New Cook County Notary Rules Effective June 2009

Effective June 1, 2009, notary requirements relative to the transfer of 1-4 unit residential property in Cook County changed. The law, Public Act 95-988, is effective until July 1, 2013, and is designed to assist in the prevention of fraudulent property transfers.

Under this new law, an Illinois notary must fill out a Notarial Record for every grantor whose signature is being notarized if the grantor is transferring a single family home, condominium, or other 1-4 unit residential building in Cook County. Each Notarial Record must state the form of identification used to verify the grantor’s identity. Such identification may include any ID issued by a state or federal agency, so long as the ID is current and not expired. Foreign identification is not acceptable. The Notarial Record must also include the grantor’s thumbprint.

If a notary is an employee of an attorney, a title company, or a financial institution, the notary must deliver the completed Notarial Record to the notary’s employer within 14 days. Other notaries must deliver the Notarial Record to the Cook County Recorder of Deeds an pay a $5 filing fee. Notarial Records are retained for 7 years, and are not disclosed except pursuant to a subpoena from a court.

Certain types of Cook County residential real estate is exempt from the requirements of the act. For example, court-ordered and court-authorized transfers, judicial sales deeds, deeds transfering the property to a trust in which the grantor and the beneficiary are the same, deeds from the grantor to himself, deeds from the grantor to himself and another grantee, and deeds in lieu of foreclosure, are all exempted.