Alabama § 36-20-51 - Civil Law Notaries.

§ 36-20-51. Civil Law Notaries.

(a) The Secretary of State shall have the power to appoint civil law notaries and administer this article.

(b) A civil law notary is authorized to issue brevets, minutes, and notarial deeds and thereby may authenticate or certify any document, transaction, event, condition, or occurrence. A civil law notary may also administer oaths and make certificates thereof when necessary for execution of any writing or document to be attested, protested, or published under the seal of a notary public. A civil law notary may also take acknowledgments of deeds and other instruments of writing for record.

(c) The authentic acts, and oaths and acknowledgments of a civil law notary shall be chronologically recorded in the civil law notary’s protocol in a manner prescribed by the Secretary of State.

(d) The civil law notary may, without prejudice to his or her duty to ensure professional confidentiality, issue certified copies of authentic acts to individuals who, in his or her opinion, have a legitimate interest in the contents of an authentic act. Certified copies of authentic acts shall have the same legal force and effect as the original.

(e) A civil law notary is obligated to do the following:

(1) Draw up authentic acts in accordance with their knowledge and comprehension and such documents shall clearly reflect the wishes of the contracting parties duly adopted to legal requirements necessary for the documents to have full legal force and effect.

(2) Represent the transaction itself in the creation of the authentic act. For this purpose, the civil law notary acts as an intermediary where there are multiple parties to a transaction.

(3) Use his or her best efforts to advise all parties to the transaction equally, accurately, fully, and impartially regarding the nature and legal consequences of the transaction.

(4) Refrain from representing any party in any matter arising from or related to the civil law notary’s authentic act.