OHIO LEGISLATIVE SERVICE COMMISSION
Office of Research Legislative Budget
www.lsc.ohio.gov and Drafting Office
S.B. 130* Bill Analysis
135th General Assembly
Click here for S.B. 130’s Fiscal Note
Version: As Reported by House Civil Justice
Primary Sponsor: Sen. Wilson
Effective Date:
Abby Gerty, Research Analyst and Chris Edwards, Attorney
SUMMARY
Ohio Notary Law
▪ Requires a notary to take the oath of office in person.
▪ Eliminates the requirement that the Secretary of State (SOS) hold an administrative
hearing disciplining a notary for violating the notary law.
▪ Allows the SOS to revoke a notary public’s commission for any act or omission that
demonstrates a lack of honesty, integrity, competence, or reliability as well as refusing to
cooperate with an investigation of an alleged violation.
▪ Prohibits a notary public whose commission has been revoked by the SOS from
reappointment.
▪ Revises the required information to be included in the notary database maintained by the
SOS.
▪ Authorizes online notaries to charge a $10 technology fee per online notarization session
for use of an online identity verification process and increases the maximum fee for online
notarization from $25 to $30.
▪ Clarifies the certification required by persons making an acknowledgment to account for
those made before nonnotaries that are authorized to perform notarial acts (such as
judges).
▪ Specifies the form of an oath or affirmation given by a notary to a person signing a jurat.
* This analysis was prepared before the report of the House Civil Justice Committee appeared in the House
Journal. Note that the legislative history may be incomplete.
December 11, 2024
Office of Research and Drafting LSC Legislative Budget Office
▪ Establishes acceptable forms of a notarial certificate used by a nonnotary whose authority
is recognized in Ohio.
▪ Requires notaries seeking a duplicate commission or amending an existing commission to
file an electronic form, as opposed to a paper form.
▪ Imposes new requirements for verifying the identity of persons making an
acknowledgment or a jurat.
▪ Expands the list of county government officials that are required to accept electronically
notarized documents to include clerks of courts of record and deputy registrars.
▪ Specifies that a notary commission is not an occupational or professional license for the
purposes of the state’s occupational regulation laws.
Limited liability companies (LLCs)
▪ Allows the Secretary of State to charge a $50 filing fee for a limited liability company (LLC)
statement of authority, an amendment or cancellation of a statement of authority, or a
denial of a statement of authority.
▪ Eliminates the $50 filing fee for certificates of correction concerning the registration or
assumed name of a foreign LLC.
▪ Requires a certificate of merger to include the name and mailing address of the person or
entity that will provide a copy of the merger agreement to shareholders, partners, or
equity holders of a constituent entity.
Compensation for intercollegiate student-athletes
▪ Authorizes an institution of higher education (a state institution of higher education or a
private college) to compensate a student-athlete for use of the student-athlete’s name,
image, or likeness (NIL).
▪ Specifies that a student-athlete is not an employee because the institution compensates
the student-athlete for use of the student-athlete’s NIL.
▪ Prohibits a student-athlete from using specified property belonging to an institution to
further opportunities for the student-athlete to earn NIL compensation unless authorized
by the institution.
▪ Authorizes an institution to provide money, resources, or other benefits to an institutional
marketing associate or third-party entity to incentivize it to facilitate opportunities for
student-athletes to earn NIL compensation.
▪ Prohibits an institution, athletic association, conference, or other group or organization
with authority over intercollegiate athletics from taking specified actions regarding a
student-athlete for obtaining representation from an athlete agent or attorney or for
earning NIL or any other athletics-related compensation.
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▪ Makes any contract or proposed contract providing a student-athlete with NIL
compensation that is disclosed to an institution as required under continuing law
confidential and not a public record for purposes of the Public Records Law.
▪ Authorizes student-athletes, institutions, institutional marketing associates, and third-
party entities to sue for violations of the bill and provides immunity to institutions,
associates, and entities and their employees for damages resulting from a student-
athlete’s inability to earn NIL compensation.
▪ Prohibits a student-athlete under age 18 from entering into a contract that provides the
student-athlete with NIL compensation unless the contract includes the written consent
of the student-athlete’s parent, guardian, or custodian.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Overview ......................................................................................................................................... 4
Notary Public Law ........................................................................................................................... 4
Oath of office............................................................................................................................... 4
Notary commissions .................................................................................................................... 4
Revocation of commission ..................................................................................................... 4
Electronic forms...................................................................................................................... 5
Notary public database ............................................................................................................... 5
Notary public fees ....................................................................................................................... 5
Notarial acts ................................................................................................................................ 5
Notarial certificates ................................................................................................................ 5
Acknowledgments .................................................................................................................. 6
Jurats ........................................................................................................................................... 6
Identification .......................................................................................................................... 6
Certifications........................................................................................................................... 7
Electronically notarized documents ............................................................................................ 7
Occupational regulations ............................................................................................................ 8
Limited liability companies (LLCs) ................................................................................................... 8
Fees collected by the Secretary of State ..................................................................................... 8
Merger certificates ...................................................................................................................... 8
Compensation for intercollegiate student-athletes ....................................................................... 9
Student-athlete compensation by institutions ........................................................................... 9
Institutional prohibitions ........................................................................................................... 10
Athletic authority prohibitions .................................................................................................. 10
Additional prohibitions.............................................................................................................. 11
NIL contracts.............................................................................................................................. 12
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Confidentiality of disclosed contracts .................................................................................. 12
Minor student-athlete contracts .......................................................................................... 12
Contracts for advertisements ............................................................................................... 12
Student-athlete use of school property .................................................................................... 12
Scholarships ............................................................................................................................... 12
Remedies and immunities ......................................................................................................... 13
Student-athlete employment status ......................................................................................... 13
Limitations ................................................................................................................................. 14
Professional representation ...................................................................................................... 14
DETAILED ANALYSIS
Overview
The bill makes several miscellaneous changes to the Ohio Notary Law and to the law
governing limited liability companies (LLCs).
Notary Public Law
Oath of office
The bill amends the requirement that a notary take and subscribe an oath of office. Under
the bill, prior to engaging in official duties, a notary is required to take an oath of office in person
before another notary public or an officer authorized to administer oaths.1
Notary commissions
Revocation of commission
Under continuing law, the Secretary of State (SOS) may revoke a notary’s commission if,
by presentation of satisfactory evidence, the notary is found to have engaged in misconduct or
is unable to perform duties as a notary. Current law requires the SOS to hold an administrative
hearing regarding such conduct before revoking the notary’s commission. The bill removes the
administrative hearing requirement and adds additional details as to when the SOS may revoke
a notary’s commission. Specifically, the SOS may revoke a notary’s commission if the SOS’s
investigation determines that the notary has demonstrated a lack of honesty, integrity,
competence, or reliability, including by doing any of the following:
▪ Failing to administer an oath or affirmation when executing a jurat;
▪ Performing a notarial act, other than an online notarization, without requiring a personal
appearance;
▪ Fraudulent, dishonest, or deceitful misstatement or omission on a notarial certificate.
1 R.C. 147.01(G) and 147.03.
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A notary is required to fully cooperate with, and timely respond to questions from, the
SOS in conjunction with such an investigation. The SOS is required to revoke the commission of
any notary who fails to do so. Furthermore, the bill specifies that a notary whose commission is
revoked is ineligible for reappointment.2
Electronic forms
Continuing law establishes a procedure for notaries to replace the physical copies of their
commissions when the commission is lost or destroyed. Under current law, the notary is required
to provide an affidavit that the original commission has been lost or destroyed. Under the bill,
notaries must instead submit an electronic commission request form.
Similarly, the bill requires a notary seeking an amendment to their commission, such as
changing a name or address, to submit an electronic amendment form, as opposed to a paper
form. The SOS is required to prescribe and make available both an electronic duplicate
commission request form and an electronic amendment form.3
Notary public database
Continuing law requires the SOS to maintain a database of notaries public. Under the bill,
the notary database must include each notary’s “status [and] authority to perform notarial acts”
rather than “verification of . . . authority and good standing.” Additionally, the database must
include whether a notary is “authorized” rather than “registered” to perform online
notarizations.4
Notary public fees
Under current law, a notary public is authorized to charge up to $25 for an online
notarization. The bill increases the maximum fee to $30. Additionally, the bill authorizes online
notaries to charge a $10 technology fee per online notarization session for use of an online
identity verification process. A notary public is prohibited from charging or accepting a fee
greater than these amounts.5
Notarial acts
Notarial certificates
Current law requires that a notary public provide a completed notarial certificate for
every notarial act performed. Under the bill, the form of a notarial certificate used by a person
authorized to perform notarial acts must be accepted if any the following apply:
▪ The certificate is in a form prescribed by state law;
2 R.C. 147.01(C)(3) and 147.032.
3 R.C. 147.371.
4 R.C. 147.051.
5 R.C. 147.08 and 147.141(A)(18).
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▪ The certificate is in a form prescribed by law or regulation in the place in which the
notarial act is performed;
▪ The certificate contains the words:
 “Acknowledged by me,” or a substantial equivalent;
 “Sworn to and subscribed before me,” “affirmed to and subscribed by me,” or a
substantial equivalent.6
Acknowledgments
One of the most common notarial acts that notaries perform are “acknowledgments.”
Under continuing law, an acknowledgment is a declaration by an individual before a notary that
the individual has signed a record for the purpose stated in the record, and if the record is signed
in a representative capacity, that the individual signed the record with proper authority and
signed it as the act of the individual or entity identified in the record.7
One of the requirements for a valid acknowledgment is that the person taking the
acknowledgement must certify that the person doing the acknowledging appeared before the
notary. Continuing law, unchanged by the bill, enables certain persons that are not notaries, such
as judges, to perform “notarial acts.” The bill specifies that these notarial acts include:
▪ Administering oaths or affirmations required or authorized by law;
▪ Taking and certifying acknowledgements of deeds, mortgages, liens, powers of attorney,
and other instruments of writing;
▪ Taking and certifying depositions.8
The person taking the acknowledgment may also certify that the person doing the
acknowledging appeared before a nonnotary that is authorized to perform notarial acts.9
Jurats
The bill makes new requirements with regard to verifying the identification of persons
making an acknowledgment or a jurat. A jurat is an oath or affirmation that the contents of a
particular document are true.
Identification
Under the bill, a notary public who takes an acknowledgment of a record is required to
determine, from personal knowledge or satisfactory evidence of the identity of the person
acknowledging, that the person appearing before the notary public and making the
6 R.C. 147.542.
7 R.C. 147.011(A).
8 R.C. 147.51.
9 R.C. 147.53.
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