- (1) Upon completion of each examination session and after the examinations are scored, the testing authority shall promptly forward the examination results to the Office of the Secretary of State. The Office of the Secretary of State shall then notify the applicants of their respective test scores and shall appoint those persons with satisfactory scores of 70% as Alabama Civil-1aw Notaries.
- (2) Upon accepting appointment as an Alabama Civil-1aw Notary, the applicant shall file within 90 days after appointment with the Office of the Secretary of State a Form ACLN-2 prescribed by the Secretary of State titled “Appointment of Protocol Custodian and Seal Filing,” which form is set forth in the Appendix to this Division. The applicant shall identify an Alabama Civil-1aw Notary in good standing with the Office of the Secretary of State and the Alabama Bar who has agreed to take custody of the applicant’s protocol in the event that the applicant’s appointment is ever suspended or revoked, or if the applicant dies or becomes incapacitated. If for any reason an Alabama Civil-1aw Notary chooses to change secondary custodial notaries, the Alabama Civil-1aw Notary shall promptly notify the Office of the Secretary of State in writing and shall make the appropriate change in the Civil-1aw notary’s annual report.
- (3) Unless suspended or revoked in accordance with this rule or Rule 820-6-1-.03, an appointment as an Alabama Civil-1aw Notary shall continue in force for so long as the applicant is a member in good standing of the Alabama Bar, subject to the requirement that the applicant must file an annual report with the Office of the Secretary of State at the address noted above on a Form ACLN-3 prescribed by the Secretary of State entitled “Alabama Civil-1aw Notary Annual Report,” which form is set forth in the Appendix to this Division. The annual report shall include the civil-1aw notary’s current business address and telephone number and the identity andsignature of another Alabama Civil-1aw Notary who has agreed to take custody of the civil-1aw notary’s protocol upon the suspension, revocation, incapacitation or death of the civil-1aw notary. A processing fee payable to the Office of the Secretary of State in the amount of one hundred dollars shall accompany the annual report. The annual report shall be filed and received by the Office of the Secretary of State no later than the last business day of January. Failure to file an annual report with the Office of the Secretary of State by the last business day of January shall result in a late fee of ten dollars per calendar day late through the last business day of February with a maximum late fee of two hundred fifty dollars. If the annual report is not filed and received by the Secretary of State by the last business day of February the Civil-1aw notary’s appointment shall be revoked. A Civil-1aw notary whose appointment has been revoked due to the failure to file an annual report in accordance with this rule shall be eligible to file a new application, along with a certificate of good standing from the Supreme Court of Alabama that also states that the applicant has been a member of the Alabama Bar for at least five years, issued within 90 days of the date of application, and application processing fee of one hundred dollars, in accordance with Rule 820-6-1-.01 (2), supra. If said application, certificate, and processing fee are filed with the Secretary of State within one year of the date the Secretary of State notified the Civil-1aw notary of the revocation of appointment due to failure to file an annual report in accordance with this rule, the applicant will not be required to complete a new examination process. A Civil-1aw notary whose appointment has been revoked pursuant to this rule who seeks to resume service as a Civil-1aw notary after one year of the date the Secretary of State notified the Civil-1aw notary of the revocation of the appointment due to failure to file an annual report must, in addition to the above-stated requirements, successfully complete a new examination process in compliance with Rules 820-6-1-.02 (1), 820-6-2-.01, and 820-6-2-.02.
Author: Charles E. Grainger, Jr.
Statutory Authority: Code of Ala. 1975, §§36-20-50, et seq.
Editor’s Note: Formerly 820-X-12-.04, as per certification filed January 10, 2001; effective February 14, 2001.
History: New Rule: Filed January 10, 2001; effective February 14, 2001. Amended: Filed June 5, 2009; effective July 10, 2009.