§ 26-2-90 — Creation and maintenance of electronic journal for electronic notarial acts.

(A) An electronic notary public shall create and maintain an electronic journal of each electronic notarial act. For every electronic notarial act, the electronic notary public shall record the following information in the electronic journal: (1) the date and time of the electronic notarial act; (2) the type of electronic notarial act; (3) the title or a description of the record being notarized, if any; (4) the printed full name of each principal; (5) if identification of the principal is based on personal knowledge, a statement to that effect; (6) if identification of the principal is based on satisfactory evidence of his identity pursuant to Section 26-1-5(17), a description of the evidence relied upon and the name of any credible witness or witnesses; (7) the address where the notarization was performed, if the notarization was not performed at the electronic notary public's business address; (8) if the notarial act is performed electronically, a description of the electronic notarization system used; and (9) the fee, if any, charged by the electronic notary. (B) An electronic notary public may not record a Social Security number in the electronic journal. (C) An electronic notary public may not allow the electronic journal to be used by any other notary public and may not surrender the electronic journal to an employer upon the electronic notary public's termination of employment. (D) Any party to the notarized transaction or party with a legitimate interest in the transaction may inspect or request a copy of an entry or entries in the electronic notary public's electronic journal, provided that: (1) the party specifies the month, year, type of record, and name of the principal for the electronic notarial act, in a signed physical or electronic request; (2) the electronic notary public does not surrender possession or control of the electronic journal; (3) the party is shown or given a copy of only the entry or entries specified; and (4) a separate new entry is made in the electronic journal, explaining the circumstances of the request and noting any related act of copy certification by the electronic notary public. (E) An electronic notary public may charge a reasonable fee to recover any cost of providing a copy of an entry in the electronic journal of notarial acts. An electronic notary who has a reasonable and explainable belief that a person requesting information from the electronic notary's electronic journal has a criminal or other inappropriate purpose may deny access to any entry or entries. (F) All electronic notarial records required by statute or regulation may be examined and copied without restriction by a law enforcement officer in the course of an official investigation, subpoenaed by court order, or surrendered at the direction of the Secretary of State. (G) The Secretary of State shall establish commercially reasonable standards for the preservation of electronic journals in the event of a resignation, revocation, or expiration of an electronic notary commission, or upon the death of an electronic notary. The provisions of this subsection do not apply to a former electronic notary whose commission has expired if, within three months, the electronic notary commission is renewed.

Legislative History

HISTORY: 2021 Act No. 85 (S.631), SECTION 2, eff May 18, 2021. Editor's Note 2021 Act No. 85, SECTIONS 1, 6, provide as follows: "SECTION 1. This act must be known and may be cited as the 'South Carolina Electronic Notary Public Act'." "SECTION 6. This act takes effect upon approval by the Governor. Electronic online notary public applications will not be accepted for processing until the administrative rules are in effect and vendors of technology are approved by the Secretary of State."