SB299: SB299 Notaries Public; members of the armed forces on active duty to use online notaries public for certain matters; provide

Georgia law currently lets service members, merchant seamen, and others stationed abroad have documents notarized by a military commissioned officer instead of a traditional notary. This bill adds a new option for active-duty service members: they could use a remote, online notary public licensed in any state to notarize forms or documents required by state or local agencies for taxing, titling, and licensing a motor vehicle. The bill limits this new option. It would not apply to documents involving the conveyance of real estate, wills, or trusts, and it would not apply to vehicles not intended for the service member's or their family's personal use. The bill repeals any conflicting laws and amends Chapter 17 of Title 45 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, the section governing notaries public.

• Adds a new subsection to Georgia's notary law (O.C.G.A. § 45-17-31) allowing active-duty service members to use online notaries public licensed in any U.S. state.
• Limits the online notary option to forms or documents required by state or local agencies for motor vehicle taxation, titling, and licensing.
• Excludes documents involving real estate transfers, wills, or trusts from the online notary option.
• Excludes vehicles not intended for the service member's or their family's personal use from the online notary option.
• Keeps the existing rule letting service members abroad use military commissioned officers for other notarial acts unchanged.

Active-duty members of the U.S. armed forces, particularly those needing to handle motor vehicle tax, titling, or licensing paperwork while stationed away from home, and the state and local agencies that process those documents.

Service members often move or deploy away from their home state, making it hard to find a local notary for routine vehicle paperwork. This bill would let them use an online notary from any state for that specific purpose, though not for real estate, wills, trusts, or non-personal vehicles.

• Section 1 revises O.C.G.A. § 45-17-31 to add subsection (b), permitting active-duty service members to use a remote, online notary public licensed in any U.S. state.
• The new subsection limits use to forms or documents required by state or local agencies for taxation, titling, and licensing of a motor vehicle.
• The provision explicitly excludes documents involving conveyance of real estate, wills, or trusts.
• The provision excludes motor vehicles not intended for personal use by the service member or family.
• Section 2 repeals all laws and parts of laws in conflict with the Act.

1. 2026-03-04Senate Read Second Time (Senate)
2. 2026-03-03Senate Committee Favorably Reported (Senate)
3. 2025-02-28Senate Read and Referred (Senate)
4. 2025-02-27Senate Hopper (Senate)

• Larry Walker (R, SD-020)Primary sponsor
• Jason Anavitarte (R, SD-031)
• Randy Robertson (R, SD-029)
• Chuck Payne (R, SD-054)
• John Kennedy (R, SD-018)
• Kay Kirkpatrick (R, SD-032)
• Ed Harbison (D, SD-015)

• notaries public
• military service members
• motor vehicle titling
• online notarization