The Senate debated and passed the Notaries Public (Amendment) Bill 2023 on Wednesday.
In his contribution to the debate Attorney General and Minister of Legal Affairs, Sen. Hon. Ryan Pinder told senators, “every January I would get emails from lawyers generally saying where’s my notary license. I have documents stacked up I can’t notarize these because you haven’t issued my license. I have paid for the renewal, I’ve submitted it and because of the bureaucratic process of government is wasn’t instantly issued so there’s a gap period. This looks to rectify that issue in providing the grace period so we don’t have this situation where effectively the provision of notarial services to clients in the commercial practice comes to a halt.
The Notaries Public Amendment Bill seeks to provide a one month grace period between the expiration of a license and the renewal date. The bill also seeks to establish the duration and validity of licenses according to the current act.
