§ 121.016.Effect of Other Law

A priority rule, and it points outward rather than inward.

To the extent that a provision of this chapter conflicts with Subchapter C, Chapter 406, Government Code, that subchapter controls with respect to an online notarization as defined by that code.

Two limits keep this narrow. It operates only to the extent of a conflict, and only with respect to an online notarization — so this chapter governs traditional practice untouched.

The other statute is the online notary public regime, which sets who may be commissioned as an online notary, what technology is required, how the recording of the session is kept, and what identity proofing must be performed.

Conflicts were foreseeable because the two chapters were written for different worlds. This one assumes a signer standing in front of an officer with a seal and a bound book; the other assumes a video session, credential analysis, and an electronic record.

The identity provisions are the likeliest point of friction. This chapter closes the list of acceptable evidence to a credible witness, a government photograph identification, or a foreign passport for residential real estate. Online notarization uses its own identity proofing, and where the two differ, that regime prevails.

The section works with the appearance provision rather than against it. That section already permits appearance by two-way audio and video meeting the online notarization requirements; this settles which statute governs when they disagree about anything else.

Placing the priority rule at the end of the chapter is a signal about direction. This chapter accommodates online notarization; it does not regulate it.