Hon. C. A. 'Pounds 

County Attorney 

Chambers County 

Anahuac, Texas 

Dear b@. Pounds: 

June 25, 1949 

Opinion No. V-849 

Re: The eligibility'of a married 

woman under 21 years nor page 

to'be a notary public. 

You have requested an opinion regarding the 

following question: 

./.. 

~"Ys a married woman under twenty-one (21) 

'$ears of age legaliy eligible for appointment 

asp a ~Notary Publio?" 

Section 2 of Article 5949, V.C.S., as amended, 

provides: 

"To be eligible for aDpoIntment as Notare 

Public ror any county, person'shall be a 

citizen of this stete a:d at least twenty-one 

(21) years of age, and a resident of the countv for which he is annointed: nrovided, that 

w'here sudh person resides within the limits OF 

a county containing an Incorporated city, tbwn 

or village partially located In another county, said person may, be appointed Notary Public 

for either of such counties, but shall be authorized to act only in the county for which 

such appointmentis made; provided further, 

that nothing herein shall Invalidate any commission a,s Notary Public which has been Issued 

and Is outstanding at the time this Act becomes effective." 

This Article as amended placed an eligibility 

requirement for Notaries Public, to-wit: that a person 

to be eligible for appointment shall be at least 21 years 

of ege, No exception Is given relative to this qualification. 

In Attorney General's Opinion No. O-2918, by e 

prior administration, It was held that a minor was not 
Hon. C. A. Pounds, page 2 (V-849) 

eligible ror an appointment as Notary Public even though 

such minor's disabIlItIes had been removed In eccordanoe 

with the provisions of Article 5923. 

Artiole 4625, V.C.S., provides that "every female under the age of 21 years who.shall marry In accordance with the laws or this State, shall from and efter the time of such marriage, be deemed of f'ull age and 

shall have all the rights and privileges to which she 

would have been entitled had she been at the time of her 

marriage 0r full age." Following the reasoning In OpinIon O-2918 It Is our opinion that Article 5949 has the 

effect of making an exception to the provisions of Artiale 4625. 

Section 3 of Article 5949 provides: 

"Any person desiring appointment as Notary Publio shall furnish to the County Clerk 

of the county of residence of the appliqant, 

or the county In which the applioant seeks to 

act as Notary Public, his name as It twill be 

used In acting as such Notary public, his 

post office address, and shall satisfy the 

Clerk that he Is at least twenty-one (21) 

years of age and otherwise qualified by law 

for the appointment which Is sought." 

It Is our further opinion that It would be Impossible for the person in question to comply with the 

above quoted provisions since she Is actually under 21 

years of age. It Is therefore our opinion that e married 

woman under 21 years of age is not eligible to be a Notary Public. 

SJMdARY 

: 

A married woman under 21 years of age 

Is not eligible to be a Notary Public. Article 5949, V.C.S. 

APPROVED 

Yours very truly, 

ATTORNEY GENERAL OF TEXAS 

s/s Joe B. Greenhill 

Joe R. Greenhill 

FIRST ASSISTANT By /a/ John Reeves 

ATTORNEY GERERAL John Reeves 

JR:bh:jrb 

Assistant