Title 47.1. Notaries and Out-of-State Commissioners
Subtitle .
Chapter 4. Term of Office
Chapter 4. Term of Office.
§ 47.1-21. Commission as notary.The commission of a notary public shall be four years, except as shall be otherwise provided in this title. The commission of a notary public shall expire in the fourth calendar year after issuance of his commission on the last day of the month in which the notary was born.
A. A notary may resign his commission by mailing or delivering to the Secretary a letter of resignation.
B. Any notary who ceases to be a resident of the Commonwealth of Virginia shall, from that time, cease to be a notary; provided, however, that such notary may maintain his commission with the written consent of the Secretary if he meets the qualifications for nonresident appointment under § 47.1-4.
C. Any nonresident notary who ceases to be employed in this Commonwealth shall forthwith cease to be a notary.
D. Every notary who wishes to resign from office, or who ceases to be a notary pursuant to subsections B or C of this section, shall forthwith mail or deliver his commission to the Secretary, who shall cancel the same. The notary shall be responsible for the destruction of the official physical seal.
E. Every electronic notary who wishes to resign his commission or who ceases to be a notary pursuant to this section shall forthwith erase, delete, or destroy the coding, disk, certificate, card, software, or password that enables electronic affixation of the notary's official electronic signature or seal and so certify to the Secretary.
F. A former electronic notary, whose previous commission or application was not revoked or denied, need not erase, delete, or destroy the coding, disk, certificate, card, software, or password that enables electronic affixation of the notary's official electronic signature or seal if he is recommissioned and reregistered as an electronic notary using the same electronic signature and seal within three months after commission expiration.
The Secretary may revoke the commission of any notary who:
1. Submits or has submitted an application for commission and appointment as a notary public which contains a substantial and material misstatement of fact;
2. Is convicted or has been convicted of any felony under the laws of the United States or this Commonwealth, or the laws of any other state, unless the notary has been pardoned for such offense, has had his conviction vacated by a granting of a writ of actual innocence, or has had his rights restored;
3. Is found to have committed official misconduct by a proceeding as provided in Chapter 5 (§ 47.1-24 et seq.);
4. Fails to exercise the powers or perform the duties of a notary public in accordance with this title, provided that if a notary is adjudged liable in any court of the Commonwealth in any action grounded in fraud, misrepresentation, impersonation, or violation of the notary laws of the Commonwealth, such notary shall be presumed removable under this section;
5. Performs a prohibited act pursuant to § 47.1-15 or 47.1-15.1;
6. Is convicted of the unauthorized practice of law pursuant to § 54.1-3904, or is a licensed attorney at law whose license is suspended or revoked;
7. Ceases to be a legal resident of the United States;
8. Becomes incapable of reading or writing the English language;
9. Is adjudicated mentally incompetent; or
10. Fails to keep the official physical seal, journal, or device, coding, disk, certificate, card, software, or passwords used to affix the notary's official electronic signature or seal under the exclusive control of the notary when not in use.
Code 1950, § 47-2; 1962, p. 687; 1976, c. 559; 1979, c. 14; 1980, c. 580; 1983, c. 435; 2007, cc. 269, 590; 2013, c. 86; 2014, cc. 544, 783.
