Section 176.225  Notary Public Course of Study and Examination − Required Instruction and Content

a)         Providers must provide 3 hours of notary public instruction in accordance with the course content requirements set forth in subsection (e) in addition to the following requirements:

1)         A minimum of 180 minutes of instruction as defined in subsection (b);

2)         The course must allow a maximum of 30 days for a student to complete the course;

3)         The material presented in the course must be edited for grammar, punctuation, and spelling and be of such quality that it does not detract from its subject matter;

4)         Advertisement of goods and services or any material not related to the topic being presented must not appear during instructional time; and

5)         An online course must be designed and well-suited for students with minimal keyboard or computer skills.

b)         To demonstrate that the course contains a minimum of 180 minutes of instruction, the following calculation shall be used:

1)         For written material that is read by the student, count the total number of words in the written section of the course.  Divide the word count by 180, the average number of words that a typical student reads per minute.  The result equals the time associated with the material for the written sections;

2)         For multimedia presentations, including simulators, videos, and animation, calculate the total amount of time it takes for all multimedia presentations to play. The length must not exceed 120 minutes;

3)         Assign one minute for each chart or graph; and

4)         The total minutes of instruction in the written material, the multimedia presentations, and the charts and graphs altogether must equal or exceed 180 minutes for the course to meet the minimum content time required.

c)         Instead of the calculation method in subsection (b), a provider may submit an alternate methodology or otherwise demonstrate that the course contains a minimum of 180 minutes of instruction.

d)         Materials.  All material appearing on the screen to be read by the student must also be spoken aloud to the student unless this function is manually disabled by the student.

e)         Substance required.  The educational objectives of a notary public course of study must include, but not be limited to:

1)         Promoting respect for and encouraging the observance of the duties and requirements of a notary public under the Act;

2)         Identifying potential damages and economic losses that could result from notarial misconduct;

3)         Motivating continuing development of notarial competencies through education, including, but not limited to adherence to the Act; and 

4)         Providing knowledge of the Act, this Part, and other laws related to or affecting notarial work.

f)         Providers must monitor the Illinois General Assembly and update their course content to include any new amendments to the Act.  This update must be submitted to the Department for review and approval within 60 days after the effective date of the law change.

(Source:  Added at 47 Ill. Reg. 8640, effective June 5, 2023)