American Notary - Non-Military Affidavits - Record-Keeping and State Updates

Sep 28, 2026

Guidance and updates for notaries across multiple U.S. states, centered on record-keeping requirements for “non-military” affidavits and related affidavit processes. The text explains New York rules on what records must be kept, including required parties’ information and service details, and sets a minimum retention period. It also covers why such rules were introduced and provides additional state-specific changes, address corrections, and member insurance or community notices.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryHealthcare

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Pages5

Reading Time13 min

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New York notaries have been ad-vised by Secretary of State John P.Lomenzo that a rule has been promul-gated which requires each notary inthat State to keep and maintain rec-ords of each affidavit of service ofprocess and"non-military"affidavitwhich is sworn to before him andnotarized by him.The record mustcontain: (a)Name and address of the notarypublic.(b)Name and address of affiant. (c)Date of the affidavit. d)Title of the legal action or pro-ceeding and name of the court inwhich it is brought or pending. (e)Name and address of the personupon whom process was served,or who was questioned concern-ing military status,and the dateof service or of the interviewupon which the non-military af-fidavit was based. A notary may,however,keep con-formed copies of all such affidavitsand this will meet the record-keepingrequirement. The record or the copies of the affi-davits must be kept for not less thanthree years. The new rule was promulgated be-cause it came to the attention of theUnited States Attorney for the South-ern District of New York that manyof these affidavits have been notarizedwithout the affiant personally appear-ing before the notary and being sworn. # "Non-Military Affidavits" The Soldier's and Sailor's Civil Re-lief Act of 1940(50U.S.Code Appen-dix §520)provides that,generally,aplaintiff may not enter a default judg-ment against a person unless he filesan affidavit setting forth facts show-ing that the defendant is not in mili-tary service.The purpose of the law isto prevent default judgments from be-ing entered against members of the N.Y.Notaries NowRequired to KeepCertain Records # American Notary ## Massachusetts Adds,Illinois May DeleteSome Notarizations The State of llinois may drop thenotarization requirement for certainapplications just as Massachusetts isadding one. Under a new automobile title lawthat went into effect last Septemberthe Registry of Motor Vehicles ofMassachusetts has authorized anautomobile bill of sale(Form RMV-T-NR-70)which must be sworn to be-fore a notary public or justice of thepeace.(Note:The automoblie bill ofsale being sold by Hobbs &Warren,Inc.,60 Summer St.,Boston,has acertificate of acknowledgment in-stead of a jurat.It dosen't matterwhich form is used as far as the notaryis concerned.The fee for taking anacknowledgment and administeringan oath is the same(25 cents).) Illinois Bill A bill has been introduced in theIllinois legislature which wouldeliminate the notarization require-ment on applications for driver'slicenses,automobile tags and titles.Ifenacted into law it will reduce thetotal fees collected by Illinois notariesby approximately $4 million a year The bill would reduce the workload of the Secretary of State's officewhich now returns thousands of ap-plications each day because of defects,including lack of notarization. Illinois members of ASN were pre-viously notified of this bill by specialbulletin.☆ ## Address Correction The correct address of the UnitedBuying Service of South Texas,Inc.,serving the Houston area,is P.O.Box22493,Houston,Texas 77027 and thetelephone number is NA2-6752. ☆ Armed Forces in circumstances wherethey might be unable to appear anddefend them. New York and some other stateshave similar laws.☆ ## Mutual of Omaha isUnderwriting TwoASN Insurance Plans Mutual of Omaha and its life insur-ance affiliate,United of Omaha,areunderwriting two new insuranceplans for members of ASN.Mostmembers have already been notifiedthat the plans are now available. The first plan is an income protec-tion plan which provides tax-freeemergency income of up to $600.00per month when an illness or injurykeeps you from working.At presentthis plan is not available in New York. Bank Service Plan Association group life insurance isavailable in amounts up to $50,000.Family coverage is also available andthe premiums can be paid annually,semi-annually or monthly through aunique Bank Service Plan which per-mits you to have the premiu

FAQs

What New York requires notaries to record for non-military affidavits

Each New York notary must keep records for every affidavit of service of process and non-military affidavit sworn before them. The record must include the notary’s and affiant’s information, the affidavit date, the legal action and court, and the served person’s details plus the service or interview date.

Why was New York’s non-military affidavit record-keeping rule promulgated

The rule was prompted after the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York noted that many affidavits were notarized without the affiant personally appearing and being sworn.

What changes were proposed or reported for Illinois and Massachusetts notary-related requirements

Massachusetts added a notarization requirement under an automobile title law effective last September, using a specific bill of sale form to be sworn before a notary public or justice of the peace. Illinois was reported to consider dropping notarization requirements for certain applications such as driver’s licenses, and automobile tags and titles if enacted.

Sep 28, 2026

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