Notary Public Journal Handling and Surrender

• A notary public's journal is their exclusive property and cannot be surrendered to anyone, except to a peace officer or county clerk under specific circumstances.
• An employer cannot handle a notary's journal outside the notary's presence, even if they covered the costs of the commission and services.
• Upon termination of employment, the journal cannot be surrendered to the employer.

Surrender to Peace Officer

• A notary must surrender their journal to a peace officer acting in their official capacity if there is reasonable suspicion that the journal contains evidence of a criminal offense.
• If the journal is not immediately available, it must be surrendered as soon as possible.
• The notary must obtain a receipt for the journal from the peace officer.
• The notary public must notify the California Secretary of State within 10 days of surrendering the journal.
• Notification must be sent via certified mail or physical delivery with receipt.
• The notification to California's Secretary of State must include:
  • Dates covered by the journal entries
  • Notary public’s commission number
  • Expiration date of the notary public’s commission
  • A copy of the receipt given by the peace officer

Stolen, Lost, or Unusable Journal

• If a notary's journal is stolen, lost, misplaced, destroyed, damaged, or otherwise rendered unusable, the California Secretary of State must be notified immediately.
• Notification must be sent via certified or registered mail, or physical delivery with receipt.
• The notification must include:
  • Dates covered for the journal entries
  • Notary public’s commission number
  • Expiration date of the notary public’s commission
  • A photocopy of any police report (if applicable)

Procedures After Surrender or Loss

• If a notary's journal is surrendered, stolen, lost, misplaced, destroyed, damaged, or otherwise rendered unusable, a new journal must be obtained.
• Entries must not be made in an old journal if it is returned or found, a new journal must be used instead.

Resignation, Disqualification, or Removal

• If a notary resigns, is disqualified, or is removed from office, the notarial journal and all other notarial records must be delivered to the county clerk within 30 days.
• If a notary's commission expires and reappointment is not obtained within 30 days, the journal and records must be delivered to the county clerk within the next 30 days.
• Even if reappointment is applied for but not granted within 30 days after expiration, the journal and records must be delivered to the county clerk within the next 30 days.
• Failure to deliver the journal and records to the county clerk within the appropriate time is a misdemeanor.
• The notary public is personally liable for damages to anyone injured by the non-delivery.