§ 66‑271.  Definitions.

The following definitionsapply in this Article:

(1) Authentication. –Certification of the genuineness of an official's signature, seal, or positionwithin the State of North Carolina so the document can be recognized in aforeign jurisdiction.

(2) Department. – TheDepartment of the Secretary of State.

(3) Foreignjurisdiction. – A jurisdiction outside the State of North Carolina.

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

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

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

(7) Secretary. – TheSecretary of State.

(8) Specimen. – A recordof a person's signature, seal, or position as an official within the Statemaintained in the Department. (1998‑228, s. 14; 2005‑391, s. 5.)