The Vermont Statutes Online
The Vermont Statutes Online does not include the actions of the 2024 session of the General Assembly. We expect them to be updated by November 1st.
NOTE: The Vermont Statutes Online is an unofficial copy of the Vermont Statutes Annotated that is provided as a convenience.
Title 26 : Professions and Occupations
Chapter 103 : Notaries Public
Subchapter 003 : Commissions
(Cite as: 26 V.S.A. § 5345)-
§ 5345. Prohibitions; offenses
(a) A person shall not perform or attempt to perform a notarial act or hold himself or herself out as being able to do so in this State without first having been commissioned.
(b) A person shall not use in connection with the person’s name any letters, words, or insignia indicating or implying that the person is a notary public unless commissioned in accordance with this chapter.
(c) A person shall not perform or attempt to perform a notarial act while his or her commission has been revoked or suspended.
(d) A person who violates a provision of this section shall be subject to a fine of not more than $5,000.00 or imprisonment for not more than one year, or both. Prosecution may occur upon the complaint of the Attorney General or a State’s Attorney and shall not act as a bar to civil or administrative proceedings involving the same conduct.
(e) A commission as a notary public shall not authorize an individual to assist a person in drafting legal records, give legal advice, or otherwise practice law.
(f) Except as otherwise allowed by law, a notary public shall not withhold access to or possession of an original record provided by a person who seeks performance of a notarial act by the notary public. (Added 2017, No. 160 (Adj. Sess.), § 1, eff. July 1, 2019.)
