§39-4-31. Government notaries public.

(a) State and local government employees may be commissioned as government notaries public to act for and in behalf of their respective state and local government offices.

(b) A state or local government employee commissioned under this section shall meet the requirements for qualification and appointment prescribed in this article except that the head of the state or local government office where the applicant is employed, or his or her designee, shall execute a certificate that the application is made for the purposes of the office and in the public interest and submit it to the Secretary of State together with the application for appointment as a notary public.

(c) The costs of application and all notary supplies for a commissioned state or local government employee shall be paid from funds available to the office in which he or she is employed.

(d) All fees received for notarial services by a government notary public appointed for and in behalf of a state or local government office shall be remitted by him or her to the state or local government office in which he or she is employed.

(e) A government notary public must comply with all provisions of this article in the performance of notarial acts.

(f) A government notary public may acknowledge any document required to be acknowledged by a notary public: Provided, That a government notary public may not operate privately.