Section 176.340  Bond

a)         Applicants for a notary public commission or electronic notary public commission must indicate at the time of application whether the applicant will perform only traditional in-person notarizations or remote notarizations.

b)         An applicant for a notary public commission or electronic notary public commission must purchase a bond in the following amounts:

1)         Applicants seeking to perform only traditional, in-person notarizations − $5,000;

2)         Applicants seeking to perform traditional, in-person notarizations and remote or electronic notarizations − $25,000 in addition to the bond required by subsection (b)(1) for traditional notaries, or a combined bond of $30,000, pursuant to 5 ILCS 312/2-105(b).

c)         A copy of the original bond must be filed with the Illinois Secretary of State Index Department.

d)         The bond shall contain, on its face, the oath of office for the notary public or electronic notary public as specified in 5 ILCS 312/2-104.  The applicant must endorse the oath on the face of the bond, immediately below the oath, by signing the applicant’s name under which the person has applied to be commissioned as a notary public or electronic notary public and exactly as it appears on the notary application form or electronic notary application form filed with the Secretary of State’s Office.

e)         In making a claim against a combined bond, as described in subsection (b)(2), a claimant will only be entitled to either a maximum of $5,000 of the bond if the notarization at question was a traditional, in-person, physical notarization or a maximum of $25,000 if the notarization was electronic or remote.  In no event may a single claim be eligible for payment of the entirety of the $30,000 bond.

(Source:  Added at 47 Ill. Reg. 8640, effective June 5, 2023)