Supreme Court En Banc Issues A.M. No. 02-8-13-SC to Enhance Digital Capacity of Clerks of Court for Notarial Records

On March 4, 2025, the Supreme Court En Banc issued a resolution under A.M. No. 02-8-13-SC, amending key provisions of the 2004 Rules on Notarial Practice, published through Office of the Court Administrator Circular No. 197-2025. The amendments aim to ensure that the offices of the clerks of court are capacitated to host, accept, store, and archive digitized notarized documents in Portal Document Format (“PDF”) or PDF Archival format and that they have the necessary equipment and technical requirements. 

Key amendments include:

• The petition for notarial commission must now include the petitioner’s Mandatory Continuing Legal Education compliance number and Unified Legal Aid Service compliance number, supported by three (3) unretouched pass-port size color photographs with light background.

• Each notary public with a valid commission is required to notify his executive judge of their valid and professional email address. An email address is deemed valid if it is in the [local-part]@[domain] syntax and can receive emails from other senders. If there are any changes in such email address of record, the notary public must likewise notify his executive judge. Failure to promptly do so shall be a ground for denial of the application for renewal of commission.

• As a general rule, no fee of any kind shall be collected for any notarial service other than those expressly prescribed and allowed herein. Moreover, the OCA added that no fee shall be collected or received by a notary public for the digitization of any instrument or document or their transmittal, storage, disposal, or other forms of processing or for any costs associated with such digitization and processing.

• When the instrument is a contract, the notary public shall keep an original copy and must also retain an exact copy in electronic file format as the duplicate original copy for the clerk of court. This must be a complete and exact PDF reproduction of the original, with legible contents, including all colors and marks on every page. The copy must be in a single PDF file, not split, and named with the document’s short title, date of notarization, and, if needed, short forms of the parties’ names. Noncompliance with these requirements is punishable under the Rules.

• The duplicate original copy shall be electronically transmitted to the clerk of court using only the notary public’s email address of record, with the transmittal body following the prescribed format under the Rules. All PDF files must be sent as direct attachments, not as external links or archive files. If the total file size exceeds the allowable limit, the notary public shall send it in several batches, with each email clearly marked with its batch number and the total number of batches sent.

• A notary public must electronically send a copy of the notarized document to each signatory within five (5) days of completing the notarial act or the deadline for filing with the clerk of court. A signatory may waive this, effectively waiving any objection to the document’s completeness. If a signatory finds material discrepancies affecting rights, they must notify the notary in writing and request correction. Failure to rectify or respond may result in nonrenewal and temporary disqualification, while submitting an uncorrected or disputed copy to the clerk may lead to revocation and permanent disqualification.

• For the seal of a notary public, they are enjoined to ensure that the mark, image, or impression of the official seal is visible when digitized in electronic file format, further to Section 2, Rule VI, by means of ink, shading, or other similar mechanism on the original mark, image, or impression.

• To determine the feasibility of digitizing their archives, especially preserving digital markers of the notarial acts, all courts retaining duplicate original copies shall make an inventory and assessment of the documents in their possession. They must submit a report to the Office of the Court Administrator, with a copy furnished to the Management Information Systems Office. 

The full text of the A.M. No. 02-8-13-SC can be found in this link.