1. 1. The secretary shall prepare a notary commission and forward the commission to the county clerk in the county of the applicant's residence or regular place of work or business.

2. 2. Upon issuing a notary commission, the secretary shall:

   1. (1) Notify the notary that he or she shall present the required bond to the county clerk;
   2. (2) Provide an oath with the commission to be taken by the notary in the presence of the county clerk or their designee, within sixty days of the commission issue date;
   3. (3) Require the oath and bond to be mailed by the notary to the secretary's office with a postmarked date not exceeding seven days from the date of the oath; and
   4. (4) Once the oath and bond have been received, examined, and approved, update the notary's commissioned status.
3. 3. Any commission issued that fails to qualify within sixty days shall be marked by the county clerk as not qualified and shall be returned to the secretary within fifteen days.
4. 4. Any notary who fails to qualify within the sixty days may be required to reapply for a notary commission.
5. 5. The county clerk shall keep a register of each person to whom they award a notary commission, as prescribed by the secretary.

(L. 2020 H.B. 1655)