Bond

Bond. A. A notary commission shall not become effective until an oath of office and a Five Thousand Dollar ($5,000.00) bond have been filed with the Secretary of State. The bond shall be issued and executed by a surety licensed by the Mississippi Department of Insurance, for a term of four (4) years commencing on the commission’s effective date and terminating on its expiration date, with payment of bond funds to any person conditioned upon the notary’s misconduct, misfeasance or malfeasance. 1. The bond must be on SOS Form NP 002, Official Notary Public Bond, or a bond substantially in the form prescribed for public official bonds in Section 25-1-15 of the Mississippi Code of 1972. 2. The bond must be submitted to the Secretary of State within sixty (60) days of the application date. Failure to timely submit the bond will result in the rejection of the notary application. 3. If a notary bond has been exhausted by claims paid out by the surety, the Secretary of State may suspend the notary’s commission until: a. a new bond is obtained by the notary; and b. the notary’s fitness to serve the remainder of the commission term is determined by the Secretary of State. B. Before taking the oath of office or registering an official signature, an applicant shall present satisfactory evidence of the applicant’s identity as set forth in Section 11 of the act (relating to identification of individual). C. Before issuance of a commission as a notary public, the applicant for a commission must: 1. execute the oath of office as set forth in Section 41(3) of the act (relating to qualifications) to the Secretary of State; and 2. submit a bond as set forth in Section 41(4) of the act (relating to qualifications) to the Secretary of State. D. Upon determination that an applicant has complied with all requirements of the act and this chapter, the Secretary of State will appoint or reappoint the applicant to the office of notary public and issue a commission certificate.