Appointment of notaries public

§ 130. Appointment of notaries public. 1. The secretary of state may
appoint and commission as many notaries public for the state of New York
as in his or her judgment may be deemed best, whose jurisdiction shall
be co-extensive with the boundaries of the state. The appointment of a
notary public shall be for a term of four years. An application for an
appointment as notary public shall be in form and set forth such matters
as the secretary of state shall prescribe. Every person appointed as
notary public must, at the time of his or her appointment, be a resident
of the state of New York or have an office or place of business in New
York state. A notary public who is a resident of the state and who moves
out of the state but still maintains a place of business or an office in
New York state does not vacate his or her office as a notary public. A
notary public who is a nonresident and who ceases to have an office or
place of business in this state, vacates his or her office as a notary
public. A notary public who is a resident of New York state and moves
out of the state and who does not retain an office or place of business
in this state shall vacate his or her office as a notary public. A
non-resident who accepts the office of notary public in this state
thereby appoints the secretary of state as the person upon whom process
can be served on his or her behalf. Before issuing to any applicant a
commission as notary public, unless he or she be an attorney and
counsellor at law duly admitted to practice in this state or a court
clerk of the unified court system who has been appointed to such
position after taking a civil service promotional examination in the
court clerk series of titles, the secretary of state shall satisfy
himself or herself that the applicant is of good moral character, has
the equivalent of a common school education and is familiar with the
duties and responsibilities of a notary public; provided, however, that
where a notary public applies, before the expiration of his or her term,
for reappointment with the county clerk or where a person whose term as
notary public shall have expired applies within six months thereafter
for reappointment as a notary public with the county clerk, such
qualifying requirements may be waived by the secretary of state, and
further, where an application for reappointment is filed with the county
clerk after the expiration of the aforementioned renewal period by a
person who failed or was unable to re-apply by reason of his or her
induction or enlistment in the armed forces of the United States, such
qualifying requirements may also be waived by the secretary of state,
provided such application for reappointment is made within a period of
one year after the military discharge of the applicant under conditions
other than dishonorable, or if the applicant has a qualifying condition,
as defined in section one of the veterans' services law, within a period
of one year after the applicant has received a discharge other than bad
conduct or dishonorable from such service, or if the applicant is a
discharged LGBT veteran, as defined in section one of the veterans'
services law, within a period of one year after the applicant has
received a discharge other than bad conduct or dishonorable from such
service. In any case, the appointment or reappointment of any applicant
is in the discretion of the secretary of state. The secretary of state
may suspend or remove from office, for misconduct, any notary public
appointed by him or her but no such removal shall be made unless the
person who is sought to be removed shall have been served with a copy of
the charges against him or her and have an opportunity of being heard.
No person shall be appointed as a notary public under this article who
has been convicted, in this state or any other state or territory, of a
crime, unless the secretary makes a finding in conformance with all
applicable statutory requirements, including those contained in article
twenty-three-A of the correction law, that such convictions do not
constitute a bar to appointment.

2. A person regularly admitted to practice as an attorney and
counsellor in the courts of record of this state, whose office for the
practice of law is within the state, may be appointed a notary public
and retain his office as such notary public although he resides in or
removes to an adjoining state. For the purpose of this and the following
sections of this article such person shall be deemed a resident of the
county where he maintains such office.