VBA to Offer Notary Continuing Education Course –
Webinar of Oct. 31 Will be Recorded and Available on VBA Website
Vermont notary commissions will expire at the end of January 2023. The Office of Professional Regulation of the Secretary of State’s Office has mandated that for non-attorney notaries who are not otherwise exempt, a minimum of one hour of relevant continuing education must be completed and documented prior to re-commissioning.
The Vermont Bar Association has developed a 1.5-hour training that will be offered live via Zoom webinar on Oct. 31. The program is designed to meet this continuing education requirement. It will be recorded and made available shortly after Oct. 31 in the digital library at on the VBA website. The OPR has confirmed that the program will meet the CE requirement, whether it was taken live or is viewed later online.
Attorneys and certain others employed in law enforcement or in the judiciary are exempted from the requirement to obtain a notary commission (for a list of exemptions see the OPR website). Notaries who received their commission after February 1, 2021 are not required to take the training for this renewal cycle. (See the OPR website for more information and 10/27/22 memo from OPR here). Attorneys not employed in law enforcement, or the judiciary are required to keep their notary commissions current, but are not required to meet the CE requirement. Therefore, this training is optional for attorneys. If you are an attorney and decide to take the training, however, it will count for 1.5 CLE credits. It is also approved and certified to qualify for Rule 12(a)(1) & Rule 15(c) of the Vermont Rules of Admission for new Vermont lawyers.
The training will be conducted by Jim Knapp, Esq., co-chair of the VBA’s Property Law Section. Jim is a popular and experienced presenter. The course is offered for $25 to all takers, with no requirement for VBA membership.
OPR is requiring notaries to maintain records of their CE certificates of completion. If you are already a VBA member, upon completion of the program, a certificate will be available in your VBA website account portal. If you are not a VBA member, you will need to create a non-member account prior to registering. As part of the registration process, PLEASE check the box to create an account/login so you can access the certificate at the end of the program. See the VBA website for more information.
A link to the program and registration steps can be found on the VBA CLE calendar on Oct. 31. You can also access it here.
