New AZ Notary Law Alert: SB1479

What is SB1479?

In an effort to reduce deed fraud, the Arizona legislature recently passed SB1479, which amends existing laws related to property transfers.

"Property ownership is the cornerstone of financial security for families, seniors, and small businesses in Arizona. When criminals are able to forge documents, record false claims, or quietly transfer property without the rightful owner's knowledge, it erodes trust in our entire system,” said sponsor Senator Frank Carroll in a press release. He continued, “This initiative aims to protect homeowners, restore confidence in our public records, and ensure that the law firmly supports legitimate property owners.”

The bill, which enjoyed overwhelming bipartisan support in both chambers of the Arizona legislature, was signed into law by Governor Katy Hobbes in April. The new law, which went into effect on July 27, 2026, affects how county recorders, title companies, and notaries handle transactions related to real property. Let’s take a look at how it affects the notarial process.

Thumbprint requirements for in-person notarization in Arizona

The new law requires that Arizona notaries obtain a signer’s thumbprint in our notary journal if the document is any of the following:

• Deed

• Quitclaim Deed

• Deed of Trust

• Other document that affects real property

• Power of Attorney

In compliance with the new law, all of our Tucson mobile notaries now require a journal thumbprint for all of the above document types. For loan signings, our Notary Signing Agents now obtain a thumbprint for every journal entry, as all documents in a loan or real-estate package affect real property.

The law makes exceptions for a Trustee's Deed that results from a judicial or nonjudicial foreclosure or a Deed of Release and Reconveyance, so we will not require thumbprints for those.

Our Tucson travel notaries carry thumbprint pads with nontoxic ink that easily wipes off without leaving a stain.

ID and journal requirements for Remote Online Notarization (RON)

For Remote Online Notarization (RON), a thumbprint is not required. But the new law does make these additional changes for the documents listed above:

• The audiovisual recording must show the ID that is presented for the notarization

• The notary must keep the recording and electronic journal for a minimum of seven years (up from five)

• The notary otherwise complies with ARS § 41-263. Notarial act performed for remotely located individual; definitions 

Our remote online notaries always have signers hold up the ID that they used to pass ID verification to the camera during the signing session, and we compare it with the image generated by the platform and with the signer’s live image.

We will keep a secure copy of all RON sessions’ audiovisual recordings, journal entries, and audit trails for at least seven years, in accordance with the new law.

We always perform online notarization sessions in full accordance with the requirements of ARS § 41-263 and all other statutes, regulations, and rules related to RON signings.

How will SB1479 affect your signing?

If you are signing a deed, power of attorney, or other property-related document that needs to be notarized, be prepared to both sign and give a thumbprint in the notary’s journal when signing in person.

For remote signings, the process will remain unchanged for the signer: you’ll still go through ID verification, and we’ll still have you hold your ID up to the camera. The only change you may notice is that our script now says we will retain the records for seven years instead of five.

Questions about our new signing procedures? Email laurel@notaryatoz.com or call +1 (520) 200-1424. Click here to schedule an appointment.

Important disclaimer

We are not attorneys licensed to practice law in this state. The above analysis is not intended to be legal advice. The Arizona Secretary of State has not yet updated the Arizona Notary Public Reference Manual with guidelines for implementing the new law, so changes in our policies are being made in a sincere attempt to comply with the contents of the law itself. When the new guidelines are released, we may make changes in our policies to be more in accordance with guidance from the AZ SOS.

If you have questions about SB1479 or any other legal matter, please contact a licensed Arizona attorney.

New website feature: book now

We just added a self-scheduling feature to the website. Just click on “Book Now” on the top menu, and you can book an appointment for:

• Mobile notary in Tucson

• Arizona apostille

• Remote Online Notarization (RON)

• Loan / real estate signing in Tucson

You’ll receive an email confirmation that lets you add the appointment to your calendar with the click of a button. If you need to reschedule or cancel the appointment, you can easily make changes from the email confirmation.

Each appointment type will ask you for the info we need to know, and you can use the secure upload feature to share your document(s) with us.

Once we receive your appointment confirmation, we will review your information and reply with a custom price quote.

The calendar settings allow you to book during our normal business hours of 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. MST, Monday through Friday. If you need service outside of those hours, please call/text +1 (520) 200-1424 or email laurel@notaryatoz.com.

Looking forward to working with you soon!

FedEx Shipping Updates

A recent update to Federal Express shipping policies is affecting everyone in Tucson who uses FedEx. We have adjusted our shipping practices to be in line with FedEx changes, and we wanted to share how this could affect your mobile notary, apostille, or loan signing order.

In 2023, FedEx announced plans to merge its Express, Ground, and Services operating companies into one integrated company, Federal Express Corporation. This change has just rolled out in Tucson, and it has had one major effect on our notary and apostille business: the last pickup time has moved from 5:00 p.m. to 3:30 p.m.

In order to safely meet this deadline, we can only offer same-day shipping service for appointments or packages received before noon.

Mobile Notary

For mobile notary orders, this simply means that we will schedule the appointment in the morning. If an afternoon appointment is preferred, we will let you know that the documents will not ship until the following day.

Apostille Expediting

For apostille orders, our standard turnaround time is 1-2 business days. This will not be affected by the earlier dropoff time. Our same-day rush service will be unaffected if we are returning the documents in person. However, we will only be able to accommodate same-day rush orders that need to be shipped if the appointment is in the morning (or if documents arrive before noon, in the case of documents being shipped to us).

Loan Signing

For loan signings, this change is especially challenging because many closings depend on the documents arriving before a deadline. We will notify all of the signing agencies, title companies, and individual borrowers that we work with that signings must be scheduled for the morning in order to make it to FedEx before last pickup. If the signers are unavailable in the mornings, we need to plan to sign at least two days before closing to ensure the documents arrive in time.

We apologize for any inconvenience this causes our clients. We will be sure to let anyone potentially affected by this change know about it prior to scheduling appointments. Thank you for your continued business.

*Photo by Anna Zvereva from Tallinn, Estonia, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

China to Join Hague Apostille Convention

Exciting news: China is set to join the Hague Apostille Convention in November 2023! If you have ever had to get a document legalized for use in China, you are probably doing a happy dance right now. This will save you so much time, money, and effort in the future.

Here’s the gist: right now, if you want process an Arizona document for use in China, you have to get it notarized (depending on the document type), get it apostilled by the Arizona Secretary of State, and then get it legalized at the Chinese Consulate in Los Angeles or the US State Department followed by the Chinese Embassy in Washington, DC.

This process has never been fast or easy, but since Covid, it has become even more arduous. The Consulate and Embassy are closed to visitors and have strict requirements about emailing a scan, waiting for approval, mailing the document, waiting and waiting, and finally getting the legalized document at their convenience. Rush service is no longer an option. The wait can be weeks or even months long.

The US State Department has also become extremely backed up, with wait times currently around 10–14 weeks. No rush service there, either.

Needless to say, this has become very frustrating to people needing documents for use in China and their receiving parties.

The ray of sunshine is that starting on November 7, China will no longer require legalization from the Consulate or Embassy. The Arizona apostille or US apostille (depending on document type) will suffice.

We look forward to an easier China apostille process in the fall. In the meantime, we are here to facilitate your China legalization. We can’t promise that it will be fast, but we do have the experience to ensure that it gets done correctly as quickly as possible.

Contact us for more information on apostilles for China or any other country.

Two new countries joining the Hague Apostille Convention this month

Exciting news for anyone who needs a document legalized for use in Pakistan or Senegal: starting this month, they will enter into the Hague Apostille Convention. This means documents no longer have to be authenticated at the embassy or consulate for either country. This will save you time, money, and hassle!

Pakistan will enter into the Hague Convention on March 9, 2023, and Senegal will join on March 23, 2023. They will become the 123rd and 124th countries to join the Hague Convention, which was originally signed in 1961. According to the Hague Conference on Private International Law (HCCH), “The purpose of the Convention is to abolish the traditional requirement of legalisation, replacing the often long and costly legalisation process with the issuance of a single Apostille certificate by a Competent Authority in the place where the document originates.”

Countries that are not party to the Hague Convention usually require an apostille (either from the Arizona Secretary of State or the US Department of State) plus an authentication from that country’s consulate or embassy. That additional authentication adds a lot of time, expense, and hassle to the document-certification process.

More and more countries are joining the Hague Convention all the time, and we will keep updating this space as they do.

Arizona Notary Travel Fees Raised in 2023

After quite a long time without a raise, Arizona mobile notaries are now allowed to charge up to 62.5¢ for travel. That’s up from the former rate of 44.5¢ per mile.

Considering how much gas prices and automobile prices in general have gone up in the last couple of years, this increase will help Arizona travel notaries cover their travel costs.

How will this affect you, the potential client? Here at Notary A to Z, we include the travel fee in our Tucson mobile notary and apostille packages. The only time the 62.5¢ travel fee would come up is if the signer is farther than 10 miles from our home base of Grant and Alvernon. Most of Tucson, Vail, Oro Valley, and Marana are within 10 miles, so the travel fee will only apply if you’re in a remote area.

If you have any questions about mobile notary pricing, please contact us, and we’ll get you a quick quote.