§ 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.)