2023 CODE OF GEORGIA › Title 45 - PUBLIC OFFICERS AND EMPLOYEES (§§ 45-1-1 — 45-25-7) › Chapter 17 - NOTARIES PUBLIC (§§ 45-17-1 — 45-17-34) › Article 1 - GENERAL PROVISIONS (§§ 45-17-1 — 45-17-20) › Section 45-17-8 - [Effective 1/1/2025] Powers and duties generally

(a)
Notaries public shall have authority to:
(1)
Witness or attest signature or execution of deeds and other written instruments;
(2)
Take acknowledgments;
(3)
Administer oaths and affirmations in all matters incidental to their duties as commercial officers and all other oaths and affirmations which are not by law required to be administered by a particular officer;
(4)
Witness affidavits upon oath or affirmation;
(5)
Take verifications upon oath or affirmation;
(6)
Make certified copies, provided that the document presented for copying is an original document and is neither a public record nor a publicly recorded document, certified copies of which are available from an official source other than a notary, and provided that the document was photocopied under supervision of the notary; and
(7)
Perform such other acts as they are authorized to perform by other laws of this state.
(b)
No notary shall be obligated to perform a notarial act if he or she feels such act is:
(1)
For a transaction which the notary knows or suspects is illegal, false, or deceptive;
(2)
For a person who is being coerced;
(3)
For a person whose demeanor causes compelling doubts about whether the person knows the consequences of the transaction requiring the notarial act; or
(4)
In situations which impugn and compromise the notary's impartiality, as specified in subsection (c) of this Code section.
(c)
A notary shall be disqualified from performing a notarial act in the following situations which impugn and compromise the notary's impartiality:
(1)
When the notary is a signer of the document which is to be notarized; or
(2)
When the notary is a party to the document or transaction for which the notarial act is required.
(d)
A notary public shall not execute a notarial certificate containing a statement known by the notary to be false nor perform any action with an intent to deceive or defraud.
(e)
In performing any notarial act, a notary public shall confirm the identity of the document signer, oath taker, or affirmant by verification of a government issued photo identification document, including without limitation a valid driver's license, personal identification card authorized under Code Sections
40-5-100
through
40-5-104
, or a military identification card such as a Veterans Health Identification Card issued by the United States Department of Veterans Affairs, or based on personal knowledge.
(f)
The signature of a notary public documenting a notarial act shall not be evidence to show that such notary public had knowledge of the contents of the document so signed, other than those specific contents which constitute the signature, execution, acknowledgment, oath, affirmation, affidavit, verification, or other act which the signature of that notary public documents, nor is a certification by a notary public that a document is a certified or true copy of an original document evidence to show that such notary public had knowledge of the contents of the document so certified.
(g)
(1)
As used in this subsection, the term 'self-filer' shall have the same meaning as provided in Code Section
44-2-2
.
(2)
A notary public shall maintain a written or electronic journal which shall include an entry for each notarial act performed at the request of a self-filer. Each such entry shall include the name of the self-filer; the self-filer's address; the self-filer's telephone number; the date, time, and location of notarization; the type of government issued photo identification document presented by the self-filer, unless the identity of the self-filer was confirmed based on personal knowledge; elements of such identification document, if applicable, including any identifying number; the self-filer's signature; and the type of document presented for notarization.
(h)
(1)
A notary public shall complete an educational training class relating to the duties of notaries public as provided for in this chapter. Such training shall be completed prior to the initial appointment and within 30 days prior to each subsequent renewal appointment.
(2)
The Georgia Superior Court Clerks' Cooperative Authority may adopt rules and regulations necessary to implement the provisions of this subsection.
Amended by 2024 Ga. Laws 549,§ 1-3, eff. 1/1/2025.
Amended by 2022 Ga. Laws 643,§ 1, eff. 7/1/2022.
This section is set out more than once due to postponed, multiple, or conflicting amendments.