Bill Text: IL SB1173 | 2025-2026 | 104th General Assembly | Enrolled

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Bill Title: Amends the Illinois Notary Public Act. In provisions regarding a maximum fee, provides that no fee shall be charged for any notarial act related to the execution of an Illinois Secretary of State Department of Driver Services Homeless Status Certification form. In provisions regarding prohibited acts, provides that a notary public shall not charge a fee for any notarial act related to the execution of an Illinois Secretary of State Department of Driver Services Homeless Status Certification form.

Sponsorship: Moderate Partisan Bill (Democrat 7-1)

Status: (Passed) 2025-08-01 - Public Act . . . . . . . . . 104-0083 [SB1173 Detail]

Download: Illinois-2025-SB1173-Enrolled.html

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AN ACT concerning State government.
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
represented in the General Assembly:
Section 5. The Illinois Notary Public Act is amended by
changing Sections 3-104 and 6-104 as follows:
(5 ILCS 312/3-104) (from Ch. 102, par. 203-104)
Sec. 3-104. Maximum fee.
(a) Except as otherwise provided in this subsection (a),
the maximum fee for non-electronic notarization in this State
is $5 for any notarial act performed and up to $25 for any
notarial act performed pursuant to Section 3-102.
Fees for a notary public, agency, or any other person who
is not an attorney or an accredited representative filling out
immigration forms shall be limited to the following:
(1) $10 per form completion;
(2) $10 per page for the translation of a non-English
language into English where such translation is required
for immigration forms;
(3) $5 for notarizing;
(4) $3 to execute any procedures necessary to obtain a
document required to complete immigration forms; and
(5) A maximum of $75 for one complete application.
Fees authorized under this subsection shall not include

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application fees required to be submitted with immigration
applications.
(b) The maximum fee in this State up to $25 for any
electronic notarial act performed pursuant to this Act. An
electronic notary public may charge a reasonable fee to
recover any cost of providing a copy of an entry or a recording
of an audio-video communication in an electronic journal
maintained pursuant to Section 3-107.
(c) Any person who violates the provisions of subsection
(a) or (b) shall be guilty of a Class A misdemeanor for a first
offense and a Class 3 felony for a second or subsequent offense
committed within 5 years of a previous conviction for the same
offense.
(d) Upon his own information or upon complaint of any
person, the Attorney General or any State's Attorney, or their
designee, may maintain an action for injunctive relief in the
court against any notary public or any other person who
violates the provisions of subsection (a) or (b) of this
Section. These remedies are in addition to, and not in
substitution for, other available remedies.
If the Attorney General or any State's Attorney fails to
bring an action as provided pursuant to this subsection within
90 days of receipt of a complaint, any person may file a civil
action to enforce the provisions of this subsection and
maintain an action for injunctive relief.
(e) All notaries public must provide itemized receipts and

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keep records for fees accepted for services provided. Notarial
fees must appear on the itemized receipt as separate and
distinct from any other charges assessed. Failure to provide
itemized receipts and keep records that can be presented as
evidence of no wrongdoing shall be construed as a presumptive
admission of allegations raised in complaints against the
notary for violations related to accepting prohibited fees.
(f) No fee shall be charged for any notarial act related to
the execution of an Illinois Secretary of State Department of
Driver Services Homeless Status Certification form.
(Source: P.A. 102-160, eff. 5-6-23 (See Section 91 of P.A.
103-562 for effective date of P.A. 102-160).)
(5 ILCS 312/6-104) (from Ch. 102, par. 206-104)
Sec. 6-104. Acts prohibited.
(a) A notary public shall not use any name or initial in
signing certificates other than that by which the notary was
commissioned.
(b) A notary public shall not acknowledge any instrument
in which the notary's name appears as a party to the
transaction.
(c) A notary public shall not affix his signature to a
blank form of affidavit or certificate of acknowledgment.
(d) A notary public shall not take the acknowledgment of
or administer an oath to any person whom the notary actually
knows to have been adjudged mentally ill by a court of

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competent jurisdiction and who has not been restored to mental
health as a matter of record.
(e) A notary public shall not take the acknowledgment of
any person who is blind until the notary has read the
instrument to such person.
(f) A notary public shall not take the acknowledgment of
any person who does not speak or understand the English
language, unless the nature and effect of the instrument to be
notarized is translated into a language which the person does
understand.
(g) A notary public shall not change anything in a written
instrument after it has been signed by anyone.
(h) No notary public shall be authorized to prepare any
legal instrument, or fill in the blanks of an instrument,
other than a notary certificate; however, this prohibition
shall not prohibit an attorney, who is also a notary public,
from performing notarial acts for any document prepared by
that attorney.
(i) If a notary public accepts or receives any money from
any one to whom an oath has been administered or on behalf of
whom an acknowledgment has been taken for the purpose of
transmitting or forwarding such money to another and willfully
fails to transmit or forward such money promptly, the notary
is personally liable for any loss sustained because of such
failure. The person or persons damaged by such failure may
bring an action to recover damages, together with interest and

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reasonable attorney fees, against such notary public or his
bondsmen.
(j) A notary public shall not perform any notarial act
when his or her commission is suspended or revoked, nor shall
he or she fail to comply with any term of suspension which may
be imposed for violation of this Section.
(k) No notary public shall be authorized to explain,
certify, or verify the contents of any document; however, this
prohibition shall not prohibit an attorney, who is also a
notary public, from performing notarial acts for any document
prepared by that attorney.
(l) A notary public shall not represent himself or herself
as an electronic notary public if the person has not been
commissioned as an electronic notary public by the Secretary
of State.
(m) No person shall knowingly create, manufacture, or
distribute software or hardware for the purpose of allowing a
person to act as an electronic notary public without being
commissioned in accordance with this Act. A violation of this
subsection (m) is a Class A misdemeanor.
(n) No person shall wrongfully obtain, conceal, damage, or
destroy the technology or device used to create the electronic
signature or seal of an electronic notary public. A violation
of this subsection (n) is a Class A misdemeanor.
(o) A notary public shall not sell, rent, transfer, or
otherwise make available to a third party, other than the

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electronic notarization platform, the contents of the notarial
journal, audio-video recordings, or any other record
associated with any notarial act, including personally
identifiable information, except when required by law, law
enforcement, the Secretary of State, or a court order. Upon
written request of a third party, which request must include
the name of the parties, the type of document, and the month
and year in which a record was notarized, a notary public may
supply a copy of the line item representing the requested
transaction after personally identifying information has been
redacted.
(p) The Secretary of State may suspend the commission of a
notary or electronic notary who fails to produce any journal
entry within 10 days after receipt of a request from the
Secretary of State.
(q) Upon surrender, revocation, or expiration of a
commission as a notary or electronic notary, all notarial
records or electronic notarial records required under this
Section, except as otherwise provided by law, must be kept by
the notary public or electronic notary for a period of 5 years
after the termination of the registration of the notary public
or electronic notary public.
(r) A notary public shall not charge a fee for any notarial
act related to the execution of an Illinois Secretary of State
Department of Driver Services Homeless Status Certification
form.

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(Source: P.A. 102-160, eff. 6-5-23 (See Section 91 of P.A.
102-562 for effective date of P.A. 102-160).)