SB 8: Courts; arrest warrant requirements when juvenile courts are acting as courts of inquiry; provide

This substitute rewrites SB 8 to focus on notarization and real estate recording rather than juvenile courts. It creates a new category called a remote online notary public, who can notarize documents using video and audio technology instead of meeting someone face to face. The Georgia Superior Court Clerks' Cooperative Authority would write technical standards for this by January 1, 2027, and notaries would need extra training, a $2,000 surety bond, and secure electronic journals and recordings kept for at least ten years. The bill also changes how deeds and other real estate documents can be witnessed, allowing electronic signatures and remote witnessing under certain conditions, and it exempts recordings of remote notarizations from Georgia's open records law. Separately, it raises penalties for unauthorized practice of law connected to real estate closings from a misdemeanor to a felony, with fines up to $1 million for repeat offenses. Most of the bill takes effect once signed by the Governor, but the new felony penalties do not start until July 1, 2026.

• Creates a new remote online notary public commission in Georgia, allowing notarization by video call instead of in-person meetings, once standards are adopted by January 1, 2027.
• Requires remote online notaries to complete training, pass an exam, post a $2,000 surety bond, and keep secure electronic journals and audiovisual recordings of each notarization for at least ten years.
• Caps the fee a remote online notary can charge at $25 per notarization and sets rules for verifying a signer's identity through ID checks and credential analysis.
• Allows real estate documents to be witnessed electronically under specific conditions instead of requiring an in-person unofficial witness.
• Exempts audiovisual recordings of remote notarizations from disclosure under Georgia's open records law (O.C.G.A. § 50-18-72).
• Raises penalties for certain unauthorized practice of law violations tied to real estate closings from a misdemeanor to a felony, with fines up to $1 million for repeat offenses, effective July 1, 2026.

Notaries public and people seeking notary services, county clerks of superior court, the Georgia Superior Court Clerks' Cooperative Authority, real estate buyers and sellers, title companies, technology providers that support remote notarization, and attorneys or others who could face felony charges for unauthorized practice of law in real estate closings.

Georgians could get documents notarized remotely instead of traveling to meet a notary in person, which could speed up real estate closings and other transactions, while new recordkeeping and bonding requirements add cost and oversight. People who cut corners on the unauthorized practice of law in real estate deals would face much steeper criminal penalties starting in mid-2026.

• Section 1-2 rewrites definitions in O.C.G.A. § 45-17-1 to define remote online notarization, digital signatures, electronic journals, and related terms.
• Section 1-5 adds new Code sections (45-17-8.3 through 45-17-8.11) setting standards, application requirements, journaling rules, fee caps, and identity verification procedures for remote online notaries.
• Section 1-5 sets a $2,000 surety bond requirement and a $25 per-notarization fee cap for remote online notaries.
• Section 2-1 adds knowingly recording a residential real estate document tied to unauthorized practice of law as an unfair or deceptive practice under Georgia's Fair Business Practices Act (O.C.G.A. § 10-1-393).
• Section 2-3 adds O.C.G.A. § 44-2-31 allowing electronic execution of real estate documents with witnesses present in person or via approved communication technology.
• Section 2-4 exempts recordings of remote online notarization processes from Georgia's open records law (O.C.G.A. § 50-18-72).
• Section 3-1 amends O.C.G.A. § 15-19-56 to make violations of unauthorized practice of law statutes 15-19-51 and 15-19-53 felonies with fines up to $1 million for repeat offenses.
• Section 4-1 sets most of the Act effective upon the Governor's signature, but delays the new felony penalties in Part III until July 1, 2026.

1. 2026-03-27House Passed/Adopted By Substitute (House)
2. 2026-03-27House Third Readers (House)
3. 2026-03-25House Committee Favorably Reported By Substitute (House)
4. 2025-04-04House Withdrawn, Recommitted (House)
5. 2025-03-31House Withdrawn, Recommitted (House)
6. 2025-03-31House Reconsidered (House)
7. 2025-03-31House Third Reading Lost (House)
8. 2025-03-31House Third Readers (House)

• Kay Kirkpatrick (R, SD-032)Primary sponsor
• Brian Strickland (R, SD-042)
• Bo Hatchett (R, SD-050)
• Kim Jackson (D, SD-041)
• Matt Brass (R, SD-006)
• Jason Esteves (D, SD-035)
• Joseph Gullett (R, HD-019)

1. PassedSenate voteFebruary 10, 2025

   51 yea, 1 nay (3 not voting, 1 absent)

   Passage: Senate Vote #28

2. FailedHouse voteMarch 31, 2025

   79 yea, 87 nay (6 not voting, 8 absent)

   Passage: House Vote #348

3. PassedHouse voteMarch 31, 2025

   94 yea, 74 nay (6 not voting, 6 absent)

   Reconsider: House Vote #349

4. PassedHouse voteMarch 27, 2026

   115 yea, 45 nay (1 not voting, 15 absent)

   Passage: House Vote #786

5. FailedSenate voteApril 2, 2026

   26 yea, 26 nay (1 not voting, 1 absent)

   Agree To House Substitute As Amended: Senate Vote #964

• notary public law
• remote online notarization
• real estate closings
• unauthorized practice of law
• open records exemptions