(a) A notarial act must be evidenced by a certificate. The certificate must:
(1) Be executed contemporaneously with the performance of the notarial act;
(2) Be signed and dated by the notarial officer and, if the notarial officer is a notary public, be signed in the same manner as on file with the Secretary of State;
(3) Identify the jurisdiction in which the notarial act is performed;
(4) Contain the title of office of the notarial officer; and
(5) If the notarial officer is a notary public, indicate the date of expiration, if any, of the officer's commission.
(b) If a notarial act regarding a tangible record is performed by a notary public, an official stamp must be affixed to the certificate. If a notarial act is performed regarding a tangible record by a notarial officer other than a notary public and the certificate contains the information specified in subdivisions (2), (3) and (4), subsection (a) of this section, an official stamp may be affixed to the certificate. If a notarial act regarding an electronic record is performed by a notarial officer and the certificate contains the information specified in said subdivisions, an official stamp may be attached to or logically associated with the certificate.
(c) A certificate of a notarial act is sufficient if it meets the requirements of subsections (a) and (b) and:
(1) Is in a short form set forth in section sixteen of this article;
(2) Is in a form otherwise permitted by the law of this state;
(3) Is in a form permitted by the law applicable in the jurisdiction in which the notarial act was performed; or
(4) Sets forth the actions of the notarial officer and the actions are sufficient to meet the requirements of the notarial act as provided in sections five, six and seven of this article or law of this state other than this article.
(d) By executing a certificate of a notarial act, a notarial officer certifies that the officer has complied with the requirements and made the determinations specified in sections four, five and six of this article.
(e) A notarial officer may not affix the officer's signature to, or logically associate it with, a certificate until the notarial act has been performed.
(f) If a notarial act is performed regarding a tangible record, a certificate must be part of, or securely attached to, the record. If a notarial act is performed regarding an electronic record, the certificate must be affixed to or logically associated with, the electronic record. If the Secretary of State has established standards pursuant to section twenty-five of this article, for attaching, affixing, or logically associating the certificate, the process must conform to the standards.
Structure West Virginia Code
Chapter 39. Records and Papers
Article 4. Revised Uniform Law on Notarial Acts
§39-4-3. Applicability; Operative Date of Enactment; Effect on Existing Law
§39-4-4. Authority to Perform Notarial Act
§39-4-5. Requirements for Certain Notarial Acts
§39-4-6. Personal Appearance Required
§39-4-6a. Remote Acknowledgements and Notarizations Under Covid-19 Executive Order Deemed Valid
§39-4-7. Identification of Individual
§39-4-8. Authority to Refuse to Perform Notarial Act
§39-4-9. Signature if Individual Is Unable to Sign
§39-4-10. Notarial Act in This State
§39-4-11. Notarial Act in Another State
§39-4-12. Notarial Act Under Authority of Federally Recognized Indian Tribe
§39-4-13. Notarial Act Under Federal Authority
§39-4-14. Foreign Notarial Act
§39-4-15. Certificate of Notarial Act
§39-4-16. Short Form Certificates
§39-4-20. Commission as Notary Public; Qualifications; No Immunity or Benefit; Disposition of Fees
§39-4-22. Database of Notaries Public
§39-4-24. Validity of Notarial Acts
§39-4-26. Notary Public Commission and Commissioner Appointment in Effect
§39-4-28. Uniformity of Application and Construction
§39-4-29. Relation to Electronic Signatures in Global and National Commerce Act
§39-4-31. Government Notaries Public
§39-4-32. Liability of Notary and of an Employer of Notary
§39-4-34. Action for Injunction; Unauthorized Practice of Law
§39-4-35. Administrative Complaints and Investigations
§39-4-36. Secretary of State Record Retention
§39-4-37. Remote Online Notarial Act Performed for Remotely Located Individual
§39-4-38. Remote Ink Notarial Act Performed for Remotely Located Individual