Connecticut notaries public laws can be found in Chapter 3, Title 33 of Connecticut statutes.  Pursuant to Conn. Gen. Stat. § 3-94b, the Secretary of the State may appoint as a notary public any qualified person who submits an application. In order to qualify for appointment as a notary public, a person shall:

1) Be eighteen years of age or older at the time of application;
2) (A) Be a resident of the state of Connecticut at the time of application and appointment, or (B) have one’s principal place of business in the state at the time of application and appointment;
3) Pass a written examination approved or administered by the Secretary;
4) Submit an application, on a form prescribed and provided by the Secretary, which the applicant shall complete in the applicant’s handwriting without misstatement or omission of fact.  The application shall be accompanied by (A) a nonrefundable application fee of 120 dollars, and (B) the recommendation of an individual who has personally known the applicant for at least one year and is not legally related to the applicant.

The Secretary may deny an application based on:

1) The applicant’s conviction of a felony or a crime involving dishonesty or moral turpitude;
2) Revocation, suspension or restriction of a notary public appointment or professional license issued to the applicant by Connecticut or any other state; or
3) The applicant’s official misconduct, whether or not any disciplinary action has resulted.

Upon approval of an application for appointment as a notary public, the Secretary shall cause a certificate of appointment bearing a facsimile of the Secretary’s signature and countersigned by the Secretary’s executive assistant or an employee designated by the Secretary to be issued to such appointee[i].

Pursuant to Conn. Gen. Stat. § 3-94c, a person appointed as a notary public by the Secretary of the State may exercise the functions of the office of notary public at any place within the state beginning on the date of such person’s appointment and ending five years later on the last day of the month of appointment, unless (1) such appointment as a notary is suspended or terminated by the Secretary before the end of such term, (2) the notary resigns such appointment, or (3) the notary ceases to either be a resident of the state or have one’s principal place of business in the state.

Pursuant to Conn. Gen. Stat. § 3-94e, the Secretary of the State may appoint as notaries public, inclusive, any number of state police majors, captains, lieutenants and sergeants.  The Secretary shall not charge any such person an application fee.  Such notary public shall exercise authority as a notary public only in the administration of oaths and affirmations and the taking of acknowledgments as pertain to official police matters.  In such cases the seal of the state police shall be the notarial seal and such notary public shall not charge a fee for such notary’s services as a notary public.

Pursuant to Conn. Gen. Stat. § 3-94f, a notary public shall not unreasonably refuse to perform notarial acts in lawful transactions for any requesting person who tenders payment of the statutory fee.  A notary public is disqualified from performing a notarial act if the notary is a signatory of the document that is to be notarized[ii].

A notary public shall not (1) perform any official action with intent to deceive or defraud or (2) use the notary’s title or seal in an endorsement or promotional statement for any product, service, contest or other offering[iii].

Pursuant to Conn. Gen. Stat. § 3-94i, in completing a notarial act, a notary public shall sign on the notarial certificate only the notary’s own name, as it appears on the notary’s certificate of appointment.  A notary public, except a state police major, captain, lieutenant or sergeant appointed as a notary public, may keep and use an official notarial seal.  Such a seal shall not be used by any other person or surrendered to any employer upon termination of the notary’s employment.  A notary shall immediately destroy the notary’s notarial seal upon resigning as a notary or upon the revocation, lapse or expiration of such person’s appointment as a notary[iv].

Pursuant to Conn. Gen. Stat. § 3-94k, if a notary public utilizes a notarial seal, the notary shall, near the notary’s official signature on a notarial certificate, affix an impression of the notarial seal, which shall include: (1) The notary’s name exactly as it appears on the notary’s certificate of appointment, (2) the words “Notary Public” and “Connecticut” and (3) the words “My commission expires (commission expiration date)”.

Pursuant to Conn. Gen. Stat. § 3-94m, the Secretary may deliver a written, official warning and reprimand to a notary, or may revoke or suspend a notary’s appointment, as a result of such notary’s official misconduct or on any ground for which an application for appointment as a notary may be denied, or for a violation of any provision of the general statutes.  Within 30 days after the resignation, revocation or suspension of a notary’s certificate of appointment, the Secretary shall notify all town clerks within the state, in such manner as the Secretary shall determine, of such resignation, revocation or suspension.  The town clerk of any municipality in which such notary’s certificate of appointment or replacement certificate of appointment has been recorded shall note the resignation, revocation or suspension, and the effective date thereof, on the original record of such certificate or replacement certificate.

Pursuant to Conn. Gen. Stat. § 3-94p, a notary public may resign as a notary by filing with the Secretary a signed, written notice of resignation which shall indicate the effective date of such resignation.  As soon as possible after the death of a notary public, the notary’s personal representative shall destroy the notary’s official notarial seal, if any, and file a signed, written notice, with the Secretary of the State, indicating that the notary public has died and the date of death[v].

Pursuant to Conn. Gen. Stat. § 3-94l, a notary public shall be liable to any person for all damages proximately caused to that person by the notary’s official misconduct.  An employer of a notary shall be liable to any person for any damages proximately caused to that person by the notary’s official misconduct related to the employer’s business, if the employer directed, encouraged, consented to, ratified or approved the notary’s official misconduct, either in the particular transaction or, implicitly, by previous actions in at least one similar transaction.  An employer of a notary shall be liable to the notary for all damages recovered from the notary as a result of official misconduct that was coerced by threat of the employer, if the threat, such as a threat of demotion or dismissal, was made in reference to a particular notarial act, or, implicitly, by the employer’s previous actions in at least one similar transaction.  The employer shall also be liable to the notary for damages caused to the notary by demotion, dismissal or other action resulting from the notary’s refusal to commit official misconduct[vi].

[i] Conn. Gen. Stat. § 3-94b.

[ii] Conn. Gen. Stat. § 3-94g.

[iii] Conn. Gen. Stat. § 3-94h.

[iv] Conn. Gen. Stat. § 3-94j.

[v] Conn. Gen. Stat. § 3-94q.

[vi] Conn. Gen. Stat. § 3-94l.