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<law><site_title>Virginia Decoded</site_title><site_url>https://vacode.org</site_url><law_id>62014</law_id><section_number>47.1-16</section_number><catch_line>Notarizations to show date of act, official signature and seal, etc</catch_line><edition url="https://vacode.org/2025/" slug="2025" current="TRUE" last_updated="">2025</edition><structure><unit label="title" level="1" order_by="1" identifier="47.1">Notaries and Out-Of-State Commissioners</unit><unit label="chapter" level="2" order_by="1" identifier="3">Powers and Duties</unit></structure><text>
						<section id="A"><p><span class="prefix-number">A.</span> Every notarization shall include the date upon which the <span class="dictionary">notarial act</span> was performed and the county or city and <span class="dictionary">state</span> in which it was performed. Every <span class="dictionary">electronic notarial certificate</span> completed by an <span class="dictionary">electronic notary public</span> commissioned in the Commonwealth shall include the county or city within the Commonwealth where the <span class="dictionary">electronic notary public</span> was physically located at the time of the <span class="dictionary">notarial act</span>. The <span class="dictionary">electronic notarial certificate</span> shall indicate whether the notarization was done in person or by <span class="dictionary">remote online notarization</span>. <a id="paragraph-226329" class="section-permalink" href="https://vacode.org/47.1-16/#A"><i class="fa fa-link"/></a></p></section>
						<section id="B"><p><span class="prefix-number">B.</span> A <span class="dictionary">notarial act</span> shall be evidenced by a notarial certificate or <span class="dictionary">electronic notarial certificate</span> signed by a notary in a manner that attributes such signature to the notary public identified on the commission. <a id="paragraph-226330" class="section-permalink" href="https://vacode.org/47.1-16/#B"><i class="fa fa-link"/></a></p></section>
						<section id="C"><p><span class="prefix-number">C.</span> Upon every writing that is the subject of a <span class="dictionary">notarial act</span>, the notary shall, after his certificate, <span class="dictionary">state</span> the date of the expiration of his commission in substantially the following form:
			&#x201C;My commission expires the____ day of_____________, _____&#x201D;
			Near the notary&#x2019;s official signature on the notarial certificate of a paper document, the notary shall affix a sharp, legible, permanent, and photographically reproducible image of the official seal, or, to an <span class="dictionary">electronic document</span>, the notary shall attach an official <span class="dictionary">electronic seal</span>. <a id="paragraph-226331" class="section-permalink" href="https://vacode.org/47.1-16/#C"><i class="fa fa-link"/></a></p></section>
						<section id="D"><p><span class="prefix-number">D.</span> The notary shall attach the official <span class="dictionary">electronic signature</span> and <span class="dictionary">electronic seal</span> to the <span class="dictionary">electronic notarial certificate</span> of an <span class="dictionary">electronic document</span> in a manner that is capable of independent verification and renders any subsequent changes or modifications to the <span class="dictionary">electronic document</span> evident. <a id="paragraph-226332" class="section-permalink" href="https://vacode.org/47.1-16/#D"><i class="fa fa-link"/></a></p></section>
						<section id="E"><p><span class="prefix-number">E.</span> An electronic notary&#x2019;s <span class="dictionary">electronic signature</span> and <span class="dictionary">electronic seal</span> shall conform to the standards for <span class="dictionary">electronic notarization</span> developed in accordance with &#xA7; <a class="law" title="Standards for electronic notarization" href="/47.1-6.1/">47.1-6.1</a>. <a id="paragraph-226333" class="section-permalink" href="https://vacode.org/47.1-16/#E"><i class="fa fa-link"/></a></p></section></text><history>Code 1950, &#xA7; 55-116; 1980, c. 580; 2007, cc. 269, 590; 2008, cc. 117, 814; 2009, c. 160; 2021, Sp. Sess. I, c. 78; 2024, c. 832.</history><metadata></metadata></law>
