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 your Illinois notary bond needs.
What Are They?
Purchasing an Illinois notary bond is a mandatory step in obtaining a new or renewal notary public commission from the Illinois Secretary of State. The bond protects the public against financial losses stemming from the unscrupulous or negligent acts of a notary public. It also protects the Office of the Secretary of State against being held liable for having issued a commission to a notary who subsequently acts in an unlawful or unethical manner in the performance of notarial duties.
Intentional malfeasance or negligence on the part of a notary public can cause significant financial harm to innocent parties. The types of documents that require notarization typically are those that transfer property, change the control of assets, or serve as sworn statements of fact. Such documents include:
- Powers of attorney
- Wills
- Prenuptial agreements
- Deeds
- Titles
- Loan agreements
- Affidavits
In verifying the identity of people signing such documents, witnessing the signatures, and attesting to the validity of signatures by applying their notarial seal, notaries play an important role in fraud prevention.
An Illinois notary bond serves as a notary’s guarantee to carry out his or her notarial duties in accordance with all applicable laws and ethical standards. It also ensures that funds will be available to compensate anyone suffering a financial loss as a result of the notary’s unlawful or unethical professional conduct.
Who Needs Them?
If you’re applying for an Illinois notary commission for the first time or renewing a commission that’s about to expire, you must first purchase a $5,000 Illinois notary bond. The term of the surety bond must be the same as the term of an Illinois notary commission—four years.
Many notaries also voluntarily purchase errors and omissions (E&O) insurance in addition to the mandatory Illinois notary bond. In doing so, they acquire protection against costs not covered by the bond, such as legal fees or court costs incurred in mounting a defense against allegations of wrongdoing.
Speak with a Surety Bond Professionals agent today to discuss your bonding needs.
How Do They Work?
An Illinois notary bond agreement is a legally binding contract involving three parties:
- The Illinois Secretary of State, as the entity requiring the bond, is the “obligee.”
- The notary public purchasing the bond is the “principal.”
- The surety company approving the bond is referred to simply as the “surety.”
Violating the terms of the notary bond agreement in a way that causes someone to incur a financial loss gives that injured party the right to file a claim against the bond and be compensated up to the bond’s required $5,000 amount, also known as the bond’s “penal sum.” The surety will determine whether a given claim is valid before approving it for payment.
Although the legal obligation to pay claims belongs solely to the principal, typically, the surety will make payment directly to the claimant. However, the principal must then reimburse the surety in full.
What Do They Cost?
Unlike most surety bonds, Illinois notary bonds are not sold for an annual premium based on the principal’s creditworthiness. Rather, the four-year bond can be purchased for a small, one-time fee that can be as low as $30.
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Our surety bond professionals will get you the Illinois notary bond you need at a competitive rate.