General Assembly approves notary revision, bill awaits governor’s action

The General Assembly officially presented House Bill No. 1655 (relating to official documents) to Gov. Parson on Tuesday, May 27, 2020. The governor will have 45 days to take action on the legislation (July 14, 2020).

HB 1655 repeals the notary public provisions of Chapter 486 and enacts new provisions, including sections on electronic notarization and remote online notarization.

As a reference for members, the government relations department has provided a section index, bill summary and bill text in a downloadable PDF.

The Chapter 486 revision is a multi-year project initiated by Secretary of State Ashcroft. If signed into law, the secretary of state’s office will engage in additional rulemaking based on the revisions. Those interested in providing comments or input on potential rulemaking should contact the government relations department at govrel@mobar.org.

On April 6, 2020, Gov. Parson issued Executive Order 20-08, suspending the requirement of personal appearance before a notary public, allowing notarization to be performed through audio-video technology, under certain circumstances. On May 4, 2020, with Executive Order 20-10, he extended the operation of EO 20-08 until June 15, 2020. Missouri lawyers and legal professionals who wish to learn more about remote notarization may view the free MoBarCLE on demand program "Executive Order 20-08 | Remote Notarization."

If signed, HB 1655 would take effect on August 28, 2020.