eNotary Web Service Consumer’s Guide
Technical Specifications
Version 3.7
February 17, 2012
Prepared by:
David Loftus
Information Technology Division
Texas Secretary of State
Office of the Secretary of State
Austin, TX
Table of Contents
Introduction 3
eNotary Web Service Overview 3
Opening an SOS Direct Account 3
Accepting the eNotary Agreement 4
Location 4
The QueueApplications Method 4
Client Data Object Description 5
Notary Application Object Description 6
Recommended Data Validation 6
Checking the Status of Packets on the Web 7
Appendix A: Agreement Allowing Electronic Submission of Notary Applications and Bonds 8
Appendix B: Valid Personal Name Suffixes 11
Appendix C: Texas Counties 12
Appendix D: USA State Codes 14
Appendix E: Country Codes from ISO 3166 16
Introduction
The eNotary Web Service provides a means to file notary public applications through the Internet. This document is intended for the IT staff of interested organizations, typically bonding companies, as a guide to writing a web service proxy to consume this service.
eNotary Web Service Overview
eNotary may be used to submit notary public applications to the Office of the Secretary of State after the bonding company has opened an SOS Direct account and accepted the eNotary Agreement as described below.
Notary applications must be signed by the applicant. Using eNotary, the bonding company submits data from the application along with a base64-encoded image of the signed application itself as described below.
The transmitted SOAP (Simple Object Access Protocol) envelope will contain two objects: a Client Data Object identifying the bonding company and specifying the payment method for application fees and a Notary Data Object containing the application data and base64-encoded notary application images.
The status of previously submitted envelopes may be checked on the SOS Direct website.
Opening an SOS Direct Account
An SOSDirect Account is required before submitting applications with eNotary. You can open an SOS Direct Account as follows:
· Point your browser to http://www.sos.state.tx.us/.
· Click the SOSDirect icon.
· When the SOS Direct page displays, click “click here to enter.”
· On the Account Login page, scroll to the bottom and click “request for SOSDirect Account.”
· On the SOSDirect Account Acknowledgment page, enter your name and click continue.
· On the second SOSDirect Account Acknowledgment page, complete the displayed form and click “continue.”
· On the third SOSDirect Account Acknowledgment page, enter your payment information and click “continue.”
· On the fourth SOSDirect Account Acknowledgment page, read the Terms of Use Agreement and then click “I Accept.”
· Your account number (SOS Direct Client ID) will be sent to you by e-mail at the address you provided during account set-up.
· After set-up is complete, you may submit envelopes of notary applications by paying the fees either with a credit card or with funds you deposit in this account. Accounts may not go into arrears. A convenience fee of 2.7% will be added to any credit card payment.
Funding an SOS Direct Account:
· To fund an account by check, send the check to the following address. Provide your client ID and indicate that the purpose of the check is to fund the account (a memo to that effect on the check suffices). Call (512) 475-2348 or (512) 463-5604 if you have any questions.
Secretary Of State
Accounts Receivable
P.O. Box 12887
Austin, TX 78711-2887
· You may also fund your account by using a credit card on our SOS Direct website. The convenience fee of 2.7% applies.
· Frost Bank offers a service called Legalease, which may also be used to fund the account. No convenience fee is charged when using Legalease to fund your account.
Accepting the eNotary Agreement
A copy of the eNotary Agreement is included as Appendix A to this guide. Acceptance of the eNotary Agreement is required before submitting applications with eNotary. To accept the eNotary agreement:
· Point your browser to http://www.sos.state.tx.us/.
· Click the SOSDirect icon.
· When the SOS Direct page displays, click “click here to enter.”
· On the Account Login page, enter your User ID and Password and then click “Submit.”
· On the SOSDirect Account Acknowledgment page, click the “continue” button.
· Select the Notary tab to navigate to the Notary Menu.
· On the Notary Menu, select “Accept agreement to File Notary Applications Electronically.”
· Read the eNotary Agreement and click “Accept.”
Location
The URL of the eNotary Web Service is: https://sosdirectws.sos.state.tx.us/eNotary/eNotary.asmx.
The QueueApplications Method
The eNotary Web Service offers a single method named QueueApplications. It sends references to a Client Data Object and sends a Notary Data object to the web service. The Client Data Object contains information identifying the client and specifying the choice of fee payment options. The Notary Data Object contains the notary applications. The web service will return a string indicating the success or failure of the transmission.
Client Data Object Description
The Client Data Object is required to contain the following data elements:
· SOS Direct Client ID.
· SOS Direct Password.
· A one-digit Payment Type indicator: 3 indicates payment by credit card; 4 indicates payment by LegalEase; 5 indicates payment by the SOS Direct account.
· A numeric Envelope ID. It may be up to 9 digits long and must be unique within your system. It will appear as your envelope reference number on the eNotary Status section of our SOS Direct website.
· A one-digit Run Mode Indicator: 1 indicates the envelope contains real data; 2 indicates test data.
The following additional data elements are required if paying by credit card:
· A one-digit Credit Card Issuer indicator: 1 indicates MasterCard; 2 indicates Visa; 3 indicates Discover; 4 indicates American Express.
· The sixteen-digit Credit Card Number.
· The four-digit Credit Card Expiry Year.
· The two-digit Credit Card Expiry Month.
If paying by a Legalease account enter the full sixteen-digit account number in the credit card number element. No entry in the credit card issuer, expiry month, or year elements is required.
The following data elements are required only if paying by credit card and the name on the card differs from the name on the client account:
· Organization Name (up to 300 characters) if the name on the credit card is a business.
· First Name (up to 50 characters) as it appears on the credit card, if the name on the credit card is an individual.
· Middle Name (up to 50 characters) as it appears on the credit card, if the name on the credit card is an individual.
· Last Name (up to 50 characters) as it appears on the credit card, if the name on the credit card is an individual.
· Name Suffix (up to 6 characters) as it appears on the credit card, if the name on the credit card is an individual. Only suffixes in Appendix B are permitted.
· Address Line 1 (up to 50 characters).
· Address Line 2 (up to 50 characters).
· City (up to 50 characters).
· State Code (2 characters) must be state code in Appendix D.
· Postal Code (up to 9 digits).
· Postal Code Extension (up to 6 characters).
· Country (3-character abbreviation) must be country code in Appendix E.
The following data elements are optional:
· Phone Number (up to 16 characters).
· Phone Extension (up to 6 characters).
· Fax Number (up to 16 characters).
· E-Mail (up to 64 characters).
Notary Application Object Description
There must be a Notary Application Data Object for each notary application in the envelope. Each Notary Application Data Object is required to contain the following data elements, unless otherwise noted:
· Application ID (numeric) This is a unique identifier assigned to each notary application by your system. It will appear as a reference on the Status pages on our SOSDirect website.
· Notary Applicant First Name (up to 64 characters).
· Notary Applicant Middle Name (up to 64 characters) is optional.
· Notary Applicant Last Name (up to 64 characters).
· Notary Applicant Name Suffix (up to 64 characters) is optional.
· Notary Applicant Date of Birth (DateTime).
· Notary Applicant Social Security Number (9 digits).
· Notary Applicant Driver License State (2 characters).
· Notary Applicant Driver License Number (up to 16 characters) must be exactly eight digits if a Texas license.
· Notary Applicant Residence Address (up to 128 characters).
· Notary Applicant Residence City (up to 64 characters).
· Notary Applicant Residence State Code (2 characters).[[1]]
· Notary Applicant Residence Postal Code (up to 10 characters).
· Notary Applicant Residence County (up to 64 characters) — see Appendix C.
· Agency Name (up to 256 characters).
· Surety Company (up to 256 characters).
· E-Mail Address (up to 128 characters). Include only if applicant wishes to receive their certificate of commission by e-mail.
· Texas Resident Indicator (‘Y’ or ‘N’).[[2]]
· Felony Conviction Indicator (‘Y’ or ‘N’).[[3]]
· Application Image (Base64 encoded).
Recommended Data Validation
Applications which have data elements that vary in type or size from the above requirements may be rejected by our automated process without being reviewed by a human reviewer. Repeated violations will result in the denial of the use of the web service. We recommend you check for the following in your web service proxy:
· The application image must be present and the image size should be less than 100KB.
· Data should be carefully reviewed to ensure it matches the information shown on the image.
· All of the required elements of the Notary Application object are present. Only the applicant’s middle name and name suffix are optional.
· The social security number is exactly nine digits in length.
· The state code in the applicant’s mailing address is “TX”. Only Texas residents are eligible to be notaries.
· The driver’s license number is not “NONE”. The applicant must have valid identification.
· The applicant’s resident county is the correctly-spelled name of a Texas county. NOTE: some applicants incorrectly read this field as country and enter “USA”.
· The date of birth indicates the applicant is at least 18 years of age.
· If the driver’s license was issued in Texas, the driver’s license number is exactly eight digits in length.
· The Felony Conviction Indicator is “N”. An applicant with a felony conviction, must submit a paper application with attachments concerning the conviction.
· The Texas Resident Indicator is “Y”. Again, only Texas residents are eligible to be notaries.
As our automated process does not have optical scanning capabilities, human reviewers will review the application image. Problems found by human reviewers may include:
· Signatures are not included.
· Insurance agency’s complete address is not given.
Checking the Status of Packets on the Web
You can check the status of your envelope on our SOS Direct Website.
Login to SOSDirect and click the Notary tab to view the Notary menu. On the menu, select Check eNotary Packet Status to view the packets.
Selecting View on the Packet Screen will display the individual notary applications in the packet.
If an application has been rejected, selecting View on the Application Screen will display the rejection letter.
The status of test packets can be accessed at https://uatwebservices.sos.state.tx.us/eNotaryStatus/.
Appendix A: Agreement Allowing Electronic Submission of Notary Applications and Bonds
Terms and Conditions
The Secretary of State will authorize the submission of notary applications and bonds electronically on behalf of a notary under the following terms and conditions:
(1) the submitter must comply with the technical specifications contained in the eNotary Web Service Consumer’s Guide available through the Information Technology Division of the Office of the Secretary of State;
(2) the notary application and the statement of officer signed by the applicant and the surety bond signed by an officer or attorney in fact for the surety must be attached to the electronic submission as an image in the format specified in the eNotary Web Service Consumer’s Guide; and
(3) all fees must be paid by prepaid account or credit card.
Acknowledgment of Receipt
When an “envelope” of electronic notary applications has been received by the Secretary of State in the required format, the Secretary of State will notify the submitter of the successful transmission and receipt. Notification of receipt is not notification that an application will be accepted and the applicant commissioned. All applications will be reviewed by an employee of the Secretary of State before a decision is made to issue a commission.
Payment of Fees
All fees must be paid in advance either through a prepaid account or a credit card. The Secretary of State will accept VISA®, MasterCard®, Discover® and American Express® credit cards. When a credit card is used as the payment method, a convenience fee of 2.7% is assessed on the amount charged. On commission, the applicable fees will be deducted from the prepaid account or the credit card will be charged. On rejection, no fees are charged to the account or to the credit card.
Notice Regarding Office Action on the Application
The Secretary of State will review all applications for compliance with the applicable law. If the application is rejected, the Secretary of State will return a notice of the rejection to the submitter electronically.
If the application is accepted, the Secretary of State will issue a commission. The commission and educational materials will be returned to the notary by regular mail. To check on the status of a notary application, the submitter should review status information on SOSDirect.
Revocation of the Electronic Submission Privilege
If the submitter is not able to consistently comply with the technical specifications and the submissions are failing as a result, the Secretary of State may revoke the privilege of the submitter to submit electronically until all technical issues are resolved to the satisfaction of the Secretary of State.
Record Retention Requirements
It is recommended that the submitter retain the originally signed application and statement of officer for the duration of the commission to which those documents apply. If the submitter desires to destroy the original prior to that time, the submitter should confirm with the Secretary of State that the image file submitted with the application is stored in the Secretary’s computer system.
Applications Indicating Criminal Conviction
Electronic applications on behalf of an applicant who has been convicted of a felony or a crime of moral turpitude will not be accepted. Under these circumstances, the application, the statement of officer, the bond, an explanation of the criminal conviction and the applicable fees must be delivered to the Secretary of State by mail, courier or personal delivery.
Appendix B: Valid Personal Name Suffixes
1 Sr
2 Jr
3 I
4 II
5 III
6 IV