Section 176.600  Notarial Certificates

a)         Minimum requirements.  For a notarial certificate to be sufficient, it must contain the information required under 5 ILCS 312/6-103.

b)         Additional Information.  A notarial certificate may contain additional or other information as may be required to satisfy any legal requirements, ethical or legal concerns, or the business needs of the parties to the transaction.

c)         Permanently and Securely Attached.  A notarial certificate must be stamped, stapled, grommeted, or otherwise permanently bound to the tangible document in a tamper-evident manner.  The use of tape, paper clips, or binder clips is not permitted.

d)         Legible Signature Required.  When signing a paper certificate, the notary public shall use a legible, recognizable handwritten signature that can be attributed to the notary public performing the notarial act by anyone examining or authenticating the signature.  If a notary public’s preferred signature is not legible and recognizable, the notary public must also legibly print the notary public's name immediately adjacent to the signature.  In this chapter, a signature is legible and recognizable if the letters are distinct and easily readable, and the notary public’s full name may be clearly discerned by looking at the signature.

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