{"data":{"id":"us-wv/w.-va.-code-39-4-33","jurisdiction":"us-wv","citation":"W. Va. Code § 39-4-33","heading":"Criminal penalties.","body":"(a) A notary public who knowingly and willfully commits any official misconduct is guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction, shall be fined not more than $5,000 or confined in jail not more than one year, or both fined and confined.\n(b) A notary public who recklessly or negligently commits any official misconduct is guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction, shall be fined not more than $1,000.\n(c) Any person who acts as, or otherwise willfully impersonates, a notary public while not lawfully appointed and commissioned to perform notarial acts is guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction, shall be fined not more than $5,000 or confined in jail not more than one year, or both fined and confined.\n(d) Any person who unlawfully possesses a notary's official seal or any papers or copies relating to notarial acts, is guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction, shall be fined not more than $1,000.\n(e) For the purposes of this section, the term \"official misconduct\" means any act or conduct that:\n(1) May result in the denial, refusal to renew, revocation, suspension or condition commission of a notary public pursuant to section twenty-one of this article; or\n(2) Is prohibited by section twenty-three of this article.","path":["CHAPTER 39. RECORDS AND PAPERS.","ARTICLE 4. REVISED UNIFORM LAW ON NOTARIAL ACTS."],"source_url":"https://code.wvlegislature.gov/39-4-33/","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":"94ad69c760118cb3a2b63af32a3a7985be062eb144df89eb493eedf5c21efad7","source_id":"us-wv","stale":true,"prev":"us-wv/w.-va.-code-39-4-32","next":"us-wv/w.-va.-code-39-4-34"},"notice":"GroundRules: Original legal text. Not legal advice."}