§ 21-14-111 - Unlawful act -- Penalty.
21-14-111. Unlawful act -- Penalty.
(a) It is unlawful for any notary public to witness any signature on any instrument unless the notary public either:
(1) Witnesses the signing of the instrument and personally knows the signer or is presented proof of the identity of the signer; or
(2) Recognizes the signature of the signer by virtue of familiarity with the signature.
(b) Any notary public violating this section shall be guilty of a Class A misdemeanor.
(c) For purposes of this section, "personally knows" means having an acquaintance, derived from association with the individual, which establishes the individual's identity with at least a reasonable certainty.