§ 66-271.  Definitions.

The following definitions apply in this Article:

(1) Authentication. - Certification of the genuineness of an official's signature, seal, or position within the State of North Carolina so the document can be recognized in a foreign jurisdiction.

(2) Department. - The Department of the Secretary of State.

(3) Foreign jurisdiction. - A jurisdiction outside the State of North Carolina.

(4) Foreign official. - An individual authorized by a foreign jurisdiction to attest to the genuineness of a document or to the position of an individual within that foreign jurisdiction.

(5) Notary public. - Defined in G.S. 10B-3.

(6) Official. - An individual who is a notary public, an individual who is elected or appointed to hold an office in State government, or an individual who is elected or appointed to hold an office in a local governmental unit of this State.

(7) Secretary. - The Secretary of State.

(8) Specimen. - A record of a person's signature, seal, or position as an official within the State maintained in the Department. (1998-228, s. 14; 2005-391, s. 5.)