Due to Legislation that takes effect January 1, 2013, the sample workbook has been modified to include changes in the law. All currently approved courses of study must be amended to include these changes. Courses of study must be submitted and approved by the Secretary of State before the course can be taught to students. A vendor cannot use any course that has not been updated and approved to include changes in the law effective January 1, 2013. To view the full text of Assembly Bill 2326, please refer to the Bill Information section on the California Legislative Counsel's website.
Approved notary public education vendors currently using the sample workbook must submit the declaration, a cover page, a copy of the 2013 sample workbook, and an application to the Secretary of State and receive an amended certificate of approval prior to providing courses that are to begin on or after January 1, 2013.
Vendors who choose to submit original workbooks and do not use the Secretary of State's sample workbook can view the changes made to the sample workbook as a reference. The changes made that comply with the new laws can be found on pages 25, 28, 35, and 37 of the 2013 sample workbook (pdf ~364KB). In addition, some of the examples were changed to update the dates and the reference to the notary public disciplinary guidelines. These changes can be found on pages 7, 29, 35, 40, 41, 43, 44, 45, and 47.
The Notary Public Disciplinary Guidelines 2001 have been revised. The Notary Public Disciplinary Guidelines 2012 have been approved by the Office of Administrative Law and have been filed with the Secretary of State. The Notary Public Disciplinary Guidelines 2012 take effect November 16, 2012.
All courses that reference the Notary Public Disciplinary Guidelines 2001 must be amended to reflect the information in the Notary Public Disciplinary Guidelines 2012. In order to avoid the need to update this information in the future, it is recommended that the courses refer students to the Secretary of State website to review the most current disciplinary guidelines.
The Secretary of State's office reviews courses of study for approval that are submitted by notary public education vendors. (California Government Code section 8201.2.)
Regulations have been adopted regarding approved education for notaries public. In order to be approved, the notary public education course of study must include all material that a person is expected to know to satisfactorily complete the written examination.
To assist notary public education vendors, the Secretary of State's office has prepared a sample workbook covering the functions and duties of a California notary public. Notary public education vendors can use the sample workbook for their course of study or design their own as long as the course of study meets the criteria in the regulations regarding approved education for notaries public.
The content of the sample workbook is pre-approved. An education vendor using the sample workbook in its entirety must submit the declaration, cover page and the additional items stated in the regulations (i.e., schedule, sample list of attendees, sample proof of completion certificate, etc.) and a copy of the sample workbook, lesson plan and application to the Secretary of State and receive a certificate of approval prior to beginning instruction. If changes have been made to the sample workbook beyond the cover page, a full review of the education vendor's proposed workbook will be performed before an approval certificate will be issued.
