Current through Register Vol. 48, No. 38, September 20, 2024
a) The
Secretary will deny, suspend, or revoke a provider certification when:
1) The Secretary determines that the
applicant/provider is not of good moral character. In determining good moral
character, the Department is not limited to but may consider the following:
A) Whether the applicant/provider has been
convicted of a felony or a misdemeanor. The Department will consider:
i) The relationship of any crime of which the
applicant/provider has been convicted to the ability to operate a notary public
course of study and examination;
ii) The length of time that has elapsed since
the applicant's/provider's last criminal conviction;
iii) Whether the applicant/provider
successfully completed any sentence imposed with the convictions;
iv) Whether the applicant/provider has
multiple convictions for felony or misdemeanor offenses.
B) Whether the applicant/provider has been
indicted, formally charged, or otherwise charged with a felony or a
misdemeanor. In this case, the certification will be temporarily either denied
or revoked.
i) If the applicant/provider
whose certification has been denied or revoked under this Part is adjudicated
"guilty" by the court, the denial or revocation previously entered on the
person's record in accordance with this Section will stand. This action does
not preclude further suspension or revocation of the certification under
another Section of this Subpart or the Act.
ii) If the applicant/provider whose
certification has been denied or revoked under this Part is adjudicated "not
guilty" by the court, the denial or cancellation previously entered on the
person's record in accordance with this Section will be rescinded. This action
does not preclude further suspension or revocation of the certification under
another Section of this Subpart C or the Act.
iii) If the applicant/provider whose
certification has been denied or revoked under this Part is granted a
disposition of "court supervision" by the court, the denial or revocation
previously entered on the person's record in accordance with this Section will
be rescinded. This action does not preclude further suspension or revocation of
the certification under another Section of this Subpart C or the
Act.
2) Any
owner or employee of the provider who, while interacting with students:
A) Engaged in an activity that puts the
student in danger; or
B) Engaged in
reckless behavior; or
C) Failed to
maintain a professional relationship with students at all
times.
3) The
applicant/provider fails to file and maintain with the Department a continuous
surety bond in the principal sum of $50,000, underwritten by a company
authorized to do business in the State of Illinois, for the protection of the
contractual rights of students. However, the aggregate liability of the surety
for all breaches of the condition of the bond in no event will exceed the
principal sum of $50,000. The surety on any bond may cancel the bond upon
giving 30 days' notice in writing to the Secretary of State and will be
relieved of liability for any breach of any conditions of the bond that occurs
after the effective date of cancellation. All bonds filed under this provision
must be in substantially the same form as Illustration B.
4) The Secretary is not satisfied that the
applicant/provider has established adequate procedures for verifying the
identity of the student taking the course and ensuring that the student
completes the course in its entirety;
5) The applicant fails to submit a copy of
its course content, conforming with this Section, to the Department for review
and approval, including the questions and answers on the quizzes and final
examination;
6) The provider fails
to immediately report to the Department any unauthorized access to consumer
information, including computer breaches, or fails to comply with the Illinois
Personal Information Protection Act [815 ILCS 530
];
7) The applicant/provider is an
Illinois corporation that is not in good standing with the Illinois Secretary
of State, Department of Business Services;
8) The applicant/provider is a foreign
corporation that is not authorized to transact business in Illinois, as
evidenced by the submission of an Application for Authority to Transact
Business in Illinois and acceptance of that application by the Illinois
Secretary of State, Department of Business Services;
9) The applicant/provider is a foreign
limited liability company that is not authorized to transact business in
Illinois, as evidenced by the submission of an Application for Admission to
Transact Business and acceptance of that application by the Illinois Secretary
of State, Department of Business Services;
10) The owner or any employee of the
applicant/provider is a current salaried or contractual employee of the
Secretary of State;
11) An
applicant/provider, owner, or manager engages in fraudulent activity;
12) An applicant, owner, or employee has been
found to have engaged in fraudulent activity within the 5 years before applying
for certification;
13) An
applicant/provider or owner owes outstanding fees to the Secretary of State in
either a personal, official, or professional capacity;
14) An applicant/provider sells or discloses
any consumer information or fails to post a statement indicating consumer
information will not be sold or disclosed on its website, except as authorized
by Section 176.240(e);
15) An applicant/provider requests the Social
Security number of students, except as authorized by Section
176.240(e);
16) The provider fails to provide a toll-free
customer service hotline that is answered, at a minimum, between the hours of
9:00 am and 5:00 pm Central Time, Monday through Friday;
17) The applicant/provider fails to supply
the Department with a detailed description of each position involved in every
facet of the notary public course of study and examination, with contact
information for each employee. If the course is taught in person, the provider
must report any staffing changes to the Department within 5 business days after
the change. If the course is taught online, the provider must report any change
in the person responsible for creating and managing the online course to the
Department within 5 business days;
18) The provider uses voice recognition as a
method of verification, unless the provider furnishes a toll-free number for
providing the required voice exemplars.
b) The Secretary of State may deny, suspend
or revoke a certification:
1) For any
violation of the Act;
2) For any
violation of this Part;
3) If the
provider's certification to provide any type of notary public course of study
and examination has been denied, suspended, or revoked by any other state or
jurisdiction;
4) For
misrepresentation of a notary public's duties and authority under Illinois
law;
5) For deviation from the
lesson plan for an approved course of instruction;
6) For making representations that the
Secretary of State endorses, recommends, or mandates the use of any of the
vendor's products, goods, or services;
7) For conviction of any entity, person, or
principal closely associated with any provider for any felony or misdemeanor
involving fraudulent activity;
8)
For engaging in any fraudulent activity or deceptive business practices;
or
9) For failure to timely respond
to the Secretary of State's request for communication or otherwise cooperate
with an investigation.
c)
Only one provider certification will be issued to any one individual, group,
association, partnership, or corporation, and the Department will deny an
application for certification as a course provider if any of the applicants are
unqualified, are already certified, or have applied as another
provider.
d) Course providers must
comply with the following requirements:
1) If
the course provider seeks certification for an in-person course of study at the
course provider's physical location, the location of the course provider's
premises and facilities must be adequate, safe, and sanitary and shall comply
with all relevant statutory provisions, rules, regulations and local ordinances
concerning fire, health, safety, and sanitation.
2) The equipment, supplies, and instructional
materials of the course provider must be satisfactory and adequate in type,
quality, and amount, and shall be suitable for use in administering the course
of instruction. They must also comply with all relevant statutory provisions
and local ordinances concerning fire, health, safety, and
sanitation.
e) Before
being certified, each applicant must provide the Department with all necessary
information to allow the Department to participate in a complete course,
without fee to the Department, so that the Department may determine if the
course complies with this Part. If the proposed course content meets the
requirements of this Subpart, it will be approved by the Department.
f) The requirements of subsection (d) are not
intended to limit the ways course providers may offer courses of study or the
locations at which course providers may offer courses of study. Live webinars
with real-time instruction and courses provided at an employer or business
location with an in-person instructor may also be considered for certification
by the Secretary of State.
g) When
determining whether to approve a submitted course of study, the Department will
consider and review the following:
1) The
course lesson plan and syllabus or storyboard.
2) A detailed description of how the final
examination will be administered. The entity administering the final exam may
use either a paper test or an online format. The entity must notify the
Department which format they will be using. A notary public course of education
provider must offer multiple curriculum tests so that there is not one uniform
test in circulation.
3) The process
for grading students.
4) How the
course educates students regarding the notary public or electronic notary
public commission application process, forms, and procedures.
5) A list of course instructors, if
applicable.
6) A description of the
interaction capabilities between the instructor and the students in an
electronic environment or another means of ensuring that students actively
participate, if the course of study and examination are to be conducted
electronically.
7) Actual time
spent by students and instructors online and in class.
8) A video, CD, or DVD of the course, or a
copy of or access to any text-based course, or in the case of an interactive
asynchronous online course of study and examination, a uniform resource locator
(URL) and login credentials to access the course.
h) Upon receipt of a properly executed
application for certification, the Department will investigate the
qualifications of the applicant to determine whether the application should be
granted or denied.
i)
Certifications may only be issued by the Department.
j) Providers must follow the course content
submitted to and approved by the Department at the time of application for
certification.
k) If a provider
wishes to substantially change the course content, a copy of the proposed
revisions must be sent to the Department for approval. The provider shall also
provide the Department with all necessary information to allow the Department
to participate in a complete course, as revised, without fee to the Department.
After review, the Department will send a letter to the provider either
approving or rejecting the proposed changes.
l) An entity whose certification has been
denied, suspended, or revoked under this Subpart may request an administrative
hearing under Subpart K.
m) A
certificate issued to a course of study and examination provider will be valid
for one year. The course provider must submit the course of study to the
Department for approval annually. Department approval of the course of study
will extend from January 1 through December 31. A course provider desiring to
be approved must submit an application for course approval or renewal on or
before October 1 of each year. The application shall be accompanied by the
following information:
1) All information
required as part of an application for initial certification as set forth in
Sections 176.205,
176.210,
176.215,
176.235, 176.240, and 176.255;
and
2) Any supplemental information
necessary to bring information on the course provider up to
date.
n) A provider may
elect not to provide training that includes electronic notarization only if the
application of the provider clearly and conspicuously states that the course
submitted for approval will not include training with response to electronic
notarizations and the provider includes a statement on its website that its
training will not include electronic notarizations and will not suffice for an
electronic notary public commission application.
