District of Columbia Code
Chapter 12A - Revised Uniform Law on Notarial Acts
§ 1–1231.01. Definitions

For the purposes of this chapter, the term:
(1) "Acknowledgment" means a declaration by an individual that states the individual has signed a record for the purposes stated in the record, and if the record is executed in a representative capacity, that the person signed the record with proper authority and signed it as the act of the individual or entity identified in the record.
(2) "Electronic" means relating to technology that has electrical, digital, magnetic, wireless, optical, electromagnetic, or similar capabilities.
(3) "Electronic notary" means an individual who has received an endorsement from the Mayor to perform a notarial act with respect to electronic records under § 1-1231.19(i).
(4) "Electronic signature" means an electronic symbol, sound, or process attached to or logically associated with a record and executed or adopted by an individual with the intent to sign the record.
(5) "Foreign state" means a government other than the United States, a state, or a federally recognized Indian tribe.
(6) "In a representative capacity" means acting as:
(A) An authorized officer, agent, partner, trustee, or other representative for a person other than an individual;
(B) A public officer, personal representative, guardian, or other representative, in the capacity stated in a record;
(C) An agent or attorney-in-fact for a principal; or
(D) An authorized representative of another in any other capacity.
(7) "Notarial act" means an act, whether performed with respect to a tangible or electronic record, that a notarial officer may perform under the law of the District. The term "notarial act" includes taking an acknowledgment, administering an oath or affirmation, taking a verification on oath or affirmation, witnessing or attesting a signature, noting a protest of a negotiable instrument, taking and certifying the acknowledgment or proof of powers of attorney, mortgages, deeds, other instruments of writing, and taking affidavits to be used before any court, judge, or officer within the District.
(8) "Notarial officer" or "officer" (except as used in paragraphs (6) and (7) of this section) means a notary public or other individual authorized to perform a notarial act.
(9) "Notarial sealer" means:
(A) A physical device capable of affixing to or embossing on a tangible record an official seal;
(B) An electronic device or process capable of attaching to or logically associating with an electronic record an official seal; or
(C) A stamping device.
(10) "Notary public" means an individual commissioned by the:
(A) Mayor to perform notarial acts in the District; or
(B) Commissioning authority of the federal government, a state, or a federally recognized Indian tribe.
(11) "Official seal" means a physical image affixed to or embossed on a tangible record or an electronic image securely attached directly to or logically associated with an electronic record.
(12) "Person" means an individual, estate, business or nonprofit entity, public corporation, government or governmental subdivision, agency, or instrumentality, or other legal entity.
(13) "Record" means information that is inscribed on a tangible medium or that is stored in an electronic or other medium and is retrievable in perceivable form.
(14) "Sign" means, with present intent to authenticate or adopt a record, to:
(A) Execute or adopt a tangible symbol; or
(B) Attach to or logically associate with the record an electronic symbol, sound, or process.
(15) "Signature" means a tangible symbol or an electronic signature that evidences the signing of a record.
(16) "State" means a state of the United States, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the United States Virgin Islands, or any territory or insular possession subject to the jurisdiction of the United States.
(17) "Tamper-evident technologies" means technology that is designed to allow a person inspecting an electronic record to determine whether there has been any tampering with the integrity of a certificate of notarial act logically associated with a record or with the attachment or association of the notarial act with that electronic record.
(18) "Verification on oath or affirmation" means a declaration, made by an individual on oath or affirmation before a notarial officer, that a statement in a record is true.
(Dec. 4, 2018, D.C. Law 22-189, § 2, 65 DCR 11606.)
For temporary (90 days) amendment of this section, see § 807(a) of Coronavirus Support Congressional Review Emergency Amendment Act of 2021 (D.C. Act 24-96, June 7, 2021, 68 DCR 006025).
For temporary (90 days) amendment of this section, see § 807(a) of Coronavirus Support Emergency Amendment Act of 2021 (D.C. Act 24-30, Mar. 17, 2021, 68 DCR 003101).
For temporary (90 days) amendment of this section, see § 807(a) of Coronavirus Support Second Congressional Review Emergency Amendment Act of 2020 (D.C. Act 23-405, Aug. 19, 2020, 67 DCR 10235).
For temporary (90 days) amendment of this section, see § 807(a) of Coronavirus Support Congressional Review Emergency Amendment Act of 2020 (D.C. Act 23-328, June 8, 2020, 67 DCR 7598).
For temporary (90 days) amendment of this section, see § 807(a) of Coronavirus Support Emergency Amendment Act of 2020 (D.C. Act 23-326, May 27, 2020, 67 DCR 7045).
For temporary (225 days) amendment of this section, see § 807(a) of Coronavirus Support Temporary Amendment Act of 2021 (D.C. Law 24-9, June 24, 2021, 68 DCR 004824).
For temporary (225 days) amendment of this section, see § 807(a) of Coronavirus Support Temporary Amendment Act of 2020 (D.C. Law 23-130, Oct. 9, 2020, 67 DCR 8622).