Relating to disclosure under the public information law of certain contact information of a notary public that is maintained by the secretary of state.
LowStandard timeline
Low Cost
Effective:2025-09-01
Enforcing Agencies
Texas Secretary of State
01
Compliance Analysis
Key implementation requirements and action items for compliance with this legislation
Implementation Timeline
Effective Date: September 1, 2025
Compliance Deadline:August 1, 2025 (Recommended). You must file address changes *before* the effective date. Once the law takes effect, data brokers may legally acquire and permanently archive your employees' personal addresses.
Agency Rulemaking: The SOS is not required to issue new rules to implement this. The agency will simply cease redacting this information from public information requests and bulk data sales starting September 1.
Immediate Action Plan
1.Audit: Pull a list of all employees holding a notary commission and cross-reference the address on their notary stamp/certificate with their home address in your HRIS.
2.File: Submit Form 2302 for all at-risk employees by August 1, 2025, to ensure processing prior to the law's effective date.
3.Policy Update: Issue a directive to HR and Compliance teams mandating the use of corporate physical addresses and corporate email addresses for all future notary applications.
4.Security Briefing: Inform employees that this change is being made to protect their privacy and physical safety, specifically to prevent "doxxing" related to sensitive notarizations.
Operational Changes Required
Contracts
Employment Agreements: Review agreements for roles requiring notary commissions. Clauses regarding "tools of the trade" or professional licenses should specify that the employer provides the physical address and email for the commission to protect the employee.
Independent Contractor Agreements: If you utilize mobile notaries, verify that the address they have on file with the SOS matches the contact information in your vendor management system to ensure valid service of process.
Hiring/Training
Onboarding Protocol: Update onboarding checklists for administrative staff. Prohibit the use of personal Gmail/Yahoo accounts or home addresses on the SOS Form 2301 (Application for Appointment).
Remote Work Policy: For remote employees who notarize documents, you must designate a corporate HQ address or a dedicated P.O. Box for their commission. Do not allow them to default to their home address.
Reporting & Record-Keeping
Roster Audit: Conduct an immediate audit of all active notary commissions within your organization. Identify any commission registered to a residential address.
Corrective Filings: File Form 2302 (Change of Address/Name) with the Secretary of State for every employee currently using personal data. Do not wait for their commission renewal cycle.
Fees & Costs
Administrative Costs: The primary cost is the administrative time required to audit rosters and file Form 2302s.
Filing Fees: Budget for potential nominal filing fees associated with mid-term changes to notary records, though the primary impact is operational rather than fiscal.
Strategic Ambiguities & Considerations
Bulk Data Release: The law states the SOS "is not prohibited" from disclosing this data. While it does not explicitly mandate a searchable online database of home addresses, it legally clears the path for the SOS to sell this data in bulk to third-party aggregators. Once this data is sold to a private entity, it is permanently public, regardless of future legislative fixes.
"Home" vs. "Business" Distinction: The SOS will not verify whether an address is residential or commercial. They will disclose whatever is in the "Address" field. The burden is entirely on the registrant to ensure that field does not contain a home address.
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Information presented is for general knowledge only and is provided without warranty, express or implied. Consult qualified government affairs professionals and legal counsel before making compliance decisions.
Currently, certain personal identification information is confidential, including the home phone numbers, home addresses, and email addresses of certain license applicants and license holders. The bill author has informed the committee that this means a database of notaries public formerly made available by the secretary of state's office is no longer available. H.B. 5093 seeks to address this issue by allowing the secretary of state's office to disclose the home address, home phone number, and email address of a notary public.
CRIMINAL JUSTICE IMPACT
It is the committee's opinion that this bill does not expressly create a criminal offense, increase the punishment for an existing criminal offense or category of offenses, or change the eligibility of a person for community supervision, parole, or mandatory supervision.
RULEMAKING AUTHORITY
It is the committee's opinion that this bill does not expressly grant any additional rulemaking authority to a state officer, department, agency, or institution.
ANALYSIS
H.B. 5093 amends the Government Code to establish that the provisions making a license application or certain personally identifying information of an applicant for a license, an individual who holds a license, or an individual who previously held a license issued by certain governmental bodies that is maintained by the government body confidential and excepting the information from the public-availability requirement under state public information law do not prohibit the secretary of state from disclosing the home address, home telephone number, or email address of a notary public appointed under applicable state law.
EFFECTIVE DATE
On passage, or, if the bill does not receive the necessary vote, September 1, 2025.
Honorable Jeff Leach, Chair, House Committee on Judiciary & Civil Jurisprudence
FROM:
Jerry McGinty, Director, Legislative Budget Board
IN RE:
HB5093 by Bhojani (Relating to disclosure under the public information law of certain contact information of a notary public that is maintained by the secretary of state.), As Introduced
No significant fiscal implication to the State is anticipated.
According to the Secretary of State, the agency anticipates that the costs of this bill could be absorbed within existing resources.
Local Government Impact
No significant fiscal implication to units of local government is anticipated.
Source Agencies:
307 Secretary of State
LBB Staff:
JMc, KDw, GP
Related Legislation
Explore more bills from this author and on related topics
HB5093 removes privacy protections for Texas Notaries Public, explicitly authorizing the Secretary of State (SOS) to disclose home addresses, personal telephone numbers, and email addresses to the public. Effective September 1, 2025, any employee utilizing personal contact information for their notary commission faces immediate exposure to public data scraping and potential physical security risks; employers must transition all notary registrations to corporate contact information immediately. Implementation Timeline Effective Date: September 1, 2025 Compliance Deadline: August 1, 2025 (Recommended).
Q
Who authored HB5093?
HB5093 was authored by Texas Representative Salman Bhojani during the Regular Session.
Q
When was HB5093 signed into law?
HB5093 was signed into law by Governor Greg Abbott on June 20, 2025.
Q
Which agencies enforce HB5093?
HB5093 is enforced by Texas Secretary of State.
Q
How urgent is compliance with HB5093?
The compliance urgency for HB5093 is rated as "low". Businesses and organizations should review the requirements and timeline to ensure timely compliance.
Q
What is the cost impact of HB5093?
The cost impact of HB5093 is estimated as "low". This may vary based on industry and implementation requirements.
Q
What topics does HB5093 address?
HB5093 addresses topics including notaries, occupational regulation, occupational regulation--health occupations, occupational regulation--other trades & professions and open records.
Legislative data provided by LegiScanLast updated: November 25, 2025
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