Could a Louisiana college appoint campus police officers as ex officio notaries under the police chief statute?

Plain-English summary

The Secretary of State's office asked whether private or public colleges could use R.S. 35:399 to appoint ex officio notaries in campus police departments. The AG said the provision applied only to municipal police departments, where chiefs could appoint officers for limited official notarial acts. It did not extend that appointment power to colleges or universities.

Currency note

This opinion was issued in 2000. Subsequent statutory amendments, court decisions, or later AG opinions may have changed the analysis. Treat this page as historical context, not current legal advice. Verify current law before relying on any specific rule, deadline, or remedy mentioned here.

Common questions

Could a college police chief make the appointment under this section?
The AG said no. It read the section as limited to municipal police departments.

Did the opinion rule on every other possible notary appointment route?
No. It answered only whether R.S. 35:399 provided this authority.

Background and statutory framework

R.S. 35:399 provided limited ex officio notary powers for officers designated by a municipal police chief. The AG relied on the statute's municipal language and an earlier opinion interpreting the same provision.

Citations and references

• R.S. 35:399: municipal police ex officio notaries.

Source

• Landing page: https://www.ag.state.la.us/Opinions
• Original PDF: https://www.ag.state.la.us/Opinion/Download/00-0184

Original opinion text

May 18, 2000
OPINION 00-184

71 MUNICIPALITIES
Mr. Steve Hawkland 72 NOTARIES – Appointments & Qualifications
Office of the Secretary of State LSA-R.S. 35:399 LSA-R.S. 35:399 does not provide authority for colleges or universities
P. O. Box 94125
to appoint ex officio notaries public for their campus police
Baton Rouge, LA 70804-9125
departments.

Dear Mr. Hawkland:

In your correspondence to this office of recent date you ask whether or not R.S. 35:399 authorizes private and public colleges and universities to appoint ex-officio notaries for their campus police departments. R.S. 35:399 provides:

§ 399. Ex officio notaries for police departments

A. Notwithstanding any provisions of the law relative to qualifications of notaries public, each chief of police may designate officers in his office and appoint them as ex officio notaries public.
B. Each officer so appointed may exercise, in the municipality that the police department serves, the functions of a notary pubic only to administer oaths and execute affidavits, acknowledgements, and other documents, all limited to matters within the official functions of the police department for the enforcement of the provisions of any statute which provides for criminal penalties and of the municipal ordinances which the police department is charged with enforcing.
C. Each ex officio notary public shall fulfill the same bond requirements as provided by law for notaries in the parish in which the municipality is located. The municipality shall pay as an expense of the office of the chief of police the costs of the notarial seal, the notarial bond, and any fees required for filing the bond.
D. All acts performed by each ex officio notary public authorized by this Section shall be performed without charge or other compensation.
E. The chief of police may suspend or terminate an appointment made pursuant to this Section at any time, and separation from the employ of the police department shall automatically terminate the powers of the ex officio notary public. (Emphasis added).

It is the opinion of this office that R.S. 35:399 is applicable only to municipal police departments and not to campus police departments.

Page 2

Mr. Steve Hawkland
OPINION #00-184
Page 2

In accord is Attorney General Opinion 93-271, in which the author concluded that R.S. 35:399 does not provide authority for either town clerks or mayors to appoint ex officio notaries for their respective offices, and as applicable here, specifically determined that R.S. 35:399 “is applicable only to police departments and only for the purposes stated”.

Very truly yours,

RICHARD P. IEYOUB
ATTORNEY GENERAL

BY: ________
KERRY L. KILPATRICK
ASSISTANT ATTORNEY GENERAL

KLK:ams

Page 3

Mr. Steve Hawkland
OPINION #00-184
Page 3

Opinion 00-184

73 MUNICIPALITIES
74 NOTARIES – Appointments & Qualifications
LSA-R.S. 35:399

LSA-R.S. 35:399 does not provide authority for colleges or universities to appoint ex officio notaries public for their campus police departments.

Mr. Steve Hawkland
Office of the Secretary of State
P. O. Box 94125
Baton Rouge, LA 70804-9125

Date Received:
Date Released: May 18, 2000

KERRY L. KILPATRICK
ASSISTANT ATTORNEY GENERAL