by the Notary. The Notary's employer or principal 
may retain copies of the Notarial Records as part of its 
business records, subject to applicable privacy and 
confidentiality standards.
    (h) The failure of a notary to comply with the procedure 
set forth in this Section shall not affect the validity of the 
Residential Real Property transaction in connection to which 
the Document of Conveyance is executed, in the absence of 
fraud.
    (i)  The Notarial Record or other medium containing the 
thumbprint or fingerprint required by subsection (c)(6) shall 
be made available or disclosed only  upon receipt of a subpoena 
duly authorized by a court of competent jurisdiction.  Such 
Notarial Record or other medium shall not be subject to 
disclosure under the Freedom of Information Act and shall not 
be made available to any other party, other than a party in 
succession of interest to the party maintaining the Notarial 
Record or other medium pursuant to subsection (d) or (e).
    (j) In the event there is a breach in the security of a 
Notarial Record maintained pursuant to subsections (d) and (e) 
by the Recorder of Deeds of Cook County, Illinois, the Recorder 
shall notify the person identified as the "signer" in the 
Notarial Record at the signer's residential street address set 
forth in the Notarial Record.  "Breach" shall mean unauthorized 
acquisition of the fingerprint data contained in the Notarial 
Record that compromises the security, confidentiality, or 
integrity of the fingerprint data maintained by the Recorder.  
The notification shall be in writing and made in the most 
expedient time possible and without unreasonable delay, 
consistent with any measures necessary to determine the scope 
of the breach and restore the reasonable security, 
confidentiality, and integrity of the Recorder's data system.

    (k) Subsections (a) through (i) shall not apply on and 
after July 1, 2018 2013.

    (l) Beginning July 1, 2013, at
 the time of notarization, a 
notary public shall officially sign every
notary certificate 
and affix the rubber stamp seal clearly and legibly
using black 
ink, so that it is capable of photographic reproduction. The

illegibility of any of the information required by this Section 
does not
affect the validity of a transaction.

(Source: P.A. 97-508, eff. 8-23-11.)

 


    (5 ILCS 312/3-104)  (from Ch. 102, par. 203-104)



    Sec. 3-104. Maximum Fee. 
    (a) Except as provided in subsection (b) of this Section, 
the maximum
fee in this State is $1.00 for any notarial act 
performed and, until July 1, 2018 2013, up to $25 for any 
notarial act performed pursuant to Section 3-102.

    (b) Fees for a notary public, agency, or any other person 
who is not
an attorney or an accredited representative filling 
out immigration forms shall be limited to the following:

        (1) $10 per form completion;

        (2) $10 per page for the translation of a non-English 
    language into English where such translation is required 
    for immigration forms;

        (3) $1 for notarizing;

        (4) $3 to execute any procedures necessary to obtain a 
    document required to complete immigration forms; and

        (5) A maximum of $75 for one complete application.

    Fees authorized under this subsection shall not include 
application fees
required to be submitted with immigration 
applications.

    Any person who violates the provisions of this subsection 
shall be guilty
of a Class A misdemeanor for a first offense 
and a Class 3 felony for a
second or subsequent offense 
committed within 5 years of a previous
conviction for the same 
offense.

    (c) Upon his own information or upon complaint of any 
person, the
Attorney General or any State's Attorney, or their 
designee, may maintain
an action for injunctive relief in the 
court against any notary public or
any other person who

violates the provisions of subsection (b) of this Section.  
These
remedies are in addition to, and not in substitution for, 
other available remedies.

    If the Attorney General or any State's Attorney fails to 
bring an action
as provided pursuant to this subsection within 
90 days of receipt of a complaint, any person may file a civil

action to enforce the provisions of this subsection and 
maintain an action
for injunctive relief.

    (d) All notaries public must provide receipts and keep 
records for fees accepted for services provided.  Failure to 
provide receipts and keep records that can be presented as 
evidence of no wrongdoing shall be construed as a presumptive 
admission of allegations raised in complaints against the 
notary for violations related to accepting prohibited fees.

(Source: P.A. 95-988, eff. 6-1-09.)

 


    (5 ILCS 312/6-102)  (from Ch. 102, par. 206-102)



    Sec. 6-102. Notarial Acts. 
    (a) In taking an acknowledgment, the notary public must 
determine,
either from personal knowledge or from satisfactory 
evidence, that the
person appearing before the notary and 
making the acknowledgment is the
person whose true signature is 
on the instrument.

    (b) In taking a verification upon oath or affirmation, the 
notary
public must determine, either from personal knowledge or 
from satisfactory
evidence, that the person appearing before 
the notary and making the
verification is the person whose true 
signature is on the statement verified.

    (c) In witnessing or attesting a signature, the notary 
public must
determine, either from personal knowledge or from 
satisfactory evidence,
that the signature is that of the person 
appearing before the notary and named therein.

    (d) A notary public has satisfactory evidence that a person 
is the
person whose true signature is on a document if that 
person:

        (1) is personally known to the notary;

        (2) is identified upon the oath or affirmation of a 
    credible witness
personally known to the notary; or

        (3) is identified on the basis of identification 
    documents. Identification Until July 1, 2013, 
    identification documents are documents that are valid at 
    the time of the notarial act, issued by a state agency, 
    federal government agency, or consulate, and bearing the 
    photographic image of the individual's face and signature 
    of the individual.


(Source: P.A. 97-397, eff. 1-1-12.)

 
 
    Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon 
becoming law.