Surety Bond Professionals is a family-owned and operated bonding agency with over 30 years of experience. With access to a broad range of surety markets, our expert agents are ready to assist with all of your Oklahoma notary bond needs.
What Are They?
Understanding what Oklahoma notary bonds are requires an understanding of what notaries public do and why certain documents require notarization. Notaries are commissioned by the Oklahoma Secretary of State and are charged with carrying out certain notarial duties. Those duties include:
- Verifying the identity of signers prior to the signing of documents to be notarized.
- Witnessing the signing of important documents.
- Placing a stamp or seal on the signed document as visible proof that it has been notarized.
The kinds of documents that must be notarized are those that could easily be used to commit fraud and other illegal acts, such as:
- Deeds
- Titles
- Affidavits
- Powers of attorney
- Wills
- Prenuptial agreements
Oklahoma notary bonds guarantee that notaries public operating within the state will abide by all applicable Oklahoma statutes and the ethical standards of the notarial profession. Failure to do so can result in an injured party filing a claim against the notary’s bond for financial damages resulting from the notary’s unlawful or unethical actions.
Who Needs Them?
Every person applying for a new commission or renewing an existing notary public commission from the Oklahoma Secretary of State must purchase a $1,000 surety bond. It must have the same one-year term as the commission. The $1,000 required bond amount, also known as the bond’s “penal sum,” is the maximum amount that will be paid out on a single claim against an Oklahoma notary bond.
Most notaries public purchase an errors and omissions insurance policy for additional financial protection.
Speak with a Surety Bond Professionals agent today to discuss your bonding needs.
How Do They Work?
There are three parties to the legally binding surety bond agreement that serves as the basis for an Oklahoma notary bond:
- The Oklahoma Secretary of State is the “obligee” requiring the purchase of the bond.
- The notary public is the “principal” required to purchase the bond.
- The bonding company underwriting and approving the Oklahoma notary bond is the “surety.”
Any intentional, unlawful act or unintentional neglect that causes someone financial harm can trigger a claim against the principal’s Oklahoma notary bond. The terms of the surety bond agreement obligate the principal to pay all valid claims, up to the bond’s penal sum.
In practice, however, after the surety determines a claim to be valid, the surety will pay it on behalf of the principal. In paying the claim, the surety is extending credit to the principal in the amount of the claim. The principal must, by law, repay that debt to the surety.
What Do They Cost?
Oklahoma notary bonds are not subject to underwriting. Instead, they are sold for a small flat fee that could be as low as $25 for the entire year, including a certain amount of errors and omissions insurance.
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Our surety bond professionals will get you the Oklahoma notary bond you need at a competitive rate.