Missouri Notary Requirements

Mo. Rev. Stat. § 486.600(21) ('Satisfactory evidence' definition; applied per-act via 'identified by the notary through satisfactory evidence'). (21) "Satisfactory evidence", evidence of identification of an individual based on: (a) At least one current document issued by a federal, state, or tribal government in a language understood by the notary and bearing the photographic image of the individual's face and signature and a physical description of the individual, or a properly stamped passport without a physical description; or (b) The oath or affirmation of one credible witness disinterested in the document or transaction who is personally known to the notary and who personally knows the individual, or of two credible witnesses disinterested in the document or transaction who each personally knows the individual and shows to the notary documentary identification as described in paragraph (a) of this subdivision.

Mo. Rev. Stat. § 486.700 (Journal to be maintained, requirements): 1. A notary shall keep, maintain, protect, and provide for lawful inspection a chronological journal of notarial acts that is a permanently bound book with numbered pages. 2. A notary shall maintain only one active permanently bound journal at the same time. 3. A notary shall keep the permanently bound journal for a period of no less than ten years from the date of the last entry.

Mo. Rev. Stat. § 486.705 (Journal contents): 1. For every notarial act, the notary shall record in the journal at the time of notarization the following: (1) The date and time of day of the notarial act; (2) The type of notarial act; (3) The type, title, or a description of the document or proceeding; (4) The signature, printed name, and address of each principal; (5) The printed name and address of each requester of fact; (6) The evidence of identity of each principal in the form of either: (a) A statement that the person is personally known to the notary; (b) A notation of the type of identification document, its issuing agency, its serial or identification number, and its date of issuance or expiration; or (c) The handwritten signature and the name and address of each credible witness swearing or affirming to the principal's identity, and for credible witnesses who are not personally known to the notary, a description of the identification documents relied on by the notary; (7) The fee, if any, charged for the notarial act; and (8) The address where the notarial act was performed, if not the address of the notary's regular place of work or business. 2. A notary shall not record a Social Security number or credit card number in the journal. 3. A notary may record in the journal the circumstances for not performing or completing any requested notarial act. 4. A notary shall append to the pertinent entry in the journal a notation of the nature and date of the notary's correction of a completed notarial certificate corresponding to the entry.

Mo. Rev. Stat. § 486.715 (Safeguarding of journal): 1. A notary shall safeguard the journal and all other notarial records and surrender or destroy them only by court order or at the direction of the secretary. 2. If not in use, the journal shall be kept in a secure area under the exclusive control of the notary and shall not be used by any other notary, nor surrendered to an employer upon termination of employment. 3. Within ten days after a notary's journal is discovered to be stolen, lost, destroyed, damaged, or otherwise rendered unusable or unreadable, the notary, after informing the appropriate law enforcement agency in the case of theft or vandalism, shall notify the secretary by any means providing a tangible receipt. [All sections enacted by L. 2020 H.B. 1655.]

RSMo § 486.685 (Fees): 1. For performing a notarial act, a notary may charge the maximum fee specified in this section, charge less than the maximum fee, or waive the fee. 2. The maximum fees that may be charged by a notary for performing notarial acts are: (1) For an acknowledgment, five dollars per signature; (2) For a jurat, five dollars per signature; (3) For a signature witnessing, five dollars per signature; (4) For a certified copy, one dollar per page certified with a minimum total charge of three dollars. 3. A notary may charge a travel fee to perform a notarial act if: (1) the notary and the person requesting the act agree upon the travel fee in advance of the travel; and (2) the notary explains that the travel fee is separate from the notarial fee and neither specified nor mandated by law. 4. A notary shall not discriminate in the charging of fees based on the characteristics of the principal (§ 486.650), though a notary may waive or reduce fees for humanitarian or charitable reasons. 5. A notary shall not charge a fee for notarizing the signature on any absentee ballot or absentee voter registration. 6. A notary who charges shall conspicuously display an English-language schedule of fees (no smaller than twelve-point type). Source: L. 2020 H.B. 1655.