Sec. 121.001. OFFICERS WHO MAY TAKE ACKNOWLEDGMENTS OR PROOFS. (a) An acknowledgment or proof of a written instrument may be taken in this state by:

(1) a clerk of a district court;

(2) a judge or clerk of a county court;

(3) a notary public;

(4) a county tax assessor-collector or an employee of the county tax assessor-collector if the instrument is required or authorized to be filed in the office of the county tax assessor-collector; or

(5) an employee of a personal bond office if the acknowledgment or proof of a written instrument is required or authorized by Article 17.04, Code of Criminal Procedure.

(b) An acknowledgment or proof of a written instrument may be taken outside this state, but inside the United States or its territories, by:

(1) a clerk of a court of record having a seal;

(2) a commissioner of deeds appointed under the laws of this state; or

(3) a notary public.

(c) An acknowledgment or proof of a written instrument may be taken outside the United States or its territories by:

(1) a minister, commissioner, or charge d'affaires of the United States who is a resident of and is accredited in the country where the acknowledgment or proof is taken;

(2) a consul-general, consul, vice-consul, commercial agent, vice-commercial agent, deputy consul, or consular agent of the United States who is a resident of the country where the acknowledgment or proof is taken; or

(3) a notary public or any other official authorized to administer oaths in the jurisdiction where the acknowledgment or proof is taken.

(d) A commissioned officer of the United States Armed Forces or of a United States Armed Forces Auxiliary may take an acknowledgment or proof of a written instrument of a member of the armed forces, a member of an armed forces auxiliary, or a member's spouse. If an acknowledgment or a proof is taken under this subsection, it is presumed, absent pleading and proof to the contrary, that the commissioned officer who signed was a commissioned officer on the date that the officer signed, and that the acknowledging person was a member of the authorized group of military personnel or spouses. The failure of the commissioned officer to attach an official seal to the certificate of acknowledgment or proof of an instrument does not invalidate the acknowledgment or proof.

Acts 1985, 69th Leg., ch. 959, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1985. Amended by Acts 1987, 70th Leg., ch. 891, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1987; Acts 1995, 74th Leg., ch. 165, Sec. 18, eff. Sept. 1, 1995; Acts 2001, 77th Leg., ch. 986, Sec. 2, eff. June 15, 2001.