Ex-Officio Notaries Public

If you are a clerk of the supreme court, county clerk, district court clerk, family court clerk, justice of the peace, town clerk, assistant town clerk, or what the law calls their deputies, you are an ex-officio notary public. 24 V.S.A. §441. We assume deputy here means a duly appointed assistant to any of these officials. In spite of the ex-officio nature of the position, you must still apply (http://www.vermontjudiciary.org/eforms), and take the oath of office, as any other notary, for each new term you are elected or appointed to that position. You need not pay the $20.00 fee, but once you resign from one of these offices, or in any way are no longer qualified to serve, your ex-officio status as a notary public will cease.

You are also an ex-officio notary public if you are a state police officer, municipal police officer, fish and game warden, sheriff or deputy sheriff, motor vehicle inspector, or liquor inspector. You will not be assessed the $20.00 fee, but again, you must complete the application process. 32 V.S.A. §1403(b), 7 V.S.A. §561.

In every case, your certificate of appointment is then duly attested by the county clerk and recorded in the office of the county clerk and the office of the secretary of state. The secretary of state's office is the only location in the state where all Vermont notary public certificates may be found.

One final word on ex-officio notaries: under Vermont law, any officer of the armed forces of the United States of the rank of captain or of superior rank is authorized to administer oaths of office, oaths to an affidavit, deposition or other written instrument or an acknowledgment of a deed, lease, conveyance, release or other written instrument. In performing these acts, the officer must state his or her rank or title and authority. 12 V.S.A. §5855. No notary appointment is necessary in this case. Notarial acts by these officers are not necessarily limited to services performed for military personnel.