{"data":{"id":"us-wv/w.-va.-code-39-4-21","jurisdiction":"us-wv","citation":"W. Va. Code § 39-4-21","heading":"Grounds to deny, refuse to renew, revoke, suspend, or condition commission of notary public.","body":"(a) The Secretary of State may deny, refuse to renew, revoke, suspend or impose a condition on a commission as notary public for any act or omission that demonstrates the individual lacks the honesty, integrity, competence, or reliability to act as a notary public, including:\n(1) Failure to comply with this article;\n(2) A fraudulent, dishonest or deceitful misstatement or omission in the application for a commission as a notary public submitted to the Secretary of State;\n(3) A conviction of the applicant or notary public of any felony or a crime involving fraud, dishonesty or deceit;\n(4) A finding against, or admission of liability by, the applicant or notary public in any legal proceeding or disciplinary action based on the applicant's or notary public's fraud, dishonesty or deceit;\n(5) Failure by the notary public to discharge any duty required of a notary public, whether by this article, rules promulgated by the Secretary of State, or any federal or state law;\n(6) Use of false or misleading advertising or representation by the notary public representing that the notary has a duty, right or privilege that the notary does not have;\n(7) Violation by the notary public of a rule of the Secretary of State regarding a notary public;\n(8) Denial, refusal to renew, revocation, suspension or conditioning of a notary public commission in another state;\n(9) Failure of the notary public to maintain an assurance as provided in subsection (d), section twenty of this article;\n(10) Charging more than the maximum fees specified in section thirty of this article; and\n(11) Failure to notify the Secretary of State of an address or name change pursuant to subsection (b), section twenty-two of this article.\n(b) If the Secretary of State denies, refuses to renew, revokes, suspends or imposes conditions on a commission as a notary public, the applicant or notary public is entitled to timely notice and hearing in accordance with article five, chapter twenty-nine-a of this code.\n(c) The authority of the Secretary of State to deny, refuse to renew, suspend, revoke or impose conditions on a commission as a notary public does not prevent a person from seeking and obtaining other criminal or civil remedies provided by law.","path":["CHAPTER 39. RECORDS AND PAPERS.","ARTICLE 4. REVISED UNIFORM LAW ON NOTARIAL ACTS."],"source_url":"https://code.wvlegislature.gov/39-4-21/","current_through":"as of 2026-08-03; contains at least the enactments of the 2026 Regular Session","vintage":"","retrieved_at":"2026-09-06T00:29:22Z","sha256":"96d4ae65fa11fab9a3831a7ffa23b151747747cc822f71e3740740c3a28aab4b","source_id":"us-wv","stale":true,"prev":"us-wv/w.-va.-code-39-4-20","next":"us-wv/w.-va.-code-39-4-22"},"notice":"GroundRules: Original legal text. Not legal advice."}