National Notary Association

In Alabama, the National Notary Association has implemented the Trusted Notary Protection program, which is meant to help Alabama notaries abide by a new law that increases their risk of liability while it increases public protections.

Alabama increased the mandatory surety bond for notaries, both new and renewing, from $10,000 to $25,000, making it the highest in the nation. Most states, such as Georgia, still require only 10,000 if the county requires one at all. Surety bonds provide protection to customers by recompensing them, up to the bond limit, if a notary’s misconduct causes them financial loss.  However, surety bonds offer no protection to notaries, who must pay back all settlements to the bond company.

The law opens Alabama public notaries up to more risk of losing money and of criminal and civil action being taken against them. The law comes at a time in which lawmakers across the country are holding more and more notaries accountable for their actions, especially due to the rampant property fraud that occurred throughout the “robo-signing” crisis.

The Trusted Notary Protection Program covers basic notary training, insurance, support, and NNA membership.