Notary Notes Blog

The latest notary news for Pennsylvania notaries

PAN

Renew CDL Products by March 31

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Expiration dates for commercial driver licenses and commercial learner’s permits will end after the current extension expires for Pennsylvania residents in response to statewide COVID-19 mitigation efforts.

The final extension is currently in place for the following products’ expiration dates:

  • The expiration date for a commercial learner’s permit scheduled to expire from March 16, 2020, through March 31, 2021, is extended through March 31, 2021.
  • The expiration date for commercial driver licenses scheduled to expire from March 16, 2020, through March 31, 2021, is extended through March 31, 2021.

Customers with commercial products that are covered by the extension but have not yet been renewed are encouraged to renew their CDL products as soon as possible by March 31, 2021.

No further extensions will be given on these products.

Access PennDOT’s updates on their Driver and Vehicle Services Update page.

The Dos and Don’ts of Petitions

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As election season approaches, you may be asked to notarize petitions. It is easy to make a mistake when notarizing a petition. We want to help you perform your notary duties with confidence.

Don’t notarize a petition you have signed as an elector or if you are the candidate filing it.

Do read the instructions on the petition and related materials. The Department of State provides information and links to forms and instructions on their website, including deadlines for filing. Be sure to read and follow the instructions so you can avoid problems at the last minute when the petitions must be filed. The circulator(s) and the candidate have responsibilities in this process that must be fulfilled.

Don’t notarize a petition for a family member. If notarization is required, have an impartial third-party act as the notary. If you are related to the candidate you should decline to notarize their petitions, because your relation to the candidate raises the possibility of a direct or pecuniary interest.

Do draw lines through any unused signature lines that are left on the petition. This prevents signatures from being added to the petition after the notarization.

Don’t notarize for an individual you have not properly identified. Make sure the proper notarial wording is on the petition. You must follow the law for every notarization you perform

Do refer questions to your county election officials or to the Department of State. As a notary, you cannot give legal advice.

 

Lawrence County Passes $5 Fee for Local Use

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Lawrence County passed an ordinance to implement the $5 Fee for Local Use that affects April 2021 vehicle registration renewal notices. The ordinance takes effect April 1, 2021.

Under Act 89, a county may pass an ordinance to implement a fee of $5 for each vehicle registered to an address located in that county. The $5 county fee is collected annually by PennDOT at the time a vehicle is initially registered or when the registration is renewed.  This $5 county fee is in addition to the registration fee.

PennDOT maintains a list of participating counties on the fact sheet, “Fee for Local Use – Participating Counties,” available on the Driver and Vehicle Services website. Agents must check the fact sheet each time they complete Forms MV-1, MV-4ST, MV-120, or MV-140 for a customer requesting issuance, renewal or transfer of registration for any vehicle to verify if the customer’s county of residence is participating in the “Fee for Local Use.” If the county is participating, the agent must enter the $5 county fee in the appropriate section of the form.

The fees PennDOT collects are returned to the participating counties for transportation purposes or to be allocated by the county in accordance with Section 9010(c) of the Pennsylvania Vehicle Code.

Notaries Don’t Need to Return Bonds

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PAN has learned, in further discussion with the Allegheny County Recorder of Deeds, that counties have the capability to scan and send notary bonds to the Department of State electronically. Rather than destroying the paper copies of the bonds after scanning them, recorders return the paper copies in the mail along with the notaries’ commissions.

If you received a paper copy of your bond with your commission, keep the copy with your commission. You do not need to return the paper copy to the recorder’s office.

Acceptable Proof of Identity for Processing Motor Vehicle Applications

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This Driver and Vehicle Services Update Bulletin No. 21-03 dated February 2021 is to inform you of a change in the acceptable forms of identification for titling and registering vehicles in Pennsylvania.

Effective immediately, authorized agents may accept a valid camera card along with an expired Pennsylvania identification credential, or 15 day temporary internet driver license or identification card renewal credential with an applicant’s expired Pennsylvania identification credential for the purposes of titling and registering a vehicle.

With this change, agents may now accept one of the following credentials for identification purposes to issue title and registration documents:

  1. A valid Pennsylvania Photo Driver’s License;
  2. A valid Pennsylvania Photo Identification Card;
  3. A valid Pennsylvania Photo Exempt Driver’s License;
  4. A valid Pennsylvania Photo Exempt Identification Card;
  5. A valid Pennsylvania 15-day temporary internet driver license or identification card renewal credential and expired DL/ID
  6. A valid Pennsylvania Camera Card and Pennsylvania expired identification credential (as listed above); or
  7. A valid U.S. Armed Forces Common Access Card

Dependents of Armed Forces personnel must provide a valid United States Uniformed Services Identification and Privilege Card (DD Form 1173).

Each of the identification documents listed above must be in the same name as the name listed on the motor vehicle application.

The Acceptable Proof of Identification Documents for Completing Motor Vehicle Forms Fact Sheet has been updated to reflect this change.

Personal Delivery Devices

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Act 106, signed into law on November 1, 2020, has amended the definition of “Pedestrian” in Title 75, The Pennsylvania Vehicle Code. The act takes effect January 30, 2021.

Under Section 1, §102, the definition of a “pedestrian” is as follows:

  1. an individual afoot.
  2. an individual with a mobility-related disability on a self-propelled wheelchair or an electrical mobility device operated by and designated for the exclusive use of an individual with a mobility-related disability.
  3. a personal delivery device.

Act 106 also allows for a “personal delivery device” (PDD) to operate on roadways, shoulder/berms of roadways, and in pedestrian areas. The definition of a personal delivery device is a ground delivery device that:

  1. is manufactured for transporting cargo or goods;
  2. is operated by a driving system that allows remote or autonomous operation, or both; and
  3. weighs 550 pounds or less without cargo or goods.

Since Act 106 places PDDs within the definition of a pedestrian, PDDs are not considered a vehicle and not required to be titled and/or registered as a vehicle under the Pennsylvania Vehicle Code.