Surety Bond Professionals is a family-owned and operated bonding agency with over 30 years of experience. With access to a broad range of surety markets, our expert agents are ready to assist with all your New Mexico notary bond needs.
What Are They?
If you’re a notary public or in the process of becoming one, you know that notaries play an important role in preventing fraud. The public relies on them to ensure that the signatures on important documents, such as wills, deeds, power of attorney, affidavits, prenuptial agreements, and the like are valid. There is the potential for significant financial harm if the identity of the people signing such documents is not properly verified.
New Mexico notary bonds guarantee that notaries abide by all applicable state laws in carrying out their duties. They also protect the state of New Mexico against financial liability for having issued a commission to a notary who does not live up to the terms of the surety bond agreement. Additionally, they provide a source of funds for compensating members of the public who have experienced a financial loss due to the deliberate or negligent misdeeds of notaries in the performance of their notarial duties.
Who Needs Them?
Anyone applying to the Notary Division of the New Mexico Secretary of State’s office for commissioning as a notary public or renewing an existing commission must first purchase a $10,000 New Mexico Notary Bond. The bond must have the same term as a notary commission—four years.
Notaries commonly purchase error and omissions insurance when they obtain their notary bond, because the bond does not protect the notary, only for the state of New Mexico and its residents.
Speak with a Surety Bond Professionals agent today to discuss your bonding needs.
How Do They Work?
There are three parties to the surety bond agreement, which is a legally binding contract. The agreement uses specific terminology to refer to the three parties:
- As the party requiring the bond, the New Mexico Secretary of State is the “obligee.”
- The notary public purchasing the bond is the “principal.”
- The bonding company authorizing the bond is the “surety.”
The surety bond agreement indemnifies the surety against any responsibility for paying claims and legally obligates the principal to compensate claimants. But in practice, the surety, after making sure that a claim is valid, will make payment directly to the claimant and then collect reimbursement from the principal.
It’s an arrangement that ensures prompt payment of a claim while giving the principal some time to repay the debt to the surety, either from personal resources or from an error and omissions insurance policy.
What Do They Cost?
New Mexico notary bonds do not go through an underwriting process and are typically sold for a flat fee of $40 or $50.
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Our surety bond professionals will get you the New Mexico notary bond you need at a competitive rate.