July 15, 2011 – Under the recently passed 2011-13 biennial state budget act, responsibility for issuing notary public commissions and registering trademarks and trade names has transferred from the Secretary of State to the Wisconsin Department of Financial Institutions (WDFI).

WDFI reports that it will handle pending matters related to these functions, and all new applications for notary public commissions or the registration or assignment of trademark or trade names should be submitted to WDFI as of July 1, 2011.

The electronic forms for these functions, formerly available through the Secretary of State, are now available on the WDFI website. The website also maintains the database search capability for notaries and trademarks, as well as the notary tutorial exam.

For more information, visit: http://www.wdfi.org/.