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Glossary of Notary Public, Mortgage, Signing Agent, and Loan Signing Terms.

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Common Terms 1   Common Terms 2

Secretary of State

Function: noun

Most states' notary divisions are run by the Secretary of State. However, this is not always the case. Some states have their notary division run by the Department of State in the case of New York State. Other states have the governor run their notary division. New Jersey has theirs run by their Treasury, and Virginia has theirs run by the Secretary of the Commonwealth.

If you want to become a notary public in a particular state, please contact your state's notary division and ask them what the procedure is. Generally, you will have to fill out an application as a first step. If you are not a resident of the state you want to apply to, you will need to ask if you are eligible to apply to become a notary public in that state. Additionally, if you have been convicted of a felony or crime involving moral turpitude, you will most likely not be eligible to apply for the position of notary public in any state.

Definition 1:
The Secretary of State is the state office that controls the appointing of notaries public in most states.

Definition 2:
The Secretary of State is also often in charge of incorporation. If you want to file for incorporation, the Secretary of State of your state of residence is where you should turn to first for information.

Definition 3:
Secretary of States in the various states will generally have very comprehensive websites with detailed information about all of the various services they offer and all of their internal divisions.