(5 ILCS 312/2-102.5)

Sec. 2-102.5. Online application system.

(a) The Secretary of State may establish and maintain an online application system that permits an Illinois resident to apply for appointment and commission as a notary public or electronic notary public.

(b) Any such online application system shall employ security measures to ensure the accuracy and integrity of notary public applications submitted electronically under this Section.

(c) The Secretary of State may cross reference information provided by applicants with that contained in the Secretary of State's driver's license and Illinois Identification Card databases in order to match the information submitted by applicants, and may receive from those databases the applicant's digitized signature upon a successful match of the applicant's information with that information contained in the databases.

(d) An online application shall contain all of the information that is required for a paper application as provided in Section 2-102 of this Act. The applicant shall also be required to provide:

(1) the applicant's full Illinois driver's license or Illinois Identification Card number;

(2) the date of issuance of the Illinois driver's license or Illinois Identification Card; and

(3) the applicant's e-mail address for notices to be provided under this Section.

(e) For his or her application to be accepted, the applicant shall mark the box associated with the following statement included as part of the online application: "By clicking on the box below, I swear or affirm all of the following:

(1) I am the person whose name and identifying information is provided on this form, and I desire to be appointed and commissioned as a notary public in the State of Illinois.

(2) All the information I have provided on this form is true and correct as of the date I am submitting this form.

(3) I authorize the Secretary of State to utilize my signature on file with the Secretary of State driver's license and Illinois Identification Card databases and understand that such signature will be used on this online application for appointment and commission as a notary public or electronic notary as if I had signed this form personally.

(4) I authorize the Secretary of State to utilize my signature to conduct a verification to confirm the information provided in the application, including a criminal background check, if necessary."

(f) Immediately upon receiving a completed online application, the online system shall send by electronic mail a confirmation notice that the application has been received. Upon completion of the procedure outlined in subsection (c) of this Section, the online application system shall send by electronic mail a notice informing the applicant of whether the following information has been matched with the Secretary of State driver's license and Illinois Identification Card databases:

(1) that the applicant has an authentic Illinois driver's license or Illinois Identification Card issued by the Secretary of State and that the driver's license or Illinois Identification Card number provided by the applicant matches the driver's license or Illinois Identification Card number for that person on file with the Secretary of State;

(2) that the date of issuance of the Illinois driver's license or Illinois Identification Card listed on the application matches the date of issuance of that license or card for that person on file with the Secretary of State;

(3) that the date of birth provided by the applicant matches the date of birth for that person on file with the Secretary of State;

(4) that the residence address provided by the applicant matches the residence address for that person on file with the Secretary of State; and

(5) the last 4 digits of the applicant's social security number.

(g) If the information provided by the applicant matches all of the criteria identified in subsection (f) of this Section, the online application system shall retrieve from the Secretary of State's database files an electronic copy of the applicant's signature from his or her Illinois driver's license or Illinois Identification Card and such signature shall be deemed to be the applicant's signature on his or her online application.

(Source: P.A. 102-160, eff. 6-5-23 (See Section 91 of P.A. 103-562 for effective date of P.A. 102-160).)