Arizona § 41-319 - Journal

§ 41-319. Journal

A. A notary public shall keep a paper journal to chronicle all notarial acts performed regarding tangible records. A notary public shall keep either a paper journal or one or more electronic journals to chronicle all notarial acts performed regarding electronic records.  Except as prescribed by subsection E of this section, a notary public shall keep only one paper journal at a time. The notary public shall record all notarial acts in chronological order. The notary public shall furnish, when requested, a certified copy of any public record in the notary public's journal. Records of notarial acts that violate the attorney-client privilege or that are confidential pursuant to federal or state law are not a public record. Each journal entry shall include at least:

1. The date of the notarial act.

2. A description of the document and type of notarial act.

3. The printed full name and address of each individual for whom a notarial act is performed.

4. If a paper journal is used, the signature of each individual for whom a notarial act is performed.

5. The type of satisfactory evidence of identity presented to the notary public by each individual for whom a notarial act is performed, or a notation that the notary public's personal knowledge of the individual was used as satisfactory evidence of identity.

6. A description of the identification card or document, if any, including its date of issuance or expiration.

7. The fee, if any, charged for the notarial act.

B. If a notary public has personal knowledge of the identity of a signer, the notary public shall retain a paper or electronic copy of the notarized documents for each notarial act in lieu of making a journal entry or the notary public shall make a journal entry pursuant to the requirements of subsection A, paragraphs 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 7 of this section.

C. Except for notarial acts performed for remotely located individuals under section 41-263, if a notary public performs more than one notarization for an individual within a six month period, the notary public shall have the individual provide satisfactory evidence of identity as required under section 41-255 the first time the notary performs the notarization for the individual but may not require satisfactory evidence of identity or the individual to sign the journal for subsequent notarizations performed for the individual during the six month period.

D. If a notary public performs more than one notarization of the same type for a signer either on similar records or within the same record and at the same time, the notary public may group the records together and make one journal entry for the transaction.

E. If one or more entries in a notary public's journal are not public records, the notary public shall keep one journal that contains entries that are not public records and one journal that contains entries that are public records. If a notary public keeps only one journal, that journal is presumed to be a public record.  A notary public's journal that contains entries that are not public records is the property of the employer of that notary public and shall be retained by that employer if the notary public leaves that employment. A notary public's journal that contains only public records is the property of the notary public without regard to whether the notary public's employer purchased the journal or provided the fees for the commissioning of the notary public.

F. Except as provided in subsections A and E of this section, the  notary public's journal is a public record that may be viewed by or copied for any member of the public, but only on presentation to the notary public of a written request that details the month and year of the notarial act, the name of the individual whose signature was notarized and the type of record or transaction.