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Free Notary Classses.com This study guide is free. With over 100 pages, it covers all of the same information as if you attended one of our notary preparation seminars

at NotaryClasses.com and can be used to complete your California Notary Education requirements.

(There is a nominal charge of $10 for a Proof of Completion if required.)

Why is this free? It’s really very simple. We provide this study guide free as a marketing tool so that you will be persuaded to come to one of our 1- day notary seminars somewhere in California. Our live seminar only costs $69.95 and we guarantee that if you attend the seminar, you will pass the California State Notary Examination which is always given on the same day.

Do I have to attend a live seminar to become a California notary public? California state law requires that all new notary applicants complete an approved 6-hour course of study and then pass a written state exam. You may complete this requirement at a live seminar or by studying this home study course for at least 6 hours. If studying this guide is sufficient to meet California’s educational requirement, why would I want to take your live seminar instead? There are of course many advantages to taking our live seminar.

1. We guarantee that if you take a live seminar, you will pass the exam!

2. The state exam is always given immediately following our live seminars.

3. The live seminar is only 6 hours and only costs $69.95.

4. Anyone taking the live seminar will receive the required Certificate of Completion at no extra charge and is automatically registered to take the exam. No additional requirements will be necessary to notify the Secretary of State of your intent to become a notary. Everything, including the notary application is handled on the day of the seminar and exam.

5. Great optional Notary supply offers and other services are always available at our seminars.

6. Interacting with our experienced notary instructors is an easy way to clear up any questions about the process of becoming a notary or question regarding the exam. And all of this is done on the same day you take the exam so the material is fresh and easily remembered.

What if I live in an area which is too far for me to travel to take one of your seminars? We suggest that you travel for just a day (or make a weekend out of it with a friend or

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relative) in order to attend a seminar. There are so many conveniences to attending that it makes sense. However; if you absolutely cannot make it to a seminar, you may use this course instead. We do not charge for this course, so if you decide that after studying it that you want to pursue a different notary home study course, there is no further obligation. You will have learned a great deal and we hope that you will remember us in the future. If you would like to use this course to meet your educational requirement, simply sign the included affidavit that you studied for at least 6 hours and fax it over to us. Please understand that while we can offer this course for free, if you choose to use it to fulfill the State’s requirements, our staff will need to prepare paperwork for you to turn into the Secretary of State. The administrative cost for preparing this paperwork including your Certificate of Completion is only $10 which also includes regular postal delivery charges.

Since each seminar location provides the state notary exam immediately following the seminar, you may also choose to take the exam at one of these sites. The cost to use our seminar facility to take your exam is only $30 but remember that you can register for a live notary seminar which includes all printed material, instructor, Certification of Completion, administrative fees and also guarantees you a seat for the exam, not to mention a guarantee of passing the exam.

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How much will everything cost including the seminar fees? There are required costs and optional costs involved with becoming a notary public and we believe that you have the right to know exactly what to expect.

Required costs: Seminar Fee: $69.95 State fee to take the exam: $40

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Thank you for choosing this Home Study Version of the NotaryClasses.com study course for Notaries Public in the state of California. We trust that you will find this Home Study Course easy to follow and self-explanatory. We also trust that this guide will become a useful reference throughout your notary career.

The qualifications for becoming a notary public in California are as follows: 1. If this is a first-time commission, you must complete a required 6-hour educational course. Re-

commissions only require a 3-hour refresher course as long as your notary application is submitted to the Secretary of State and you pass your examination before your current commission expires.

2. You must pass an exam (50 minutes for 30 multiple choice questions) with a score of 70% or greater. 3. After your exam you will need to complete fingerprinting by a live-scan fingerprinting service which is

offered by many sheriff’s offices and private fingerprinting companies. The Secretary of State will send a list of fingerprinting companies to you after you have submitted your notary application. Your fingerprints will be submitted to the DOJ and FBI and checked for criminal history. The Secretary of State will recommend a denial of the notary application for convictions of qualified misdemeanors where less than 10 years has passed since the end of probation or for any felony conviction. A list of qualified misdemeanors

can be found on page 16 in this study guide. 4. You must be a legal resident of California. (No minimum time qualification) 5. You must be a minimum of 18 years of age.

This Home Study Course satisfies the 6-hour educational requirement but you must follow these steps in order to complete the process.

Step 1: Once you have completed at least 6 hours of study with this course, complete the Registration Form and Affidavit on the following pages and fax them to 909-388-1796. Provide a mailing address where we can send you a Certification of Completion with an original signature. The administrative charge for this is $10 which includes the cost of regular postage delivery. Step 2: After receiving your proof of completion by mail, you should schedule your notary exam. All notary exams must be taken in-person at an examination site. The exam is administered by the Cooperative Personnel Services (CPS) at many locations throughout California. To find an examination site, go to the Cooperative Personnel Services webpage for notary exam sites at: http://www.cps.ca.gov/TakeATest/Notary/ or you may attend an exam at one of our seminar locations. The cost of attending an “Exam Only” is $30. Schedule by calling 1-800-873-9865 and referring to the following code: F2009 EXAM ONLY. The Secretary of State requires a $40 fee to process your notary application and examination which you must pay by check or money order only at the examination site. Pre-registration is required and is subject to availability! If you decide to register for a live seminar instead, the seminar cost includes the examination site fees. To register for a seminar at one of our locations, please call us at 800-873-9865 or register on-line at www.NotaryClasses.com. Step 3: If you are taking your exam only at one of our sites and you have pre-registered with us, please arrive at the examination site between 3:45pm – 4:00pm. Late arrivals may not be permitted to enter the examination room!

IF you are taking the exam only, please bring with you the following: 1. A completed Notary application, (see the Notary Application link at www.notaryclasses.com) You must have

the Notary Application completed before you arrive at the seminar testing site. There will not be sufficient time for you to complete this application just prior to your exam.

2. Your identification such as a driver’s license or passport. 3. A check or money order for $40 made payable to The Secretary of State. 4. The Proof of Completion that we mailed to you after once we received your faxed Registration and Affidavit. 5. The completed Registration and Affidavit within this instruction form that you faxed to us.

6. The PROOF OF PURCHASE for your examination site fees and your Proof of Completion. ($40) 7. Be sure to also bring a passport photo and two (2) number 2 pencil and a passport photo (2” x 2”). FAILURE

TO BRING ALL THREE OF THESE ITEMS TO THE EXAMINATION SITE WILL REQUIRE YOU TO RESCHEDULE THE EXAMINATION.

Live notary seminars are given by NotaryClasses.com all over California. See NotaryClasses.com for dates. All Southern California live seminar locations provide live-scan fingerprinting services on site on the day of the seminar. All locations provide passport photo services and assistance in completing the notary application & registration form for seminar students. If you would also like to attend the live notary seminar which begins at 9:00 am, please let our staff know when you pre-register. Any fees paid will be credited and you will only be charged the difference between the those fees and the Live Seminar fee. If you choose to attend the live seminar, please arrive between 8:15 am and 8:45am. BEST WISHES and call us with any questions! 800-873-9865

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REGISTRATION FORM

__________________________________________ (Print name of notary public applicant)

HOW TO PASS CALIFORNIA’S NOTARY EXAM

THIS ____ DAY OF _______ , ______.

_________________________

Signature of student

Identifying information Type of identifying information ______________ (Ca driver’s license for example)

Identifying number _______________________ (Driver’s license number)

State or country of issuance _________________ Expiration date _____________

2

NOTARYCLASSES.COM 6-Hour Approved Home Study

AFFIDAVIT OF COURSE COMPLETION

I, ____________________________________________________________________, (Print name of notary public applicant or notary public completing the approved 6-hour home study course) SWEAR UNDER PENALTY OF PERJURY that I have fully completed a minimum of 6-hours of required notary education by taking and completing the home-study course entitled HOW TO PASS CALIFORNIA’S NOTARY EXAM.

_____________________________________ ___________________ Signature of Applicant Date of Completion

You MUST fully complete 6-hours of notary course study and sign this affidavit under PENALTY OF PERJURY before a Certificate of Completion will be issued. This AFFIDAVIT MUST be sent to us signed and dated. Do not send this form to CPS or Secretary of State.

Additional Information Your address: ________________________________________ ___________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________ Phone Number (_____) _______________ Fax Number (_____) _______________ Type of State DMV issued Driver’s License or ID ________________________________ Identifying number _____________________________________ Expiration date _____________________ State or Country of Issuance ____________________ The Administrative processing fee for issuing this Proof of Completion is $10. Call us to process payment when you fax these forms to us. We accept check or credit card payments. Be sure to check your email for your receipt. Once you receive the Proof of Completion form by mail, you will need to bring that form with you to the exam location or the Secretary of State will not accept your notary application. You must also bring with you a receipt for your Proof of Completion ($10) and a receipt for your exam site fees ($30) or you will not be admitted into the examination site. Remember that registering for our live seminar includes the testing site fees (not the $40 charged by the Secretary of State) and includes your application, exam registration and we guarantee that you will pass the examination! Call us today at 1-800-873-9865. Do everything in one easy step at our seminar!

CALIFORNIA NOTARY

LAWS & EXAM PREPARATION

California State Approved

6-Hr Home-Study Guide Notary Public

Daniel C. Jones, MA.Ed; Notary Public Copyright © 2008 notaryclasses.com. All rights reserved

NOTARYCLASSES.COM Rev 11/22/08

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

Chapter 1

The Office of the Notary Public ………………………………………………… 3

Chapter 2

How to become a Notary …………………………………………….………….. 13

Chapter 3

Independent Notaries VS. Notary Employees ………………..………………… 24

Chapter 4

Completing the Notary Act ……………………………………………………… 29

Chapter 5

Quick Review Proper Identification ..………………………………….……….. 46

Chapter 6

The Notary Journal and Seal ………………………………………….………… 60

Chapter 7

Additional Prohibited Acts as a Notary ………………………………………… 70

Chapter 8

Additional Requirements A Notary Must Know .………………………………. 75

Chapter 9

Allowable Notary Fees ……………………………………………………………80

Chapter 10

Violations, Fines and Penalties …………………………………………………... 84

Chapter 11

Review: Steps to Receiving Your Commission …………………………………..93

Chapter 12

The Test……………………………………………………………………………..95

Sample Notary Exam………………….……………….…………………………...96

APPENDIX

All Purpose Acknowledgment Form (Loose Certificate) ……………….……... A-1

Grant Deed (Example of pre-printed Acknowledgment verbiage)……….….…A-2

Affidavit of Death of Joint Tenant (Example of a pre-printed Jurat) …………A-3

Subscribing Witness Jurat (Proof of Execution) ………………………………..A-4

Journal Entry ……………………………………………………………………...A-5

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CALIFORNIA NOTARY LAWS & EXAM PREPARATION

CHAPTER 1

THE OFFICE OF THE NOTARY PUBLIC

Chapter Objective:

The goal of this chapter is to introduce the general duties of a notary

public which will encompass new vocabularies for many students.

Subsequent chapters will cover most of these duties in greater detail.

At the end of this chapter, the student will recognize the expected duties

of a notary public and will be able to correctly answer general questions

concerning these functions.

Part 1

What is a Notary Public? Almost everyone needs the services of a notary sooner or later, yet the underlying

purposes for the office of the Notary Public are not generally understood by much of the

public whom we serve. Most people know that a notary is used when a document signer

must be identified, but outside of that important role, the various additional duties of a

notary are not generally known. Perhaps the best way of understanding the role of a

notary public is to first examine the fundamental purpose for the office, and then expand

to the duties involved in achieving that purpose.

So, What Is a Notary Public?

The office of the Notary Public is critical to everyday business and personal

transactions. For example, state laws require many documents to be notarized before

recording with a County Clerk office. Quite often, state agencies or private companies

require a signature on a document to be notarized prior to moving forward with

transactions or document requests. There are literally hundreds of types of documents in

every state and even most countries that require the process of notarization.

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A Notary Public is a public servant whose office exists in large part as a measure

to help protect the public from fraud and whose notary actions during the notary

process guarantee that certain minimum required standards have been met. What

are these minimum required standards?

A NOTARY PUBLIC is someone commissioned by the state whose primary

duties include certifying that:

a) The signer(s) personally appeared before the notary at the time of

notarization in the county and on the date indicated within the

Notary Certificate.

b) The signer(s) were properly identified.

c) That if the document required the signer to swear to the

truthfulness of the statements within the document, that the

signer did so in front of the notary.

As we will see later, this description does not cover 100% of the notary duties, but

the underlying principle remains in that notaries are public servants whose important and

careful actions provide an essential layer of protection for the general public. For

example, suppose someone signed a Grant Deed transferring property from one person to

another, but years later the signer granting the property claims that the signature on the

Grant Deed is not his and the property was never legally transferred! How could the new

owner prove that indeed the signature on the Grant Deed was legitimate? In situations

such as these, requiring that such documents undergo notarial standards prior to

recording, two important goals are accomplished: 1) such a procedure makes it more

difficult to engage in fraudulent transactions since personal identifying information is

gathered from the signer at the time of notarization and 2) since the notary retains a

formal record of all notarized acts performed, the legal system has concrete evidence to

offer should the need arise.

Furthermore, notaries act as an “impartial witness” to the signing of important

documents; consequently, the notary may never notarize a document in which they

have a direct financial or beneficial interest. In other words, if the notary is named

within the document as a principal, or if the notary could directly benefit personally or

financially from the signing of the document, that notary may not notarize that document.

Consequently, notarizing documents for a spouse or relative might even be illegal

if the document notarized could have a direct beneficial or financial interest to the notary.

Notaries in community property states such as California should exercise extreme caution

when notarizing documents for a spouse. For instance, if the spouse is requiring a

notarized signature on a pension benefit document, you can easily see that the notary

would have a direct financial interest in the document being notarized, even though he or

she is not named in the document.

Who Commissions the Notary Public?

In California, the Secretary of State commissions the notary for a term of 4 years

after the applicant passes a written multiple-choice examination concerning notary law.

Additionally, the notary must be able to pass a criminal background check. Since the

office of the notary plays such a vital role in ensuring that the general public has some

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minimum protections against fraud, it is important that the notary demonstrate to the state

a background of legal integrity that is consistent with the values of the office itself. A

commissioned notary usually holds office for a term of four years after which the notary

must re-take the exam if he or she wishes to be re-commissioned as a Notary. Currently,

the examination is administered by proctors from the Cooperative Personnel Services

(CPS), which is a company contracted with the Secretary of State to administer notary

exams. Since the CPS proctors administer the exam, they obviously are precluded from

being able to take the examination themselves, and consequently are also not permitted to

seek appointment as a notary public.

In the past, qualified persons seeking appointment as a notary public in California

were permitted to simply schedule an exam with the CPS and upon passing the exam and

meeting the additional requirements we will discuss subsequently, were commissioned as

notary publics. As the office of the notary has changed recently with new legislation, the

State of California issued a new requirement effective in July, 2005 that all applicants

whether re-commissioning or seeking a first term will be required to take an approved 6-

hour notary course prior to testing. Subsequent commissioning will require a 3- hour

refresher course prior to testing.

Once a notary receives a commission in California, the notary may notarize

documents anywhere in the state of California but only within the state of California. You

might imagine that a notary may see many kinds of documents during his or her tenure

and many of these documents may originate outside of the state of California. This does

not present a problem for the notary as long as the document does not require a notary to

perform or state something that a notary is not allowed to comply with as a California

notary public. A California notary is always subject to the laws and limitations of

California regardless of the requirements of other states or countries. Hence it becomes

imperative that a notary commissioned in California become very familiar with

California legislation pertaining to his or her office. We will discuss this legislation

throughout the course, but first, we need to understand what duties a notary may be called

upon to perform as a California appointed notary.

The General Duties of a Notary Public

As suggested in the opening section of this chapter, most people associate a

notary with obtaining identification for the signer or executor of a document, but there

are really a number of other duties of a notary that are not as well known. We will

introduce eight specific duties of a notary which are often referred to as “notary acts” and

then discuss several of these duties more thoroughly in subsequent chapters. That said, it

is true that 90% of all notary duties actually performed include identifying the document

signers and actually, most notaries find that almost all of their notary requests are one of

two primary duties: 1) taking an acknowledgment and 2) administering a jurat.

Taking Acknowledgments

The most common duty of a notary is to take an acknowledgment.

Taking an acknowledgment means that the document signer personally

appears before the notary at the time of notarization, either signs the

document in front of the notary or, if signed prior to presentation to the

notary, acknowledges that the signature is indeed his or hers and

6

acknowledges to the notary that he or she signed the document in his or

her authorized capacity (i.e. CEO or company partner if applicable).

Additionally, an acknowledgment requires that the notary has properly

identified the document signer. Beginning January 1, 2008, the Certificate

of Acknowledgment is executed by the notary under penalty of perjury. A

notary who willfully states as true any material fact known to be false can

be subject to a civil penalty of up to $10,000.

Administering a Jurat The second most often-completed notary act is when the notary must

administer a jurat. A jurat is a specific notary act in which the signer

must personally appear before the notary, swear an oath or affirmation

to the notary regarding the truthfulness of the contents within the

document and must sign the document in front of the notary. The

document signer in this case is sometimes referred to as an affiant since he

or she is making an affidavit that the contents of the document are true.

Effective January 2005, the notary must also properly identify the signer

of a jurat.

You should note that the notary is never responsible for the accuracy of the

information within the document nor does the notary ever guarantee the document’s

veracity. This assumes, of course, that the notary is not aware of any fraudulent

information contained within the document at the time of notarization. A notary who

notarizes a document that contains information known by the notary to be false can be

subject to criminal prosecution as a misdemeanor which carries the potential for

incarceration and suspension or revocation of their commission. The notary may also be

financially liable for any losses incurred as a result of his or her action.

If you are a new notary applicant, you undoubtedly have many questions

regarding these two acts but be assured that we will cover both of these duties in great

detail in Chapter 4. Our purpose now is simply providing an introduction to these terms.

You will become very familiar with each of these notary acts before the end of this guide.

Remember that as a notary, at least 90% of all documents you will notarize will fall into

one of these two notary acts, however, there are six more notary acts with which you still

need to become familiar.

Less Common Notary Acts

Taking a Power of Attorney A Power of Attorney is a document which grants the legal authority for

someone to sign on behalf of another person. Quite often, for example, a

spouse may execute a Power of Attorney to the other spouse in case

documents must be signed during a period of time when the spouse

granting the Power of Attorney cannot appear before a notary at the time

of notarization.

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Certifying a Copy of a Power of Attorney

Other than a copy of recorded items in the Notary Journal, a copy of a

Power of Attorney is the only document in California that a notary may

certify. Certification means that the copy was examined and compared to

the original by the notary and is an exact duplicate of the original. A

Certified Copy of a Power of Attorney has the same legal force and effect

as the original document.

Taking an Advance Health Care Directive

When someone in California desires to formalize their wishes regarding

their own health care, they can complete a document called an “Advance

Health Care Directive”. A notary is quite often called upon to notarize

this document which often includes completing an acknowledgment.

Provide Copies of Journal Entries

A notary is required to 1) Furnish Certified Copies of journal entries to

the Secretary of State upon request. The notary must respond in the time

provided in the request from the Secretary of State. 2) A notary is required

to provide a copy of a line item from their journal within 15 business days

after the receipt of the request from a member of public or acknowledge

that no such item exists. 3) A notary must provide the journal for

examination and copying in the presence of the notary upon receipt of a

subpoena duces tecum or a court order and must certify the copies if

requested.

Demand Debts or Protest Non-Payment

Another duty of a notary in California is to ―demand payments of bills of

exchange and to protest them in the event of non-payment‖. This duty

is really a carry-over from duties of a notary during the 19th

century.

Briefly, a Bill of Exchange is a document drawn between parties which

one of the parties uses as evidence of money owed. It was a convenient

and popular substitute for carrying cash usually from one county to

another. If the party to whom the Bill of Exchange is presented decides not

to honor the payment, it was a notary’s duty to formally “demand

payment” or “certify the protest” as to why the payment would not be

made. It is rather unlikely that a notary today would be requested to

provide such a service and if presented with such a request, the notary

should not proceed unless under the direction of an attorney.

Confidential Marriages

Unlike some other states, California notaries do not perform marriages.

However, when a couple wishes to be married through a Confidential

Marriage, a notary, under the following conditions may authorize the

confidential marriage. A Confidential Marriage is most often issued for

persons who do not wish their record of marriage to be public knowledge.

These records are sealed to everyone except the bride and groom or upon

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court order. If a notary wishes to authorize a confidential marriage, he or

she must contact the County Clerk and request approval. As a condition

of approval, the notary must attend a class offered upon arrangement with

the County Clerk and any license issued for this reason is valid for 90 days

and may only be used in the county in which it was issued which also

must be the county in which the notary resides. The notary would

complete a jurat in this case indicating that the parties personally appeared

before the notary, signed before the notary and that the notary

administered an oath or affirmation to the signers. The notary authorizing

the confidential marriage is not necessarily the official who performs the

marriage. A notary wishing to perform the marriage must be a member of

the clergy or other official normally permitted to officiate marriages.

Approval may be revoked by the County Clerk if the notary does not

follow required procedures or otherwise violates notary law.

Some Common Documents Requiring Notarization

There are hundreds if not thousands of different forms to be notarized which

would be impractical for us to attempt a complete listing; however, a few of the most

common are listed below for your review.

Grant Deeds

Grant Deeds are used to transfer property from the Grantor(s) to the Grantee(s).

Quitclaim Deeds

Quitclaim Deeds are a type of Grand Deed. This document also transfers

property.

Affidavit of Death of Joint Tenant or Trustees

If property is being vested (held) in joint tenancy or in a trust, and one of the joint

tenants or trustees dies, California allows someone to file an Affidavit of Death Of

Joint Tenant or Trustee which essentially removes the person from the property

title.

Power of Attorney

A Power of Attorney grants permission for someone to legally sign documents for

someone else.

Deed of Trust, Security Agreement or Mortgage Agreement

These documents are used to encumber by agreement the borrower by placing the

property into collateral until the note or promise to pay is completely satisfied.

Deed of Reconveyance

Once the borrower has satisfied the note (paid off the amount owed through re-

finance, sales or complete satisfaction), a Deed of Reconveyance is issued

indicating that the property is no longer held in collateral.

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Chapter Summary The Office of the Notary Public

Introduction

WHAT IS A NOTARY PUBLIC?

A Notary Public is essentially a public servant whose office exists

primarily as a measure to help protect the public against fraud and whose

notary actions guarantee that certain minimum required standards have

been met during the signing of documents.

A NOTARY PUBLIC is someone commissioned by the state whose primary

duties include certifying that:

a) The signer(s) personally appeared before the notary at the time of

notarization in the county and on the date indicated within the

Certificate of Acknowledgment or Jurat.

b) The signer(s) were properly identified.

c) That if the document required the signer to swear to the truthfulness of

the statements within the document, that the signer did so in front of

the notary.

1. It is important that the notary always remains an IMPARTIAL

WITNESS to the signing of documents which they notarize. As an

impartial witness, a notary may never notarize documents for his or her

own signature or any document which has a direct financial or beneficial

interest to the notary.

2. In California, a notary may notarize documents for a spouse or relative,

but that document may not have a direct beneficial or financial interest

to the notary. Notaries should be very careful in what documents they

notarize for spouses in California because of the community property

laws.

3. The California Secretary of State commissions notaries for 4-year terms

after which the notary must retake the exam in order to be re-

commissioned.

4. Notaries who are commissioned in California may notarize documents

anywhere within the state of California.

5. Notaries are governed by the laws of California. If notarizing documents

originating from other states or countries which require the notary to

engage in any act which is illegal in California, the notary must not

comply with that request.

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DUTIES OF A NOTARY

Taking Acknowledgments 6. The most common duty of a notary is to take an acknowledgment.

Taking an acknowledgment means that the document signer personally

appears before the notary at the time of notarization, either signs the

document in front of the notary or, if signed prior to presentation to the

notary, acknowledges that the signature is indeed his or hers and

acknowledges to the notary that he or she signed the document in his

or her authorized capacity (i.e. CEO or company partner if applicable).

Additionally, the notary is required to properly identify the document

signer.

Beginning January 1, 2008, the Certificate of Acknowledgment is

executed by the notary under penalty of perjury. A notary who willfully

states as true any material fact known to be false can be subject to a civil

penalty of up to $10,000.

Administering a Jurat (or taking an Affidavit) 7. The second most often-completed notary act is when the notary must

administer a jurat. A jurat is a specific notary act in which the signer

must personally appear before the notary at the time of notarization,

swear an oath or affirmation to the notary regarding the truthfulness of the

contents within the document and sign the document in front of the

notary. The document signer in this case can be referred to as an affiant

since he or she is making an affidavit. Additionally, the notary is required

to properly identify the document signer.

8. The notary is never responsible for the accuracy of the information

within the document nor does the notary ever guarantee the document’s

veracity. This assumes, of course, that the notary is not aware of any

fraudulent information contained within the document at the time of

notarization. A notary who notarizes a document which contains

information known by the notary to be false can be convicted of a

misdemeanor which carries the potential for criminal prosecution, jail time

and suspension or revocation of their commission.

Taking a Power of Attorney

9. A Power of Attorney is a document which grants the legal authority for

someone else to sign on behalf of another person. Quite often, for

example, a spouse may execute a Power of Attorney to the other spouse in

case documents must be signed during a period of time when the spouse

granting the Power of Attorney cannot appear before a notary at the time

of notarization.

11

Certifying a Copy of a Power of Attorney

10. Other than a copy of recorded items in the Notary Journal, a copy of a

Power of Attorney is the only document in California that a notary may

certify. Certification means that the copy was examined and compared to

the original by the notary and is an exact duplicate of the original. A

Certified Copy of a Power of Attorney will have the same force and effect

as the original.

Taking an Advance Health Care Directive 11. When someone in California desires to formalize their wishes regarding

their own health care, they can complete a document called an “Advance

Health Care Directive”. A notary is quite often called upon to notarize

this document which often includes completing an acknowledgment.

Certifying Copies of Journal Entries

12. A notary is required to 1) Furnish Certified Copies of journal entries to

the Secretary of State upon request. The notary must respond in the time

provided in the request from the Secretary of State. 2) A notary is required

to provide a copy of a line item from their journal within 15 business days

after the receipt of the request from a member of public or acknowledge

that no such item exists. 3) A notary must provide the journal for

examination and copying in the presence of the notary upon receipt of a

subpoena duces tecum or a court order and must certify the copies if

requested.

Demand Debts or Protest Non-Payment

13. Another duty of a notary in California is to ―demand payments of bills of

exchange and to protest them in the event of non-payment‖. This duty

is almost never requested of a notary today because of technological

advances in such transactions. It is recommended that “protests” be issued

only under direction of an attorney.

Confidential Marriages

14. Unlike some other states, California notaries do not perform marriages.

However, when a couple wishes to be married through a Confidential

Marriage, a notary, under the following conditions may authorize the

confidential marriage. If a notary wishes to authorize a confidential

marriage, he or she must contact the County Clerk and request approval.

As a condition of approval, the notary must attend a class offered upon

arrangement with the County Clerk and any license issued for this reason

is valid for 90 days and may only be used in the county in which it was

issued which also must be the county in which the notary resides. The

notary would complete a Jurat.

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Check Your Knowledge

1. A notary public’s duties include certifying that the signer personally

___________________________ before the notary and at the time of

_____________________________ and in the county indicated in the notarial

certificate.

2. A notary must also certify that the signer presented proper

___________________ at the time of notarization.

3. A notary who willfully states as true any material fact known to be false can be

subject to a civil penalty of up to ____________.

4. Notaries in California receive their commissions from the California

_____________________________ of _________________ and are governed by

the laws of _________________________ regardless of the notary requirements

in other states.

5. An Acknowledgment is a specific notary act which guarantees the signer

personally ___________________ before the notary at the time of notarization,

proved their ____________ to the notary and acknowledged that they signed the

document in his or her __________________ _________________.

6. A jurat is a notary act which certifies that the signer personally _______________

before the notary, _____________________ the document before the notary and

took an _________________ or ______________________ as to the truthfulness

of the statements within the document. Additionally, the notary is required to

properly identify the document signer.

7. An affiant is one who makes an ________________ which is a sworn statement

pertaining to the truthfulness of the contents within a document.

8. A certified copy of a power of attorney has the same force and _____________ as

the original.

9. A notary is required to furnish certified copies of journal entries to the Secretary

of State upon request and to do so within the ________________ specified in the

request.

10. The only document that a notary may certify in the State of California is a copy of

a ________________ ________ ____________________ and a copy of their

journal.

Answers: 1. appeared, notarization 2.identification 3. $10,000 4. Secretary of State, California 5. appeared, identification,

authorized capacity 6. appeared, signed, oath, affirmation 7. affidavit 8. effect 9. time 10. Power of Attorney

13

CHAPTER 2 HOW TO BECOME A NOTARY

Chapter Objective:

This section will describe the process and the laws governing various

aspects of becoming a notary. The student will be introduced to the

proper steps and procedures of becoming a notary so that at any time

following the course, the student will have sufficient information to

complete their commissioning procedures.

QUALIFICATIONS TO BECOME A CALIFORNIA NOTARY

As with any other profession, we would expect that notaries must meet minimum

qualifications. The qualifications are specified by California state law and include the

following:

1. A notary in California must be a legal resident of the State of

California (no minimum time required). Please note that while U.S.

Citizenship is not required, the applicant must be a legal resident.

2. A notary must be at least 18 years old

3. The notary applicant must pass a written exam with a score of 70% or

greater.

4. All notary applicants must pass a background check.

5. All notary commissions issued after July 1,2005 will require the

completion of a state approved 6-hour notary course prior to

commissioning. The applicant must submit a “Proof of Completion” to

the Secretary of State along with the application. You could qualify for

a 3-hour course for subsequent commissioning if you submit the

application (at the time of taking the exam) while your previous

commission is still active. This also requires the submission of a

“Proof of Completion”. The Proof of Completion is valid for two (2)

years and the exam results are valid for one (1) year.

Legal Residency

As a notary applicant, you will be expected to list a permanent California address

on your application at the testing site. There is no minimum time for which you must

have been a California resident, but without that California address on your application,

your application will be denied. As an additional note, your application will ask for a

primary place of business address. If you plan to function as a notary from an office site

or business address other than your home, be sure to list that address as your business

address. If your primary place of business is in a county other than your residency, your

commission will be within that county, not your home address county.

Age Limitation of 18

A notary may not be commissioned until he or she is 18 years of age. As you will

discover in subsequent sections, it will take several weeks from the time you take your

exam until you are commissioned due to fingerprinting requirements and background

checks. If you are currently 17 years old, you should consider waiting until you are 18

14

before you take the exam since your application will be completed on the day of your

exam.

The Written Exam

Beginning July 2005, all notary candidates will be required in addition to the

exam, to take an approved 6-hour notary course prior to commissioning. Subsequent

commissioning will require a 3-hour refresher course prior to testing. The notary

applicant will submit a Proof of Completion along with their initial application to the

Secretary of State at the examination site. The Proof of Completion is valid for two (2)

years and the exam results are valid for one (1) year.

A notary is commissioned after passing a written examination with a score of at

least 70%. The notary applicant may complete the registration process during the seminar

or afterwards. Testing is conducted by the Cooperative Personnel Services (CPS) at

locations throughout California. To find a testing location and register for the exam,

follow this link: http://www.cps.ca.gov/takeatest/notary/schedule.asp or call them at: CPS Human Resource Services

Notary Public Examination Services (916) 263-3520

There are currently 30 multiple-choice questions on the exam and you must

answer at least 70% correctly to pass. This means that you may not miss more than 9

questions on the Notary exam. The content of the exam is covered in the Notary Public

Handbook. The handbook is available online at:

http://www.sos.ca.gov/business/notary/notary.htm and this course is derived from that

publication with the intent to provide assistance in explaining the regulations through an

instructional format.

Your completed notary application will be submitted at the place of examination, and

will then be forwarded to the Secretary of State for review. Please note that a fee of $40,

($20 for the application and $20 for the exam) will be due at that time. You must pay

with either check or money order, as the state will not accept cash. You will need to print

your name and last 4 digits of your social security number at the bottom left portion of

the check.

You will need to bring to the testing site identification such as:

A valid DMV issued driver’s license from any state.

A State issued ID.

A current U.S. or foreign passport.

A Military ID Card

The CPS will not accept a VISA or Student ID card for identification. If you have

an Alien Registration Card, you will need to know your number when you fill out the

application.

Beginning January 1, 2008, all notary applicants must also submit a 2‖ x 2‖

color passport photograph of himself or herself to the Secretary of State along with

the application.

15

If you have any further questions about your identification documents or change

of name, contact the Secretary of State, Notary Division at:

Business Programs Division

Notary Public Section

P.O. Box 942877

Sacramento, CA 94277-0001

916-653-3595

916-653-9580 (fax)

Once you take the exam, you will need to wait 7 to 10 business days before your

results are mailed to you; however, your results may be accessed on line at:

https://cmas.cps.ca.gov/CMAS/login.aspx or go to www.notaryclasses.com and follow

the link provided for you. You must still wait for 7-10 business days before the results

will be posted. You will not be able to call the CPS for your test scores due to privacy

acts and when you access the website for your results, you will need to obtain a

password. The directions on the website will provide you with a telephone number to call

should you need to obtain a password by phone. Keep in mind that you will only be able

to obtain a password by phone during regular business hours. Once you obtain your

password, enter your social security number and password in the fields requiring this

information and your testing score will be shown. You will not know which questions, if

any you missed, only your raw score. If your test scores are not available yet, you will

receive a message indicating that you are not in the system. Don’t worry! If you took the

exam and you correctly indicated your social security number on your application, you

will get into the system. Keep checking day to day…you will be there soon.

Scoring less than 70% on the exam will require you to retake the exam. To re-take

the exam, simply contact the CPS at

http://www.cps.ca.gov/takeatest/notary/schedule.asp or call them at (916)263-3520 to

request a new test date at a time and location suitable for you. You may retake the exam

no sooner than the next calendar month and will need to bring the copy of the fail letter to

the exam site along with a $20 re-examination fee.

After the Examination

Once you have received notice that you have passed the exam, you will need to

provide fingerprints required for your background check. This is called obtaining a Live

Scan. The application and locations for the Live Scan are available online at the

Secretary of State’s website http://www.sos.ca.gov/business/notary/notary.htm. A

good location to check is usually at a sheriff’s station, not the police department.

Unfortunately, you will need to go through the live scan process even if you have

recently completed a live scan for another purpose. All notary applicants must submit

fingerprints to the Department of Justice and to the Federal Bureau of Investigation and

the Secretary of State will be informed of any results as well as any subsequent arrests.

A Notary Commission lasts four years after which a notary may apply for re-

commissioning. A notary whose commission is expiring can retake the examination

no sooner than one year prior to the termination date of his or her commission

because the exam results are valid for one year.

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Background Checks:

Your application is reviewed by the Secretary of State for acceptance or denial of the

commission. Grounds for refusal, revocation or suspension of a notary commission

include the following as found within The Notary Public Handbook:

Substantial and material misstatement or admission in the application.

Application denial will be recommended for the failure to disclose any

arrest or conviction! You must disclose all arrests and convictions on your

application including any convictions which had later been dismissed. Call

the Secretary of State, Notary Department if you have any questions about

whether or not a particular incident on your record must be disclosed. If

you do not recall the details concerning your arrest(s) and or conviction(s),

you can contact the California Department of Justice at (916) 227-3849.

See the NOTARY PUBLIC HANDBOOK, Secretary of State.

Conviction of a felony.

Conviction of a disqualifying misdemeanor where less than 10 years has

passed since the completion of probation.

Some examples of disqualifying convictions: (From CPS Application)

Accessory

Arson-related offenses

Assault

Auto theft

Battery

Burglary

Carrying a concealed weapon

Carrying a loaded firearm in a public place

Child molestation

Child pornography

Conspiracy

Discharge of a firearm in a public place or into an inhabited dwelling

Drugs, possession for sale

Embezzlement

Escape without force

Failure to comply with a court order

Failure to pay child support

Failure to return to confinement

False financial statements

False imprisonment

Forgery

Fraud involving, but not limited to, bank cards, credit cards, insufficient

funds/checks, insurance, mail, MediCal or MediCare, real estate, tax, and

welfare.

Fraudulent impersonation of a peace officer

Hit and run

Kidnapping-related offenses

Manslaughter

Pimping and pandering

17

Possession of an unregistered firearm

Practicing without a license when a license is required

Prostitution

Rape

Receipt of stolen property

Resisting or threatening a peace officer

Robbery

Solicitation

Statutory rape

Tax evasion

Terrorist threats

Theft, grand and petty, including burglary and robbery

Threats to commit a crime involving death or great bodily injury

Child Support

Applicants who are not in compliance with child support requirements may be

granted temporary commissions or may be denied commissions until the candidate comes

into compliance. Subsequent non-compliance may result in suspension or revocation of

your commission.

Receiving Your Notary Commission

Within 8-12 weeks upon submitting your live scan, you will receive your notary

Commission from the Secretary of State. There are times when the Secretary of State

may take a few extra weeks to process these background checks, so you should not be

surprised if you have not received your commission within the expected time frame.

Your letter of commission will include your sequential commission number and an

authorization to manufacture your notary seal. If, for any reason, you must manufacture

additional seals anytime during your commission, you must obtain authorization from the

Secretary of State who will forward you a new application to manufacture a notary seal.

Instructions will also be provided which indicate that you have 30 calendar days

to do the following:

File a surety bond of $15,000 (purchased from a California admitted surety

firm) with the county clerk in the county in which you plan to operate as

your principal place of business.

Take, subscribe and file an oath of office with the county clerk in the county

in which you plan to operate as your principal place of business.

The Surety Bond

The notary is personally liable for notarial acts completed improperly, illegally or

through negligence. This means that if you do something illegal or neglect to fully carry

out your required duties as a notary, you may be sued personally. This bond is a

protection for the public against your actions (or inaction such as failing to administer an

oath when required). This bond offers no protection for you as the notary. If you are held

liable for damages because you did not exercise due care and diligence, you will be

personally responsible to pay the damages and the bonding insurance company will

aggressively seek the full return of the money spent on your behalf up to the $15,000

bond amount. Keep in mind that the $15,000 is not a limitation on the amount of damages

18

for which you may be sued, it is the required amount you must have available through a

licensed surety company and filed with the county clerk.

Errors and Omissions Insurance

As stated earlier, notaries are personally and financially liable for any improperly

executed notary act. For this reason, notaries often choose to obtain errors and omissions

insurance for financial protection. This is not a legal requirement, but it is a very good

idea. Be sure to shop around for this and when comparing prices, find out whether the

price quoted is for one year or for four years. Many companies quote a price for their

E&O insurance but charge annual or semi-annual premiums. Contact NotaryClasses.com

at 800-873-9865 if you would like suggestions on where to obtain your Bond or E&O

insurance. You can obtain higher amounts than $15,000 if you feel more comfortable

such as $50,000 or $100,000 policies, but remember, while E&O insurance will protect

you financially up to the amount of your policy, you will still be legally liable if you

perform illegal or negligent notarial actions.

Taking and Subscribing Your Oath of Office

You also have the limited time of 30 days to take and subscribe your oath of

office either directly at the County Clerk’s office or with another notary in the county

which you have listed on your application as your primary place of business. This may be

different from your county of residence. This will be the county in which you plan to

perform 51% or more of your notary services. If you are working from your home, it may

very well be your county of business as well.

Subscribing your oath means that you have signed a statement regarding your

oath of office which states in part, that you will promise to fully and faithfully carry out

the duties required of a notary public.

Filing Your Oath and Bond

This can be done in person or by certified mail. Specific instructions about how to

do that will be provided to you in the letter you receive from the Secretary of State. If you

fail to file the oath and the bond within 30 calendar days, your commission will be null

and void and will need to re-apply all over again, resubmit fingerprints via live-scan from

the DOJ and the FBI and pay $20 for re-application fee; however, your testing score is

valid for a full year. Notarizing documents without a valid commission is illegal and will

require all documents notarized by you after that date to be re-notarized by a duly

commissioned notary. If you notarize a document which encumbers someone into

property, such as a Deed of Trust, and you are not commissioned, you will be guilty of a

felony! (A Deed of Trust is a document which secures a property as collateral until the

loan on the property is paid in full.)

Remember that once you receive your commission, you may notarize anywhere in

the State of California but you are always under the laws of California. Your stamp

indicates the county where your bond and oath are filed, and does not limit your notary

services to that county.

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Items You Will Need as a Notary

The most important ―tools of the notary trade‖ aside from the actual notary seal

are:

1) A notary journal

2) Acknowledgment forms

3) Jurat forms

4) Fingerprinting device

The Notary Journal

Every notarial act requires the notary to record certain information in an official

Journal of Notary Acts. You will need to have a journal before you complete your first

notarization. Once you have passed your exam, vendors of notary supplies will solicit

you by mail. As with anything else you buy, contact several for pricing as they really do

vary among vendors. Perhaps even more important is the style of journal you purchase.

All journals will have entries for required information, but you may find some styles

more useful than others.

Acknowledgment Pads

Certain types of notary acts require you to attach an official Acknowledgment

page to the document. We will discuss this in detail later, but this is another item you will

want to purchase prior to your first notary assignment. You can usually use the same

vendor as used for the notary journal as that vendor will likely have all of the necessary

items required.

Jurat Form or Stamp

Since the wording of all Jurats changed in 2008, you will want to have a way to

correct any Jurats that are not in compliance. There are two ways to make this change

with a Jurat. Use a loose Jurat page with proper wording or use a Jurat stamp. The Jurat

stamp will be a notary tool you will use many times. Find one with a good price but be

confident of the quality before you purchase. They are really not very expensive, but a

faulty Jurat stamp can be an absolute headache.

Fingerprinting Device

Some notary acts require a fingerprinting device more commonly referred to as a

thumbprint pad. Look for one which is referred to as “inkless” or “disappearing” which

means that while the thumbprint is permanent on the paper, the ink should rub off of the

thumb leaving little or no residue or staining. Your client will thank you and you will not

have to take a supply of tissues with you to each appointment.

The Notary Seal

Finally, you will need your notary seal. While you may purchase the other items

listed prior to receiving your commission, you may not purchase your Notary Seal until

you have received your letter of commission from the Secretary of State. The letter of

commission will include a Certificate of Authorization to have notary seals

manufactured. This must be done through a company licensed to do so by the Secretary

of State. No stamp manufacturer may solicit or manufacture a Notary Seal without first

20

being approved to do so by the Secretary of State. A listing of authorized seal

manufacturers will be included in your letter of commission.

You will submit the original Certificate of Authorization to your selected

authorized seal manufacturer who will make and send you your notary seals. Most

notaries obtain two seals, but this is not a requirement. At the time of this printing, the

cost to have a Notary Seal manufactured should be around $25.

Chapter Summary HOW TO BECOME A NOTARY

1. Qualifications to become a notary are: a. Must be at least 18 years of age

b. Pass a written exam with a score of 70% or greater

c. Be a legal resident of California

d. Pass a background check

e. All notary commissions issued after July 1,2005 will require the

completion of a state approved 6-hour notary course prior to

commissioning. The applicant must submit a “Proof of

Completion” to the Secretary of State along with the application.

You could qualify for a 3-hour course for subsequent

commissioning if you submit the application (at the time of taking

the exam) while your previous commission is still active. This also

requires the submission of a “Proof of Completion”. The Proof of

Completion is valid for two (2) years and the exam results are valid

for one (1) year.

2. Since the exam results are valid for one year, a notary whose commission

is expiring can take the exam no sooner than one year prior to the

termination date of his or her commission.

3. The original application fee is $20 and the testing fee is $20. You will

need to pay a total of $40 at the testing site and must be in the form of a

check or money order made payable to the Secretary of State. All notary

applicants must also submit a 2” x 2” color passport photograph to the

Secretary of State along with his or her application.

4. Background checks: You will complete an application for Notary

commission at that time. This application will include information which

will be used by the Secretary of State to complete your background check.

Failure to list arrests or convictions on your application may be cause for

denial. Even convictions which have been dismissed must be disclosed.

The Secretary of State will recommend denial for conviction of a felony

and any disqualifying misdemeanors where probation for that offence has

been completed less than 10 years ago.

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5. The test consists of 30 multiple-choice questions, and you can miss a

maximum of 9 questions.

6. It will take 7-10 working days for the CPS to send out a letter indicating

whether a student passed or failed the exam. At around 10 working days

from the date of the exam, you may be able to see your scores on line at:

https://cmas.cps.ca.gov/CMAS/login.aspx or go to www.notaryclasses.com and follow the link provided for you.

You may need to call the CPS at (916) 263-3520 in order to obtain a

password during regular business hours. Do not call them for scores

because they will not give them to you by phone due to the privacy acts.

7. Notary testing scores are valid for 1 year. Re-testing fees are $20. In the

event you do not pass the initial exam, you may not retake the exam

within the same calendar month. When taking the re-examination, be

sure to bring a copy of the fail letter you received along with your

identification. Contact the Cooperative Personnel Services at

http://www.cps.ca.gov/takeatest/notary/schedule.asp or 916-263-3520

for testing dates and locations in your area.

8. Once you have received your pass letter you should have fingerprints

taken via live scan. An application for the fingerprints, as well as

locations for the fingerprints can be found on the Secretary of State

website http://www.sos.ca.gov/business/notary/notary.htm. Complete

your live scan as soon as possible because it will take at least 10-12 weeks

(possibly longer) for your background check to be completed and your

commission to be issued.

9. All notary applicants must submit fingerprints to the DOJ and FBI for a

background check. The Secretary of State will be notified of any results as

well as any subsequent arrests.

10. Anyone not in compliance with child support payments may have their

applications denied or may receive a temporary commission only. Notaries

who do not remain in compliance with child support requirements may

have their commissions suspended or revoked by the Secretary of State.

11. After passing your exam and your background check is approved, you will

receive your letter of commission. You will have 30 days to take,

subscribe and file an oath and bond with the Office of the County

Clerk in the county in which you indicate on your application will be

your principal county of business. This may be done by certified mail or

in person but you may not notarize documents until you do so as your

commission is not valid without an oath and bond on file. If you cannot go

directly to the County Clerk’s office to take and subscribe your oath, you

may use a notary within that county but you will need to ensure enough

time for certified mailing to the County Clerk. You will need to take the

22

“Oath of Office” form to the notary public, take your oath and subscribe

your name on that form in front of the notary who will notarize your oath.

You will be responsible for ensuring that it is sent to the County Clerk by

certified mail. Your oath and bond MUST be on file within 30 days.

12. Your bond must be purchased from a California admitted surety

company and must be in the amount of $15,000. The notary is

personally and financially liable for notarial acts completed improperly,

illegally or through negligence. The bond offers protection to the public in

the event you are sued and in no way protects you. Although it is not

legally required, many notaries purchase a separate Errors and Omissions

insurance for additional personal protection.

13. Your commission is not valid until you have satisfactorily taken,

subscribed and filed the oath and bond. Failure to file your oath and

bond within 30 calendar days will result in voidance of your

commission. You will need to re-apply all over again and pay $20 for

your application as well as resubmit fingerprint via livescan to the DOJ

and FBI.

14. Along with your letter of commission from the Secretary of State, you will

receive an authorization to manufacture your Notary Seal and a listing of

authorized seal manufacturers. You will send your original authorization

to the seal manufacturer of your choice. If, for any reason, you must

manufacture additional seals anytime during your commission, you must

obtain authorization from the Secretary of State who will forward you

a new authorization to manufacture a notary seal.

15. Before taking your first assignment, you will need to obtain your notary

seal and take with you the “tools of the notary trade‖.

1) A notary journal- required for every notarial act

2) Acknowledgment forms- required frequently for correcting

wording on California Acknowledgments

3) Jurat form or stamp- required frequently for Jurat acts

4) Fingerprinting device- required when notarizing commonly

notarized real estate documents which are recorded in the County

records.

16. A notary’s commission lasts for 4 years after which the notary must

complete the required education course, re-take the examination, file a

new application and a new oath and bond should the notary desire to

renew his or her commission.

Check Your Knowledge

1. List the qualifications indicated in this manual to become a notary:

23

1. _____________________________________________

2. _____________________________________________

3. _____________________________________________

4. _____________________________________________

5. _____________________________________________

2. A notary commission lasts for ________ years after which you must re-take the

examination, file a new application and a new oath and bond upon receiving

notification of passing.

3. A notary whose commission is expiring may re-take the exam no sooner than

_______ year prior to the termination date of his or her commission.

4. All notary applicants must submit fingerprints to the ________and ________ for

a background check. The Secretary of State will be notified of any results as well

as any subsequent arrests.

5. Substantial and material misstatement on your application will be grounds for the

Secretary of State to _____________ your application to become a notary.

6. A notary failing to remain in compliance with child support requirements will

have their commission ___________ or ______________.

7. Newly commissioned notaries must file a surety bond in the amount of

______________ take, subscribe and file their oaths of office and bond with the

County Clerk within _______ days as indicated in their letter of commission or

their commissions will be void.

8. The $15,000 bond protects the _____________ should you as the notary be held

liable for damages as a result of improper, illegal or negligent notary actions.

9. Important steps to becoming a notary are:

Submit an application at the examination site and pay the $20 application

fee, $20 for the examination fee for first-time applicants and $_____ for

persons retaking the exam.

Pass the examination with a score of at least __________%

File your oath and bond within ____ calendar days of receiving your

commission.

Order your notary seal; purchase a journal and a ________________

device.

Answers: 1.Be at least 18 years old; pass a test with a score of 70% or greater; Be a legal resident of California; pass a background

check; complete the required education course 2. four 3. one 4. DOJ; FBI 5. deny 6. suspended or revoked 7. $15,000 ; thirty

8. public 9. $20; 70; 30; fingerprinting

24

CHAPTER 3 INDEPENDENT NOTARIES VS. EMPLOYEE NOTARIES

Chapter Objective:

This section will distinguish between these two important types of

notaries. Students will be able to understand their expected roles and

obligations as a notary regardless of what category they find themselves.

In general, we can list notaries under two different categories with respect to his

or her business status: 1) the independent notary public who operates as a business and

2) the notary public who is an employee notarizing documents for the purposes of their

employer.

The Independent Notary Public

Notaries who have received their commissions through personal voluntary efforts

and are providing services to the general public outside of an employer are considered

independent notaries. Most independent notaries work for themselves by advertising their

services to the public or to other companies such as title companies or loan signing

agencies.

A very important distinction regarding independent notaries from a notary who is

an employee is that as a public servant, you are required to perform notary functions for

anyone who requests the service, is willing and able to pay for the service (when

applicable) and for whom there is proper identification. This does not mean that you have

to travel or accept notary assignments during odd hours while you would not normally

provide services, but if you operate out of an office and someone comes in requiring

notarial services, you must notarize their document assuming there is no legal reason for

not doing so. This law is intended to require you as the notary to remain unbiased and

function as a public servant for anyone requiring your services.

Employees

If you have obtained your commission at the request of an employer, or have a job

which may require you to perform notary functions, you fall into the second category of

notaries and there are a few rules that differ from independent notaries. First of all,

however, remember that the notary commission belongs to you, the employee, regardless

of who paid for the application, examination or bond.

The employer may, upon agreement with the notary, limit the duties of employed

notaries during the course of employment to performing notary services for transactions

directly associated with the business purposes of the employer. You will, of course,

notice the important difference here between a notary who is an independent contractor

and an employee. As an independent notary, you may not pick and choose who you

notarize documents for, but the employer, upon agreement made with the notary, may

indeed limit an employee’s notarial functions. In any case, since the notary commission

belongs to you whether or not you are an employee, you may act as an independent

notary on your own time.

All notaries must obtain a seal and keep an official record of every notary act

performed in an official Journal of Notarial Records. Failure to obtain a notary seal

25

or properly maintain a journal can be cause for the Secretary of State to suspend or

revoke the notary’s commission. The notary journal and seal must be kept in a locked

and secured area when not in use. If the notary who is an employee wishes to notarize

documents outside of regular business hours, the same journal must be used as the notary

may only use one journal at a time regardless of what they are notarizing.

Another important consideration regarding notaries who are employees is that a

notary who received his or her commission as an employee at the expense of the

employer may, upon agreement with the employer, be required to submit fees charged for

notarial services back to the employer. This is usually up to negotiation between you and

your employer; however, if a notary public is an employee of a school or government

office and was appointed at the request and expense of their employer and notarizes

documents specifically for that employer, any fees charged must be remitted back to

that employer. Of course, any fees from documents you notarize outside of the

employer’s control may be kept by you.

Important Note Regarding Conflict of Interest

You will remember that a notary may not notarize any document for which he or

she has a direct beneficial or financial interest. Many notaries are employed by mortgage

companies, real estate companies or insurance companies, contractors and so on and

notarizing documents for their company might be incorrectly viewed as having a

financial interest in the document. Notary legislation specifically says that with respect to

financial transactions, a notary acting in the capacity of an attorney, agent, employee,

insurer, escrow or lender has NO beneficial interest in the transaction and may

notarize the document so long as they are not a principal to the document or an

executor (signer) on the document.

However, with respect to real-estate documents, any notary who is named

individually as a grantor, grantee, mortgagor, mortgagee, trustor, trustee,

beneficiary, vendor, vendee, lessor or lessee to a transaction is determined to have a

beneficial or financial interest in the document and may NOT notarize that document.

One Final Note Regarding Employees

When the notary who has obtained their commission as an employee leaves the

employer, he or she is to keep their notary seal and journals. The employer may not

demand that either the notary seal or the journal be returned to them or left on their

premises after termination of employment. Remember that the commission is yours and

the seal and journal is your personal property which you must retain and control at all

times. If your employer wishes to have copies of the notary journal records pertaining to

the business, the notary must supervise the process of copying.

If, during the course of your commission, your place of business changes, you will

need to notify the Secretary of State by certified mail within 30 days of your new

business address. You will not need to re-file your oath or bond if your place of business

is in a different county, although you may elect to do so and has 30 days to obtain a new

notary seal for the new county.

As an employee, if your position is terminated or you resign prior to the expiration

date of your commission, your commission does not automatically expire unless you are

commissioned on behalf of the state, city, county, or public school districts, or on behalf

of a military reservation. If this is the case, you must resign your commission when you

26

terminate employment. If you elect to resign your commission after changing

employment, you must notify the Secretary of State in writing and turn in all notary

journals to the county clerk’s office within 30 days.

1If you want to notarize documents as a loan signer, you may want to become certified by taking a loan-

signing seminar as most companies or agencies have a preference in using certified loan signers. Most

signing companies have their own certification testing which you will need to pass before they will send

you on an assignment, so take advantage of as many as you can. While it is not a legal requirement to

become certified, doing so will improve your marketability not to mention your personal continuing

education as a professional notary.

You may be interested in becoming a Certified Loan Signer with the Association of Professional

Notaries and Certified Signing Agents which is an association formed by notaryclasses.com to provide the

needed educational requirements and experience for inexperienced notaries. You may also be interested in

the home-study course called How to be a Wildly Successful Loan Signing Agent written by Bergstrom,

Elliott and Jones, 2008. (See www.notaryclasses.com to order).

Chapter Summary

INDEPENDENT NOTARIES VS. EMPLOYEE NOTARIES

1. Notaries who provide notary services on their own rather than through an

employer are often referred to as independent notaries. These notaries

must notarize a document for anyone who properly requests their services,

able to present proper identification and is willing and able to pay for the

services. This does not mean a notary is required to travel in order to

fulfill a notary request.

2. Notaries who are notarizing documents in the capacity of an employee for

the purposes of the employer may, upon arrangement with the employer,

have their notarial services limited to the purposes of the employer during

their hours of employment. This is based on an agreement with the

employer as some employers may allow their notary employees to notarize

documents for the public as well as for their business.

3. Notaries who are employees may negotiate with their employer the

remittance of notary fees to the employer, except that notaries who are

employees of a public school or the government and have obtained

their commissions upon the requirement of their employer, and who

have had their commissioning fees and other associated fees paid for

by their employer, must remit any fees charged for notary services back

to their employer.

4. All notaries must obtain a seal and keep an official record of every notary

act performed in an official Journal of Notarial Records. The notary

journal and seal must be kept in a locked and secured area when not in

use. If the notary wishes to notarize documents outside of regular business

hours, the same journal must be used as the notary may only use one

journal at a time regardless of what they are notarizing. Failure to obtain

27

a notary seal or properly maintain a journal can be cause for the

Secretary of State to suspend or revoke the notary’s commission.

5. Notaries personally own their commission, notary seal and bond

regardless of who paid for them. However, notaries are responsible to pay

for their own filing fees when filing their oath and bond.

6. Notaries who are employees may still notarize documents for the public

outside of their employment hours.

7. A notary may not turn over notarial journals or seals to their employers

upon termination of their employment. If the employer wants a copy of the

journal, the notary must supervise during the copying process taking care

to copy only the journal entries relevant to the employer’s business.

8. Should the employee notary elect to retain his or her commission after

changing employment, a change of business address must be filed with

the Secretary of State by certified mail. If the county of employment

changes, they will not need to file a new oath and bond for that county

unless they choose to do so. If the notary does decide to file a new oath

and bond in a different county, then, the notary has 30 days to purchase

another seal indicating the new county since this is where the current oath

and bond will be filed. If the notary elects to resign his or her commission

after changing employment, he or she must notify the Secretary of State in

writing and turn in all notary journals to the county clerk’s office within

30 days.

9. Notaries who received their commission specifically at the request and for

an employer may retain their commission upon termination of their

employment except for the following categories:

Notaries commissioned on behalf of the city, county, state, public

school districts or on behalf of a military reservation MUST resign

their commissions when they terminate their employment.

10. With respect to a financial transaction, a notary, acting in the capacity of

an attorney, agent, employee, insurer, escrow or lender for the person

having a direct beneficial or financial interest in the document has NO

beneficial interest in the transaction and may notarize the document.

11. With respect to real-estate transactions only, a notary who is named

individually as a grantor, grantee, mortgagor, mortgagee, trustor,

trustee, beneficiary, vendor, vendee, lessor or lessee to the transaction is

determined to have a beneficial or financial interest in the document and

may NOT notarize that document.

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Check Your Knowledge

1. Notaries who have been commissioned for the purposes of an employer’s

business function may have their notary duties ____________ to the employer’s

business transactions during his or her period of the employment day.

2. Notaries who have terminated their position with an employer who paid the

necessary fees for the notary’s commission, shall not ________________ their

journal or seal to their employer. Notaries must supervise any copies of journal

entries made and must file a change of business address with the Secretary of

State. They will not be required to re-file their bond or change their county with

the County Clerk unless they choose to do so.

3. Notaries who are notarizing documents as employees of a school or government

office must ________________ any fees when notarizing documents directly

associated with the employer.

4. Notaries who have had their commission paid for by their employer are still

__________________ to notarize documents for the public outside of normal

working hours. An agreement may be made between the notary and the employer

regarding the disposition of notary fees.

5. With respect to a financial transaction, notaries who are acting in the capacity of

an attorney, agent, employee, insurer, escrow or lender does ________ have a

beneficial interest in the transaction and _____ notarize the document assuming

that the notary is not named as a principal within the document.

6. With respect to real-estate transactions, a notary who is a grantor,

______________, mortgagor, ___________, trustor, _____________,

beneficiary, vendor, ____________, lessor or ____________ to the transaction is

determined to have a beneficial or financial interest in the document and may

_________ notarize that document.

Answers: 1. limited, 2.relinquish 3. remit 4.allowed 5.not; may 6. grantee, mortgagee, trustee, vendee, lessee; not

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CHAPTER 4

Completing the Notary Act

Chapter Objective:

This section will further elaborate several of the duties of a notary

public and provide information as to how these duties may or must be

performed. The student will have an opportunity to complete an

Acknowledgment form. They will also understand more thoroughly the

details of specific notary acts.

Part 1

Acknowledgments and Jurats Without a question, the two most often performed duties of a notary are known as

“taking or completing an acknowledgment‖ and ―administering jurats‖. When a

client is required to have a document notarized, that document will usually require a

notary to either complete an acknowledgment or administer a jurat. The notary will

usually know which is required because the document to be notarized will usually have

the indication or the signer may already know. Interestingly enough, the notary is not

allowed to select which act is performed because to do so may place the notary in a

position of illegally practicing law. When a client brings a document to a notary, if the

proper verbiage is not preprinted on the form indicating which notary act to perform, the

notary is supposed to ask the client which notary act he or she requires. If the client does

not know, then the notary is to require the client to obtain an answer from the originators

of the document.

Completing Acknowledgments

In a nutshell, this notarial act means that the person who signed the document to

be notarized must 1) personally appear before the notary at the time of the notary request

and 2) must acknowledge that he or she signed the document in his or her authorized

capacity, (i.e. CEO, Partner, individual) and 3) the document signer(s) must be properly

identified by the notary.

If the notary is required to complete an acknowledgment, the document may be

signed by the principal(s) at the time of notarization or may have been signed prior to

appearing before the notary. If it has been signed prior to bringing the document before

the notary, the notary must ask the signer to acknowledge that the signature is indeed his

or hers. Whether the document was signed previously or in front of the notary, the notary

is required to verify the identity of the person or persons signing a document with

satisfactory evidence such as a driver’s license.

When a document signer (sometimes referred to as the document executor) places

his or her signature on a document, the notary must assume that the signer intends to

execute the document. California notary law does not require a notary to verify the

competency of the document signer nor is the notary required to make judgments

concerning whether or not the document signer is being coerced in some manner. If the

document signer insists that the notary notarize his or her signature, then regardless of

suspicions, the notary must comply with that request. State law prohibits non-attorney

notaries from giving legal advice or providing legal assistance of any kind. The notary is

30

obligated to notarize the document if requested by the document signer and the signer can

present proper identification as well as the required fees.

It is an absolute legal requirement that the notary be able to speak the language of

the signer. If a person signing a document cannot communicate to the notary in a

language that the notary understands, the notary must refuse to notarize that document.

The signer should be directed to another notary who does speak their language. Utilizing

an interpreter brought in by the client is not allowed since that interpreter might have

ulterior motives and render an inaccurate translation or something may be lost in the

translation itself.

Proper Acknowledgment Verbiage Proper notarization includes the requirement that the notary fill out specific

information in a particular format. This is known as notary verbiage and is usually, but

not always, found pre-printed on the document itself or will be attached to the document.

As stated earlier, the document to be notarized will usually require either the completion

of a Certificate of Acknowledgment or the completion of a Jurat process. These two

notary acts are quite different from one another and will have associated verbiage which

will be immediately recognizable by the notary. As we continue through this chapter, you

will be introduced first to proper acknowledgment verbiage and then to proper jurat

verbiage. Once you complete this chapter, you will immediately be able to recognize

which notary act to perform for any document containing proper notarial verbiage.

Remember that if a document contains no notarial verbiage at all, the notary must ask the

client to inform him or her of which notary act he or she requires.

When someone brings a notary a document to notarize, the notary should first

look the document over to ensure that it is not blank or incomplete as it is illegal to

notarize blank or incomplete documents. If the document is blank or incomplete, return

the document to the client for completion. Remember that you as a notary may never

give legal advice so filling out the contents in the document for the client can be illegal.

The second piece of information to look for on the document is if the proper

notary verbiage is already printed on the document. Depending on the type of documents

you will be notarizing, most documents will already have notary verbiage on the form

and will need to fill this portion out and seal it with your notary stamp. However, many

documents either do not have proper verbiage or will not have any notary verbiage pre-

printed on the form. If there is no notary verbiage preprinted on the form, you will need

to add the verbiage. If you need to add acknowledgment verbiage to a document, you

will use an additional form called an “All-Purpose Acknowledgment” form. An example

of an All-Purpose Acknowledgment can be found on page A-1 in the back of this manual.

All California notaries should carry these forms because many documents do not have the

proper verbiage for California.

For an example of a typical document requiring an acknowledgment, please turn

to page A-2 which is a Grant Deed. Once again, someone requiring this document to be

notarized will already have it filled in completely prior to presenting it to you for

notarization. It is not important that the notary be familiar with every kind of document

requiring notarization as that would be rather impractical. There are hundreds if not

thousands of different documents out there. Simply look the document over to ensure that

it is not obviously blank or incomplete. The only portion that may be incomplete is the

notary verbiage which begins: The State of _________, County of ____________. This

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is the section the notary begins completing once the signature or signatures are obtained.

If it has not been signed, request the signature or signatures of the clients prior to

completing this section.

How to Fill Out an Acknowledgment

Acknowledgment verbiage is very important especially with documents to be

filed in California. Acknowledgments taken within the state of California must contain

the following verbiage:

STATE OF CALIFORNIA

COUNTY OF (Name of County in which the notary act occurred)

On (Date of Notary Act) before me, (Notary’s name as on the commission ),―Notary Public‖

(Name/Title, i.e. “Jane Doe, Notary Public)

Personally appeared (Name of person(s) acknowledging their signatures at the time of notarization)

who proved to me on the basis of satisfactory evidence to be the person(s) whose name(s) is/are

subscribed to the within instrument and acknowledged to me that he/she/they executed the same in

his/her/their authorized capacity(ies), and that by his/her/their signature(s) on the instrument the

person(s), or the entity upon behalf of which the person(s) acted, executed the instrument.

I certify under PENALTY OF PERJURY under the laws of the State of California that the foregoing

paragraph is true and correct.

WITNESS my hand and official seal.

(Notice that your signature is placed underneath this phrase, not just anywhere on the document)

__________________________________ (Notary Seal)

(SIGNATURE OF NOTARY)

Once again, please refer to the example of this on the Grant Deed found in the

appendix section of this book, page A-2. As the notary, you will begin completing this

notarial verbiage by filling in the state and the county in which you are physically located

at the time of notarization. This portion of the acknowledgment is called the venue.

STATE OF CALIFORNIA

COUNTY OF (Name of County in which the notary act occurred)

Many mobile notaries travel to different counties when completing a notary act.

As a notary commissioned in California, you may notarize documents drawn either in

California or anywhere outside of California but you must be physically located

somewhere within California at the time you notarize the document and must always

comply with California law. Regardless of what county your bond and oath is on file,

you must indicate the county where you are completing the notary act in this venue

section. Sometimes, the venue will be already filled in because an escrow company or

some other third party drew up the document and the venue is wrong. For example, if

loan documents originated in the state of Texas, the escrow company filling out the form

to be notarized may have already typed in the state of Texas in the venue. Simply cross

out the wrong venue and write in the correct state and county.

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On (Date of Notary Act) before me, (Notary’s name as on the commission ),―Notary Public‖

(Name/Title, i.e. “Jane Doe, Notary Public)

Now you will fill out the correct date which is the date of notarization. This is

always the date that the person or persons appeared in front of you and the notary act was

completed. You may never notarize a document for someone who does not appear

personally before you and you must never comply with any request to enter in a

date other than the actual date of notarization. To do so is to subject yourself to

criminal prosecution for forgery, a civil penalty of up to $10,000 brought by the

Secretary of State or a public prosecutor as well as any personal financial liabilities. Whenever you complete a date, try to write out or at least abbreviate the month. If

you notarized a document on April 1, 2008, for example, and entered in the date of 4/1/08

instead of writing it out, it may be possible that if the document is sent to another

country, the reader may conclude that the person appeared in front of you on January 4

and not April 1.

Follow this by clearly printing your name as the notary as it appears on your

commission.

Personally appeared (Name of person(s) acknowledging their signatures at the time of

notarization) who proved to me on the basis of satisfactory evidence

Next you will clearly print the name or names of the persons who appeared before

you and requested that their signatures be notarized. Sometimes, there will be more than

one signature required on the form requiring notarization. Look again at page A-2, the

Grant Deed. You will notice that two persons are signing this document and both persons

are requiring that their signatures be notarized. The signers must sign the document

exactly as their name appears within the document. In our example of the Grant Deed,

you can see that both William A. Jones and Mary B. Jones both signed the document as

their names appeared within. The notary must print their names in this section of the

acknowledgment verbiage exactly as they appear within the document. Because you must print the name or names of the persons who personally

appeared before you on the acknowledgment, you are required to look at the signer’s

identification to ensure that the names on the document match the names on the

identification. Suppose, for example, the name on the document was William A. Jones,

Jr. but when Mr. Jones presents his identification, you notice that there is no Jr. indicated

on his identification. Unless you personally know the signer, how do you know if this

person is Jr. or Sr.? We will talk more about proper identification in the next chapter, but

the general rule of thumb is that the identification used may contain more information

than the signature but never less. If the signature contains “Jr”, and the identification does

not contain “Jr., you must use a different form of identification or you may not complete

the notarization!

Let’s look at another important point about completing this section. Quite often a

document requires the signatures of two or more parties, but only one party can appear

personally at the time of notarization or can prove their identity satisfactorily. In this

case, you may only indicate the name of the person or persons who personally appear at

the time of notarization and are able to prove their identification either though personal

knowledge or satisfactory evidence. If this section has already been filled out for you,

say once again by an escrow company, you will need to cross the name of the party who

33

did not appear before you or could not provide proper identification before completing

the acknowledgment.

Once you are satisfied of the identity of the signer or signers and you have printed

his/her or their names, you will complete the Certificate of Acknowledgment by

appropriately indicating the correct plural/singular terms and pronouns by circling the

correct form or crossing out the incorrect form.

to be the person(s) whose name(s) is/are subscribed to the within instrument and acknowledged to

me that he/she/they executed the same in his/her/their authorized capacity(ies), and that by his/her/their

signature(s) on the instrument the person(s), or the entity upon behalf of which the person(s) acted,

executed the instrument.

Since in our example on page A-2, we had both William A. Jones and Mary B.

Jones personally appearing and both proved their identity to the notary, the notary has

indicated so by selecting the plural forms on the acknowledgment. Completing this

section is critical because any document to be recorded will most likely be rejected

otherwise.

As you read through this section, you will notice the phrase “executed the same in

his/her/their authorized capacity(ies)”. California law does not permit a notary to certify

the capacity of a signer. That means if someone is claiming to sign a document as CEO of

a company or a partner of a company, California notaries do not require the signer to

prove to the notary that he or she holds the capacity claimed by the signer. Part of the

acknowledgment in California is that the signer must simply “claim” his or her

authorized capacity. There are still some states that require a notary to verify the capacity

of a signer.

As a notary in the state of California, you may NOT complete any notary act

which requires the notary to comply with a request which is not legal for a California

notary to perform. One of these requests may be for a notary to either know or otherwise

certify the capacity claimed by a document signer. If you are ever presented with a

document which has notary verbiage requiring such certification, you may not complete

such a Certificate of Acknowledgment. Simply cross it out and attach a California All-

Purpose Acknowledgment form to the document and place your notary seal on this

completed acknowledgment instead. Your seal impression must be placed on the form

which contains the correct notarial wording.

A very good example of an acknowledgment used by another state which the

notary should not complete is shown below which is an excerpt from a Corporate

Acknowledgment used in a different state.

STATE OF _______________

COUNTY OF _____________

On this __________ day of __________________, ______________, before me, the undersigned,

a Notary Public in and for the State of ____________________, duly commissioned and sworn,

personally appeared ___________________________________________to me known or

proved to me to be the ___(capacity of signer; ie. CEO, CFO, Secretary) of ____(name of

company) ___, the corporation that executed the foregoing instrument and acknowledged the said

instrument to be the free and voluntary act of and deed of said corporation, for the uses and

purposes therein mentioned…. (Continued)

34

Notice that this acknowledgment requires the notary to certify or personally know

the capacity of the signer (such as CEO). You should use an All Purpose

Acknowledgment form for documents with this acknowledgment verbiage. Cross out this

acknowledgment with a single diagonal line and attach a Loose Certificate All Purpose

Acknowledgment Form to the document. (See page A-1)

I certify under PENALTY OF PERJURY under the laws of the State of California that the foregoing

paragraph is true and correct.

Beginning January 1, 2008, any notary who willingly falsifies a Certificate of

Acknowledgment may be prosecuted for perjury by a public prosecutor. A civil penalty

of up to $10,000 may be brought by the Secretary of State in an administrative

proceeding or by a public prosecutor in superior court. The notary also may be liable for

any financial liabilities which may have resulted from the perjury.

Finishing Up the Acknowledgment

WITNESS my hand and official seal.

(Notary Seal)

(Notice that your signature is placed underneath this phrase, not just anywhere on the document)

__________________________________

(SIGNATURE OF NOTARY)

WITNESS my hand and official seal indicates that the notary should sign here as

his or her name appears on the commission and place the notary seal close to the name.

You are now finished this portion of the notary act. Even though it may look

daunting to you at first, this process really only takes a few minutes.

If you find it necessary to complete the All-Purpose Acknowledgment for some of

the reasons indicated above, you must attach that to the document you are notarizing. Be

sure to fill out the optional information section as well. Although not required legally, if

you do need to complete an All-Purpose Acknowledgment form you should fill out as

much of this section as you can because it helps to further insure against potential

fraudulent activities. This is crucial when filling out a loose certificate since without your

remarks indicating the referencing document, the loose certificate may be attached to any

form inadvertently or because someone is trying to take advantage of the signer.

Suppose, for example, a property owner wants to have their property homesteaded

and completes the appropriate paperwork do so. When having the document notarized,

the notary would need to use a loose certificate if the correct acknowledgment verbiage is

not on the form.

But suppose the notary did not fill in the optional section? What might happen if a

relative finds the notarized Homestead and, after tearing off the loose certificate from the

Homestead, attaches it illegally and fraudulently to a Grant Deed which now grants the

property from the legal owner to himself or herself. After forging the grantor’s signature,

the relative now has a loose certificate acknowledgment which was meant for a

homestead now attached to an illegal grant deed.

Once the document is recorded the property transfer is complete at least until the

fraudulent activity charges are filed and proven. The notary simply filling out the optional

section of the acknowledgment form could have thwarted this fraudulent activity.

35

Filling out the optional section is quite simple. If the signer is claiming to be the

president of a corporation, you should indicate that title as well as the name of the

corporation in the indicated areas. If the signer is one or more individuals, indicate self or

individual(s) in this section. Also be sure to fill out the areas requesting the Title of the

Document and the Date of the Document.

Completing an Acknowledgment for Other States

As you have already seen, different states may have different forms with different

acknowledgment verbiage. We have already mentioned that a notary is permitted to

notarize documents from another state so long as the notary complies with California

notary law. When completing an Acknowledgment in California, the notary must use

California’s version of the Certificate of Acknowledgment unless the document will be

recorded in another state. As long as the verbiage on the Certificate of

Acknowledgment does not require to notary to do something illegal, such as certify the

capacity of the signer, if the document will be recorded in another state, the notary is

permitted to use the acknowledgment verbiage provided for that state. All other

documents requiring a Certificate of Acknowledgment, regardless of their origin must

have the proper California acknowledgment verbiage. The recorder’s office may reject

the filing if the acknowledgment verbiage is not complete or correct. If the form does not

have this verbiage already there, use an All-Purpose Acknowledgment form.

Completing Acknowledgments for Faxed Documents

Remember that the document must be present before the notary and the notary

must complete the notary act at the time of notarization. It is permissible for a notary to

notarize a document which has been photocopied, faxed or delivered in any other similar

manner, as long as the signer is present before the notary at the time the notary seal is

affixed and the notarial verbiage is completed, and the signature on the document is an

original. It is illegal to notarize any document, whether faxed, mailed or otherwise

delivered if the document signer is not present before the notary at the time of

notarization. It is also illegal for a notary to not complete the notary act at the time of

notarization. This includes the filling out of the notarial verbiage, sealing with the notary

seal, signing the document as the notary and attaching the notary verbiage to the

document, if necessary.

During your career as a notary, you may be asked to “backdate” a notarization or

complete a notarization such as an acknowledgment for someone who is not personally

appearing before you at the time you complete the notarization, especially when it comes

to faxed documents. This request is illegal and can subject the person making the request

to criminal prosecution as it is a misdemeanor to request that a notary perform illegal

services. Of course, as stated several times already, it is also illegal for you to comply

with such a request.

For example, suppose you notarize a set of loan documents for someone the day

before and the lender calls you to inform you that they forgot to include an important

form which also must be notarized. The lender informs you that they have had the

borrowers sign the document and may request you to allow the new document to be faxed

to you so you can complete the acknowledgment and fax it back to them so the loan will

close on time. If you comply with this request, you are violating notary law and

36

subjecting yourself to both criminal prosecution as well as personal liability should the

documents be contested at a later time.

Administering a Jurat

Our discussion now brings us to the other frequently requested notary act known

as “administering a jurat”. A jurat means that the notary has required that the party swear

under an oath or affirmation that the contents of the document being notarized are true.

The difference between an affirmation and an oath is the reference to God or a supreme

being. There is no exact requirement for jurat wording. A sample affirmation might be

worded as follows: “Do you swear that the information contained in this document is true

and correct to the best of your knowledge?” A sample oath might be, “Do you swear that

the information contained in this document is true and correct to the best of your

knowledge, so help you God?” You might have them raise their right hand but this action

is not required. Whether you wish to administer an oath or affirmation is up to you as the

notary, but you must do one of the two. Any jurat completed without an oath or

affirmation can be overturned in court and the document can be voided until proper

notarization.

As you can see, this process is intended to appeal to the conscience of the signer.

You as the notary do not have to have evidence that the content within the document is

true as an affirmative statement from the document signer is sufficient. Remember that

you, the notary never guarantee the truthfulness of the document in either an

acknowledgment or a jurat. With a jurat, you are guaranteeing that the person appeared

before you at the time of notarization and that you issued the oath or affirmation and that

the signer responded affirmatively.

A jurat is identified by the wording “Subscribed and Sworn to” immediately

above the place where the notary public signs his/her name. Please note the following

requirements:

The signer must personally appear before the notary on the date and in the

county indicated.

The signer must sign in the presence of the notary public.

The notary public must administer the oath, for example, “Do you swear or

affirm that the statements in this document are true?”

Beginning 2005, the signer of a jurat must be properly identified.

How to Fill Out a Jurat

State of California

County of __________________

Subscribed and sworn to (or affirmed) before me on this _______ day of __________, 20__ by

____________________, proved to me on the basis of satisfactory evidence to be the person(s) who

appeared before me.

____________________________ (Notary Seal)

Signature of Notary

Effective 2008, this wording is the proper verbiage for a Jurat and if it is not pre-

printed on the form, you will need to write it in or use a jurat stamp on the form. For

acknowledgments, if the verbiage needs to be added, we usually use an All-Purpose

37

Acknowledgment form, but jurat verbiage is small enough that you can usually get away

with stamping the verbiage on the document itself. For this, we use a stamp conveniently

known as a “Jurat Stamp”. You will then sign it as the notary and seal it with your notary

stamp.

Another reminder that since a jurat is meant to appeal to the conscience of the

signer because the signer must swear to the truthfulness of the contents of the documents,

the document MUST be signed at the time of notarization, not before. If it has been

signed before, you must require re-signing after you give the oath or affirmation and prior

to placing your notary seal on the document.

Prior to 2005, identification of the document signer was not necessary, but as a

general rule, notaries always obtained identification information from the signer

regardless. Beginning 2008, all jurats must be completed in the new format which

requires a statement regarding proper identification of the signer.

The Distinction Between Jurats and Acknowledgments

The essential purpose of a jurat differs from an acknowledgment in that the signer

must swear an oath or affirmation that the contents of the document are true. This is not

the case with documents requiring an acknowledgment. Additionally, a document

requiring a jurat may only be signed in front of a notary since the notary must require the

oath or affirmation from the document signer(s). If the document was signed beforehand,

it must be re-signed at the time of notarization.

It is important to point out once again that for both acknowledgments and jurats,

the signer or signers must personally appear before the notary at the time of notarization

and must provide proper identification to the notary.

Unlike Acknowledgments, all jurats completed in California must have California

verbiage without regard to where they will be recorded. If a document which requires a

jurat does not have the new California verbiage, you will need to add it to or attach it to

the document before sealing with the notary seal.

How Will You Know if a Document Requires an Acknowledgment or Jurat? Remember that this decision is not yours, it is the client’s. However, the intent is

that if the document to be notarized contains wording in which the signer is swearing to

the truthfulness of the contents within the document, you will use a jurat unless otherwise

instructed. In almost every instance, every other form requiring notarization will require

an acknowledgment. Most documents presented before a notary will already include the

proper verbiage; however, as previously discussed, not all document have the right

verbiage. The notary is not supposed to advise the client as to which act to perform and to

do so is considered to be practice of law. Of course, few people who are not notaries will

know which act to perform, but remember that if you direct the client to a specific notary

act and it turns out to be the wrong one, you may be held liable for losses arising from the

improper act. You are supposed to require your client to refer to the advice of the

originator of the document.

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Part 2

Providing Certified Copies of Power of Attorney Let’s briefly discuss what a Power of Attorney is before we move on to

certification of a Power of Attorney. A Power of Attorney is a document which delegates

or legally allows one person to sign documents on behalf of another party. A General

Power of Attorney may allow the person to sign almost any document without

restrictions while a Specific Power of Attorney will specify which types of transactions

are permissible. For example, a Power of Attorney may be used when a husband and wife

are purchasing property and one of the two is not available at the time of loan signing. A

Specific Power of Attorney may be granted by the absent spouse which allows the other

spouse to sign the documents on his or her behalf. This is a specific power of attorney

because it is specific to this particular real estate transaction.

When the person delegated with the right to sign on someone else’s behalf, the

correct method of signing should be followed. Suppose Jane Doe has the Power of

Attorney for John Doe. Jane Doe will sign the document: John Doe by Jane Doe, as his

Attorney in Fact. The words, “as his Attorney in Fact” indicate that she has a Power of

Attorney for John Doe and may legally sign the document on his behalf.

Sometimes a notary may be requested to provide a certified copy of a Power of

Attorney. A certified copy means that the certifying person, has examined the original

document and the copy and that the copy is a true and correct duplicate of the original

document. If someone brings you a copy of a power of attorney to be certified, you must

have in front of you both the original and the copy for comparison purposes. Most

notaries will simply make their own copy and certify that copy rather than read and

compare each word with the original.

Sample Certification of Power of Attorney

State of California

County of ______________

} s

s

.

I ______________________(name of notary), Notary Public, certify that on

_____________(date), I examined the original power of attorney and the copy of the

power of attorney. I further certify that the copy is a true and correct copy of the original

power of attorney.

__________________________

Notary Signature (Notary Seal)

A copy Power of Attorney is the only document in California that a notary

may certify other than copies of his or her own sequential journal.

Part 3

Required Notary Procedures It might be easily argued that the most important duty of a notary is that all

notarial acts performed are required to be recorded formally so that anyone questioning a

signed document, whether it is soon after the signing or years later, can request a copy of

the notary’s recorded information. Since the notary must retain specific information about

39

every document signed in a Journal of Notarial Records, the notary journal becomes

important evidence for the public. This notary procedure alone does much to assist in

minimizing such fraudulent claims.

Recording the Notarial Act

To complete the notarial act a notary is required to obtain and use an official

Journal of Notarial Records which will retain certain information concerning any notary

act performed during the notary’s commission. A notary public is only permitted to keep

one active sequential journal at a time which records of all official acts performed as a

notary public. All entries must be entered in date and time order. The journal must be

kept in a locked and secured area, under the direct and exclusive control of the notary.

Failure to secure the journal may be cause for the Secretary of State to take

administrative action against your commission. This means that your commission may be

suspended or revoked.

The journal should include the required information as listed below as well as any

additional information the notary feels may benefit him or her should a notarial act be

questioned in the future. For example, if a notary refuses to notarize a document, the

notary may wish to record the details of that in their journal for later reference.

The journal must contain the following information:

1) Date & time the document is notarized

2) The type of notary act performed (acknowledgment or jurat)

3) The character (almost always the name) of the document notarized

(such as Grant Deed)

4) A statement as to the identity of a person making an

acknowledgment or taking an oath or affirmation which must be based

on satisfactory evidence.

5) Name of the identification document (such as driver’s license) or an

indication that credible witnesses were used and pertinent

identification information about the credible witness when required

(see chapter 5).

6) Serial number of the identification document, i.e. driver’s license

number

7) Date of issue or expiration of the identifying document

8) Signature of the person

9) Fees charged for notary services

10) Right thumbprint is required for a Power of Attorney and for Deeds

(for example, Warranty Deeds, Quitclaim Deeds, Grant Deeds) or

Deeds of Trust affecting real property. ***Please note that not all

documents with the word Deed in their title require a right thumbprint!

For example, Thumbprints are not required for Deeds of

Reconveyance or for a Trustee’s Deed if the Property is in

foreclosure. (When a property loan is paid in full, a Deed of Reconveyance is

issued; a Trustee’s Deed is issued for transfer of property which has been placed into

foreclosure.)

If the right thumbprint is unavailable, use a left thumbprint or any available finger

but be sure to indicate what was used. If the signer is unable to provide a print, the notary

must document the inability and state an explanation as to why the fingerprint was

40

unavailable. Failure to obtain a thumbprint when required is subject to a civil penalty of

up to $2,500.

Also note that addresses and birth dates are not required for journal entry. You

will find a sample journal entry in the appendix of this study guide on page A-5.

Chapter Summary

COMPLETING THE NOTARY ACT

PERFORMING ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

1. A certificate of acknowledgment is completed when the document

signer

a) Personally appears before the notary at the county and

date of the notary request which must be indicated on the

certificate of acknowledgment. (This is the notary verbiage

completed by the notary which MUST be completed at the

time of notarization.)

b) The signer must sign the document or acknowledge to the

notary that he or she signed the document in his or her

authorized capacity, (i.e. CEO, Partner, individual).

c) The document signer must be properly identified by the

notary (see next chapter).

2. Acknowledgments should never be completed for a document not

presented in person by the document signer and the acknowledgment

verbiage must be completed at the time the seal and notary’s signature are

placed onto the document. If using a separate Certificate of

Acknowledgment form, that form should be affixed to the document in

order to complete the notary process.

Completing Acknowledgments for Faxed Documents

3. Remember that the document must be present before the notary and the

notary must complete the notary act at the time of notarization. It is

permissible for a notary to notarize a document which has been

photocopied, faxed or delivered in any other similar manner, as long as the

signer is present before the notary at the time the notary seal is affixed and

the notarial verbiage is completed. The signature on the document;

however, must be an original! It is illegal to notarize any document,

whether faxed, mailed or otherwise delivered if the document signer is not

present before the notary at the time of notarization. It is also illegal for a

notary to not complete the notary act at the time of notarization. This

includes the filling out of the notarial verbiage, sealing with the notary

seal, signing the document as the notary and attaching the notary verbiage

to the document, if necessary.

4. During your career as a notary, you may be asked to “backdate” a

notarization or complete a notarization such as an acknowledgment for

41

someone who is not personally appearing before you at the time you

complete the notarization. This request is illegal and can subject the

person making the request to criminal prosecution as it is a misdemeanor

to request that a notary perform illegal services. It is, of course, also illegal

for you to comply with such a request and the notary can be prosecuted for

forgery which could be either a misdemeanor or a felony. A notary public

who willfully states as true any material fact he or she knows to be false

shall be subject to a civil penalty not exceeding $10,000 which may be

brought by the Secretary of State in an administrative proceeding or a

public prosecutor in superior court. The notary can also serve 2, 3 or 4

years in prison and may be required to repay any financial liabilities which

may have resulted from the falsification.

5. California state law allows notaries to use the acknowledgment verbiage

from other states if the document will be recorded in that other state.

The acknowledgment verbiage may be different from the California

verbiage but may be verbiage required in that other state. The critical

issue here is that the verbiage may not require the notary to do

anything illegal. For example, a California notary may not determine

or certify that the signer holds a particular representative capacity.

Acknowledgments made in California require that the signer simply claim

their authorized capacity which is not necessarily known or proven to the

notary. Other states may require that the notary know or otherwise certify

the capacity of the signer.

6. Notaries commissioned in California are governed by the laws of

California but a notary may notarize any document from any other

state as well so long as the notary act is completed in California.

7. Acknowledgment verbiage is very important especially with documents to

be filed in California. Beginning January 1, 2008, the wording on a

Certificate of Acknowledgment completed in California for all documents

except those to be recorded in another state must read as follows:

STATE OF CALIFORNIA

COUNTY OF _________________

On ______________ before me, __________________________________________________________

personally appeared _____________________________________________________________,

who proved to me on the basis of satisfactory evidence to be the person(s) whose name(s) is/are

subscribed to the within instrument and acknowledged to me that he/she/they executed the same in

his/her/their authorized capacity(ies), and that by his/her/their signature(s) on the instrument the

person(s), or the entity upon behalf of which the person(s) acted, executed the instrument.

I certify under PENALTY OF PERJURY under the laws of the State of California that the foregoing

paragraph is true and correct.

WITNESS my hand and official seal.

__________________________________ ( Notary Seal) (SIGNATURE OF NOTARY)

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8. See page A-1 for an example of an All-Purpose Acknowledgment. Also

referred to as a “loose certificate”, and A-2 for an example of a properly

executed acknowledgment on a Grant Deed.

9. An example of an acknowledgment which a notary in California may not

complete is as follows: STATE OF _______________

COUNTY OF _____________

On this __________ day of __________________, ______________, before me, the undersigned,

a Notary Public in and for the State of ____________________, duly commissioned and sworn,

personally appeared ___________________________________________to me known or proved

to me to be the ___(capacity of signer; ie. CEO, CFO, Secretary) of ____(name of company) ___,

the corporation that executed the foregoing instrument and acknowledged the said instrument to be

the free and voluntary act of and deed of said corporation, for the uses and purposes therein

mentioned…. (Continued)

This is excerpt from an actual Corporate Acknowledgment used in at least one

other state. Notice that this acknowledgment requires the notary to certify or

personally know the capacity of the signer (such as CEO). You should use an

All Purpose Acknowledgment form for documents with this acknowledgment

verbiage. Cross out this acknowledgment with a single diagonal line and attach a

Loose Certificate All Purpose Acknowledgment Form to the document. (See

page A-1)

10. The notary may use one acknowledgment form for multiple signers, but

each signer must personally appear before the notary at the time of

signing. If notarizing a single document for multiple signers at different

times, the notary must use a separate acknowledgment for each event.

11. The signer of an acknowledgment may have signed the document

previously so long as the signer acknowledges that he/she/they signed the

document.

ADMINISTERING JURATS

12. This notary act is sometimes also referred to as “taking an affidavit”. A

jurat is used when the signer must swear to the truthfulness of the

contents within the document to be notarized. Effective 2008, the new

verbiage for Jurats must also include a statement that the signer provided

acceptable identification to the notary upon signing. An example of an

acceptable jurat wording is as follows:

Example of a Jurat Stamp effective 2008

State of California

County of __________________

Subscribed and sworn to (or affirmed) before me on

this _______ day of __________, 20__ by ____________________, proved to me on the basis

of satisfactory evidence to be the person(s) who

appeared before me. ____________________________ (Notary Seal)

Signature of Notary

43

13. The notary must administer an oath or affirmation when completing a

jurat. There is no exact required wording but an example might be: “Do

you swear (or affirm) that the contents in this document are true?”

14. The signer of a jurat must sign the document at the time of notarization

since he or she is “subscribing and swearing” an oath to the notary.

15. If the document to be notarized requires a jurat and the required jurat

verbiage is not preprinted on the form, you may use a jurat stamp. Unlike

Acknowledgments, all jurats completed in California must have California

verbiage without regard to where they will be recorded. If a document

which requires a jurat does not have the new California verbiage, you will

need to add it to or attach it to the document before sealing with the notary

seal. Be sure to always place your notary seal as close to your

signature as possible!

16. If a person signing a document cannot communicate to you in your

language, the notary must refuse to notarize that document and instruct

the person to find a notary who does speak their language. Utilizing an

interpreter brought in by the client is not permissible since the interpreter

may have ulterior motives or something important may be lost in the

translation.

17. The certificate of acknowledgment or the jurat, whether pre-printed or an

attached loose certificate must be filled out and completed at the time

that the notary’s seal and signature are affixed. Failure to do so can result

in suspension or revocation of your commission.

18. When completing the VENUE section of either an acknowledgment or

a jurat, indicate the state and county where the document was actually

notarized.

Recording the Notarial Act

19. To complete the notarial act a notary is required to obtain and use an

official Journal of Notarial Records which will retain certain information

concerning any notary act performed during the notary’s commission. A

notary public is only permitted to keep one active sequential journal at a

time which records of all official acts performed as a notary public. All

entries must be entered in date and time order. The journal must be kept in

a locked and secured area, under the direct and exclusive control of the

notary. Failure to secure the journal may be cause for the Secretary of

State to take administrative action against your commission. This means

that your commission may be suspended or revoked.

The journal should include the required information as listed below as

well as any additional information the notary feels may benefit him or her

should a notarial act be questioned in the future. For example, if a notary

44

refuses to notarize a document, the notary may wish to record the details

of that in their journal for later reference.

The journal must contain the following information:

1) Date & time the document is notarized

2) The type of notary act performed (acknowledgment or jurat)

3) The character (almost always the name) of the document notarized

(such as Grant Deed)

4) A statement as to the identity of a person making an

acknowledgment or taking an oath or affirmation which must be based

on satisfactory evidence.

5) Name of the identification document (such as driver’s license) or an

indication that credible witnesses were used and pertinent

identification information about the credible witness when required

(see chapter 5).

6) Serial number of the identification document, i.e. driver’s license

number

7) Date of issue or expiration of the identifying document

8) Signature of the person

9) Fees charged for notary services

10) Right thumbprint is required for a Power of Attorney and for Deeds

(for example, Warranty Deeds, Quitclaim Deeds, Grant Deeds) or

Deeds of Trust affecting real property. ***Please note that not all

documents with the word Deed in their title require a right thumbprint!

For example, Thumbprints are not required for Deeds of

Reconveyance or for a Trustee’s Deed if the Property is in

foreclosure. (When a property loan is paid in full, a Deed of Reconveyance is

issued; a Trustee’s Deed is issued for transfer of property which has been placed into

foreclosure.)

If the right thumbprint is unavailable, use a left thumbprint or any available finger

but be sure to indicate what was used. If the signer is unable to provide a print, the notary

must document the inability and state an explanation as to why the fingerprint was

unavailable. Failure to obtain a thumbprint when required is subject to a civil penalty of

up to $2,500.

Also note that addresses and birth dates are not required for journal entry. You

will find a sample journal entry in the appendix of this study guide on page A-5.

Check Your Knowledge

1. One of the most common duties of a notary is to take an acknowledgment. An

acknowledgment means that the person who signed the document

___________________ appears before the notary and _____________________

that they signed the document.

2. Additionally, the notary must ___________________ the identity of the signer

when completing an acknowledgment.

45

3. For both the acknowledgment and the jurat, the person signing the document must

_____________________ appear before the notary. The acknowledgment may be

signed beforehand since the person appearing before the notary will acknowledge

his or her signature, but the signer of a jurat must sign in front of the notary since

he or she must be given an oath or affirmation at the time of signing.

4. Beginning 2005, the notary is also required to verify the identity of the signer of

an affidavit when the notary completes a _______________.

5. A notary must administer an ___________ or an affirmation when completing a

jurat. This act is not negotiable! A jurat document signed without the oath or the

affirmation can be nullified in court.

answers: 1. personally; acknowledges 2. verify 3. personally 4. jurat 5. oath

CHAPTER 5

QUICK REVIEW AND PROPER IDENTIFICATION

Chapter Objective:

This section reviews the Acknowledgment and Jurat. It explains the

proper and acceptable forms of identification in addition to explaining

proper procedure should a person not have identification available. The

student will know what kinds of identification documents are acceptable

for notarizing signatures and will know the proper procedures for

obtaining acceptable identification when identification documents are

not available.

Part 1

Review: Completing the Notarial Act Remember that before NOTARY PUBLIC completes and Acknowledgment or

Jurat that notary must insure that:

1) the notary always remains an IMPARTIAL WITNESS to the signing

of documents which they notarize

a. As an impartial witness, a notary may never notarize

documents for his or her own signature or any document which

has a direct financial or beneficial interest to the notary.

b. With respect to a financial transaction a notary acting in the

capacity of an attorney, agent, employee, insurer, escrow, or

lender for the person having a direct beneficial or financial

interest may notarize the document.

c. In California, a notary may notarize documents for a spouse or

relative, but that document may not have a direct beneficial or

financial interest to the notary. Notaries should be very careful

in what documents they notarize for spouses in California

because of the community property laws

2) The principal personally appears at the time of notarization

3) The document is complete

a. The notary is not responsible for the contents of the document

unless there is knowledge of fraud before notarization

4) The notary is able to communicate with the principal without the aid of

a translator (even certified translators are not allowed).

5) The signer(s) are properly identified through satisfactory evidence

6) That if the notarial certificate is an Acknowledgment:

a. the principal must acknowledge signing the document if the

document was not signed in the notary’s presence.

b. The notarial certificate must exactly match the standard version

as dictated by the California Secretary of State unless the

document is to be filed in another state. If not attach a loose

certificate instead with the statutory wording.

47

c. standard verbiage is as follows:

STATE OF CALIFORNIA

COUNTY OF _________________

On _____________ before me, _______________________________________

personally appeared_______ ______________________________________,

who proved to me on the basis of satisfactory evidence to be the person(s) whose name(s)

is/are subscribed to the within instrument and acknowledged to me that he/she/they

executed the same in his/her/their authorized capacity(ies), and that by his/her/their

signature(s) on the instrument the person(s), or the entity upon behalf of which the

person(s) acted, executed the instrument.

I certify under PENALTY OF PERJURY under the laws of the State of California that

the foregoing paragraph is true and correct.

WITNESS my hand and official seal.

__________________________________ ( Notary Seal)

(SIGNATURE OF NOTARY)

d. A notary can use the Acknowledgment provided when filed in

another state, only if does not ask the notary to verify the

capacity of the signer.

7) That if the notarial certificate is a Jurat:

a. the signer swears to the truthfulness of the statements within

the document in front of the notary.

b. the signer signed the document in the notary’s presence.

c. the notarial certificate used is the standard Jurat certificate

mandated by the California Secretary of State

8) Be sure to complete the notarial certificate at the time of signing and

sealing

9) Be sure that all 4 components of the notarial certificate are complete:

a. Venue

b. Verbiage

c. Signature

d. Seal

State of California

County of __________________

Subscribed and sworn to (or affirmed) before me on

this _______ day of __________, 20__ by

____________________, proved to me on the basis of satisfactory evidence to be the person(s) who

appeared before me.

____________________________ (Notary Seal) Signature of Notary

48

Part 2

Satisfactory Evidence for Proving Identity As you now know, identity must be proven to the notary for acknowledgments

and jurats. In fact, completing a notary act without obtaining acceptable identification can

subject the notary to a civil penalty of up to $10,000 brought by the Secretary of State or

a public prosecutor.

There are three means of proving identity:

Proven identity through proper identification documents.

Credible witness or witnesses

Subscribing Witness

This, of course assumes that you, the notary do not have any evidence or reason to

believe that the person requesting the notarization is not the person he or she claims to be.

In other words, if you know that someone is committing signature forgery, you obviously

may not notarize the document.

Proven Identity Through Proper Identification Documents

The notary may satisfy the identification requirement by accepting one to the

following:

1) An identification card or driver’s license issued by the California

Department of Motor Vehicles which is current or has been issued

within the past 5 years.

2) A passport issued by the Department of State of the United States

which is current or has been issued within the past 5 years.

3) The use of any one of the following, as long as the document is current

or has been issued within five years and it contains a photograph and

description of the person named on it, signed by the person, and

MUST bear a serial or other identifying number. If the document is a

foreign passport, it must be stamped by the United States Citizenship

and Immigration Services. (The USCIS stamp is adequate to meet this

requirement).

(A) A passport issued by a foreign government.

(B) A driver’s license issued by a state other than California or by a

Canadian or Mexican public agency authorized to issue

drivers’ licenses.

(C) An identification card issued by a state other than California.

(D) An identification card issued by any branch of the armed forces

of the United States.

(E) An inmate identification card issued by the Department of

Corrections, if the inmate is in custody. (Not an ID bracelet)

49

(F) An employee identification card issued by an agency or office

of the State of California, or by any agency or office of a city,

county, or city and county in this state.

You should never accept an international driver’s license as proof of

identification. While there are legitimate international driver’s licenses, these can also be

obtained through the internet with no verification of identity. Also, you should note that

social security cards cannot be used since they do not meet the above listed criteria nor

should credit cards be used even if they do have a picture of the person.

It is important to again reiterate that a signer’s identity document must contain at

least as much information as contained in the signature. For example, when notarizing the

signature, John Smith, Jr., the “Jr.” must also appear on the identity document. The

identity document can contain more information as the signature, but never less. If

someone signs the document as Mary Ann Smith and her driver’s license only has Mary

Smith, you must use an alternate form of identification that has her name in the form of

Mary Ann Smith. Similarly, John W. Jones, II must have an identity document with at

least John W. Jones, II.

Effective January 1, 2008, personal knowledge alone is not acceptable

identification. The document signer must present acceptable identification to the notary

even if personal knowledge exists.

Alternative Forms of Identity

Credible Witness

If someone is requiring notarial services but lacks the proper

identification, we can use a procedure called a obtaining a credible witness. A credible

witness must personally know the signer and be personally known by the notary public.

The credible witness will prove their identity through the specified identification

documents. In addition, the credible witness must swear the following oath or

affirmation:

1) that the person making the acknowledgment is the person named

within the document

2) that the person making the acknowledgment is personally known to the

credible witness;

3) that it is the reasonable belief of the witness that the circumstances of

the person making the acknowledgment are such that it would be very

difficult or impossible for that person to obtain another form of

identification;

4) that the person making the acknowledgment does not possess any of

the identification documents named above

5) that the witness does not have a financial interest in the document

being acknowledged and is not named in the document.

If the notary does not personally know the Credible Witness, then two Credible

Witnesses may be used whose identities are proven to the notary. Please note again that

credible witnesses may not have any financial interest in the document, nor may they be

named within the document!

50

The Credible Witness(s) do not sign the document but must sign the notary

journal. Identification for the two Credible Witnesses must be recorded in the nearby

their signature. Remember that a single credible witness must personally be known by the

notary and must personally know the signer.

Subscribing Witness (Also known as Proofs of Execution)

When a person has signed or wishes to sign a document but cannot personally

appear before a notary, the signer can request another person to sign the document as a

witness to the principal signer’s signature and have the document notarized. That person

is called a subscribing witness. The subscribing witness must either witness the

document signer signing the document or have the document signer acknowledge that he

or she did sign the document. The subscribing witness must personally know the identity

of the document signer and the subscribing witness must be personally known by

someone who knows a notary public. In other words, his or her identity must be

established, or proven by a third party. That third party must personally know the

subscribing witness and be personally known by the notary public. That third party is

called a credible witness.

Since the subscribing witness must be personally known by one credible witness

who also knows the notary, a notary’s personal knowledge or paper identification

satisfying the requirements for satisfactory evidence is never used to verify the

subscribing witness identity. The subscribing witness must swear under oath that:

1) the subscribing witness either saw the principal sign the document or

heard the signer acknowledge that he or she signed the document.

2) the principal requested that the subscribing witness sign the document

as a witness

The subscribing witness must sign the document as well as the notary’s official

journal as the document signer. In addition, the credible witness must also sign the

identification column of the notary’s official journal.

Notice that the credible witnesses only signs the journal and not the document

whereas the subscribing witness must sign both.

A document called a Subscribing Witness Jurat, also referred to as a “Proof of

Execution” must then be filled out and stamped to complete the notarization act. See page

A-4 for an example of a Proof of Execution. You will notice that it is a special kind of

jurat since the signer must swear that he or she either witnessed the signing of the

document or that the signer acknowledged his or her signature to the Subscribing

Witness.

Example Please!

You may be wondering when a subscribing witness would ever be used. Suppose

a boss needs to sign a contract prior to leaving, so the boss asks his secretary, Janice, to

witness the signing, sign the document as a witness, and then have it taken to be

notarized. The secretary would comply, then take the document to her longtime friend,

Stella, who works in Human Resources. Stella’s daughter is a Notary Public who works

in the office next door. Janice and Stella would take the document to the Notary Public

51

who is known by Stella. The notary. Stella’s daughter, would then follow the procedures

for proof of execution and notarize the document.

A proof by a subscribing witness cannot be used in conjunction with any Deed

of Trust, Mortgage, Security Agreement, Quitclaim Deed, or Grant Deed document.

As in the case of right thumbprints, a Proof by Subscribing witness may indeed be used

for a Deed of Reconveyance and a Trustee’s Deed if the property is in foreclosure. These

two documents are singled out because while they do contain the word “Deed” in them,

they do not require thumbprints and they may be used with a subscribing witness.

If you would like to see diagrams which illustrate the usage of Credible Witnesses

or Subscribing Witnesses, look ahead to the chapter summary beginning with point

number 5.

Part 3

Related Procedures

Signature by Mark

If the signer of an instrument cannot write (sign) his or her name, that person may

sign by mark (x). The requirements for signature by mark are as follows:

The signer’s mark must be witnessed by two persons who must subscribe their

own names as witnesses on the document. One witness should write the person’s name

next to the person’s mark and then the witness should sign his or her name as a witness.

The witnesses are only verifying that they witnessed the individual make his or her mark

on the signature line of the document. A notary public is not required to identify the two

persons who witnessed the signing by mark or to have the two witnesses sign the notary’s

journal.

Exception If the witnesses were acting in the capacity of credible witnesses in establishing

the identity of the person signing by mark, then the witnesses’ signatures must be entered

in the notary’s journal.

Example of signature by mark

Date: August 18, 2003 Name: X John Smith by: Mary Jones (Witness #1)

Peter R. Roberts (Witness #2)

You can easily see here that Mary Jones signed John Smith after Mr. Smith

placed his mark (x) on the document. Peter R. Roberts signs as a witness but does not

need to resign Mr. Smith’s name.

It is important to note that when you perform a notarization for a person who is

signing by mark, you must still verify the identity of the person signing by mark! In

addition, you must have that person also sign the journal with his or her mark. That

person must also sign under his or her own power. It may be acceptable for someone to

support his or her arm during the signing, but the notary cannot allow the person helping

to make the mark or signature for the person by guiding the signer’s hand.

52

Chapter Summary QUICK REVIEW AND PROPER IDENTIFICATION

REVIEW OF THE NOTARIAL ACT

1. Remember that before NOTARY PUBLIC completes and

Acknowledgment or Jurat that notary must insure that:

a) the notary always remains an IMPARTIAL WITNESS to the

signing of documents which they notarize

b) As an impartial witness, a notary may never notarize

documents for his or her own signature or any document which

has a direct financial or beneficial interest to the notary.

c) With respect to a financial transaction a notary acting in the

capacity of an attorney, agent, employee, insurer, escrow, or

lender for the person having a direct beneficial or financial

interest may notarize the document.

d) In California, a notary may notarize documents for a spouse or

relative, but that document may not have a direct beneficial or

financial interest to the notary. Notaries should be very careful

in what documents they notarize for spouses in California

because of the community property laws

e) the principal personally appears before the notary at the time of

notarization and on the date and county indicated on the

certificate

f) the document is complete

The notary is not responsible for the contents of the

document unless there is knowledge of fraud before

notarization

g) the notary is able to communicate with the principal without

the aid of a translator (even certified translators are not

allowed).

h) the signer(s) are properly identified through satisfactory

evidence

i) If the notarial certificate is an Acknowledgment:

the principal must acknowledge signing the document if

the document was not signed in the notary’s presence.

the notarial certificate must exactly match the standard

version as dictated by the California Secretary of State

unless the document is to be filed in another state. If

not attach a loose certificate instead with the statutory

wording

statutory verbiage:

53

STATE OF CALIFORNIA

COUNTY OF (Name of County in which the notary act occurred)

On (Date of Notary Act) before me, (Notary’s name as on the commission ),―Notary Public‖

Personally appeared (Name of person(s) acknowledging their signatures at the time of notarization) who proved to me on the

basis of satisfactory evidence to be the person(s) whose name(s) is/are subscribed to the within instrument and acknowledged to me

that he/she/they executed the same in his/her/their authorized capacity(ies), and that by his/her/their signature(s) on the instrument

the person(s), or the entity upon behalf of which the person(s) acted, executed the instrument.

I certify under PENALTY OF PERJURY under the laws of the State of California that the foregoing paragraph is true and correct.

WITNESS my hand and official seal.

__________________________________ (Notary Seal) Signature of Notary

A notary can use the Acknowledgment provided when

recorded in another state, only if it does not ask the

notary to verify the representative capacity of the

signer.

j) That if the notarial certificate is a Jurat:

the signer swears to the truthfulness of the statements

within the document in front of the notary.

the signer signed the document in the notary’s presence.

the notarial certificate used is the standard Jurat

certificate mandated by the California Secretary of

State

k) Be sure to complete the notarial certificate at the time of

signing and sealing

l) Be sure that all 4 components of the notarial certificate are

complete:

Venue

Verbiage

Signature

Seal

State of California County of Name of County in which the notary act occurred)

Subscribed and sworn to (or affirmed) before me on this _______ day of _______________, 20____ (date of

notarization) by (name of affiant(s)_______________, proved to

me on the basis of satisfactory evidence to be the person(s) who appeared before me.

____________________________ (Notary Seal)

Signature of Notary

54

PROPER IDENTIFICATION

2. The methods for proving identity include

a) Using acceptable identification documents

b) Using one or two Credible Witnesses

c) A Subscribing Witness

3. Personal knowledge alone between the document signer and the

notary is no longer acceptable identification. Even if the notary personally

knows the document signer, proper identification documents must be

presented to the notary. Failure to obtain proper identification documents

for someone can subject the notary to a civil penalty of up to $10,000.

4. Acceptable identification documents: Any one of the following, as long

as the document is current or has been issued within five years and

contains a photograph and description of the person named on it, is

signed by the person, and MUST bear a serial or other identifying

number.

a) An identification card or driver’s license issued by the

California Department of Motor Vehicles or any other State

DMV or similar office (such as Bureau of Motor Vehicles).

b) An identification card issued by any branch of the armed

forces of the United States. c) A passport issued by the Department of State of the United

States. (U.S. Passports do not require a physical description).

d) A passport issued by a foreign government which must be

stamped by the United States Citizenship and Immigration

Services. (The USCIS stamp is adequate to meet this

requirement).

e) A driver’s license issued by a state other than California or

by a Canadian or Mexican public agency authorized to issue

drivers’ licenses.

f) An inmate identification card issued by the Department of

Corrections, if the inmate is in custody. (Not an ID bracelet)

g) An employee identification card issued by an agency or office

of the State of California, or by any agency or office of a city,

county, or city and county in this state.

5. The signature on the document should match the name as it is referred to

within the document. The identification document (for example Driver’s

license) used for signature verification can contain more information than

the signature, but never less. For example, if a document is signed with the

name of John S. Smith, Sr., the identification can include John S. Smith,

Sr., or even John Stanley Smith, Sr. If, however, the identification

document does not have the “Sr.” indication, the notary may not use that

55

document for identification purposes. Again, the identification

document can contain more information than the signature, but never

less.

6. The use of a credible witness as identification- If someone is requiring a

notary but lacks the proper identification, we can use a procedure called a

obtaining a credible witness. A credible witness must personally know

the signer and must be personally known by the notary.

If the notary does not personally know the credible witness, then two

credible witnesses may be used whose identities are proven to the notary

upon the presentation of satisfactory evidence.

Document Signer

without ID Notary Public who

personally knows the credible witness

Credible witness who

personally knows the

signer

Document signer

without ID Notary Public Two Credible witnesses

who know the signer.

I need your

ID’s Please

Document Signature:

Daniel C. Jones , III Daniel C. Jones, III

Driver’s License has:

Daniel C. Jones

Signed as:

Daniel C. Jones

We must not use this Driver’s License for

documents signed as Daniel C. Jones, III

since the name on the approved identification

MUST contain the same or more information

as the document signature, but never less.

This driver’s license does not include the

“III”, so we do not really know if this is

Daniel C. Jones, III, II or even the Ist!

Even though

I know you,

I still need

your ID.

56

7. Credible witnesses may not have any financial interest in the document,

nor may they be named within the document!

8. The credible witness(es) do not sign the document but must sign in the

identification column of the official notary journal. Credible witnesses

must swear to the notary that they personally know the document signer.

This verbal oath is acceptable identification to the notary for the document

signer. Be sure to enter the Credible Witness identifying information in the

journal properly. Identification for the two Credible Witnesses must be

recorded in the journal nearby their signature.

SIGNATURE BY MARK AND IDENTIFICATION OF THE SIGNER ONLY

9. If the signer of an instrument cannot write (sign) his or her name, that

person may sign by mark (x).

10. The signer’s mark must be witnessed by two persons who must subscribe

their own names as witnesses on the document.

Date: August 18, 2007 Name: X John Smith by: Mary Jones (Witness #1)

Peter R. Roberts (Witness #2)

You should note that only one witness is required to subscribe the

document signer’s name, but both witnesses sign the document. The

witnesses are only verifying that they witnessed the individual make his or

her mark on the document.

11. A notary public is not required to identify the two persons who witnessed

the signing by mark or to have the two witnesses sign the notary’s journal.

12. When a notary completes a notarization for a person who is signing by

mark, he or she must still verify the identity of the person signing by

mark. In addition, that person must also sign the journal with his or her

mark.

13. All persons signing a document must be able to sign under his or her own

power.

Special circumstance for document signers who cannot appear before the notary at

the time of notarization: use of a SUBSCRIBING WITNESS

14. Subscribing witness – When a document principal has signed or wishes

to sign a document but cannot personally appear before a notary, the

principal may request that a person sign the document as a witness to the

principal signer’s signature and ask a notary to notarize the document.

That person is used to prove the execution by the document principal

57

(signer) and is called a subscribing witness. (You should remember that a

document signer can also be referred to as the document executor or the

signing document principal).

15. The subscribing witness must swear under oath that he or she either saw

the principal sign the document or heard the signer acknowledge that he or

she signed the document.

16. The subscribing witness must personally know the identity of the

document signer and the subscribing witness must be personally known

by someone who knows a notary public. In other words, the subscribing

witness identity must be established, or proven by a third party. That third

party must personally know the subscribing witness and be personally

known by the notary public. That third party is called a credible

witness since he or she is verifying the identity of the subscribing

witness through personal knowledge and will prove their own identity

through the specified identification documents.

17. Since the subscribing witness must be personally known by one credible

witness who knows a notary, a notary’s personal knowledge or paper

identification such as a driver’s license, or any other form of satisfactory

evidence, is never used to verify the subscribing witness’ identity.

18. The subscribing witness must sign the document as well as the

notary’s official journal as the document signer. In addition, the

credible witness will also sign the identification column of the notary’s

official journal.

19. A Proof of Execution, also called a Subscribing Witness Jurat, must be

filled out and stamped to complete the notarization act. (See A-4).

No Problem!

Notary Public

who knows the Credible

Witness

Credible Witness

With ID who knows

the Subscribing

Witness

Document Signer

who cannot personally

appear before the notary

Subscribing Witness

who knows the

document signer

58

20. A proof by a subscribing witness may not be used in conjunction with any

Quitclaim Deed, Grant Deed, Deed of Trust, Security Agreement or

Mortgage Agreements.

21. If the wording of a document purports to identify an affiant (signer of a

written affidavit), and the document includes the birth date or age of the

person and a photograph or thumbprint of the person, the notary must

require:

a. A certified copy of the person’s birth certificate or

b. An identification card or DMV issued license. If the form is

required for immigration purposes, the notary may accept

identification documents acceptable to the United States Citizenship

and Immigration Services.

Check Your Knowledge

1. Some acceptable forms of identification include: a _________________

___________________ or _______________________________

_________________ issued by California or any other state, a passport issued by

the ______________ ____ __________________, to name a only a few .

2. The rule of thumb when using identification documents is that they should have a

photograph of the person, a physical description of the person and shall be

___________________ by the person. The document should also bear a

_____________ ______________ or other identifying number.

3. Foreign government passports, a driver’s license issued by a state other than

California or by a Canadian or Mexican public agency authorized to issue drivers’

licenses, an identification card issued by a state other than California, a United

States Military ID card, and an inmate identification card if the inmate is in

custody, an employee identification card issued by an agency or office of the State

or California, or by any agency or office of a city, county or city in California, are

all acceptable forms of ID as long as they are either current or have been issued

within ________ years and contain the aforementioned information.

4. If the document is a foreign passport, it _______________be stamped by the

United States Immigration and Naturalization Service or the United States

Citizenship and Immigration Services.

5. Proving identity on the basis of one credible witness requires that the credible

witness knows the signer and that the credible witness be known by the

________________. The credible witness must still provide proper identification

documentation to the notary.

59

6. If the notary does not personally know the credible witness, two

_________________ ________________ may be used as long as both have

proven their identity to the notary.

7. A ________________ _________________ may be used when a person has

signed a document but cannot personally appear before a notary. The

________________ identity must be established, or proven, by a third party

called a credible witness who is known by the notary and who has proper

identification.

8. Since the subscribing witness identification must be proved by one credible

witness, paper identification _______________ not be used in establishing the

subscribing witness’ identity.

9. A proof by a subscribing witness cannot be used in conjunction with any

______________ _________________, __________ _________, ___________

__ _____________, __________ ______________ , or ____________________.

10. If a signer is using Signature by Mark, that mark must be witnessed by

__________ witnesses who must sign their name on the document. A notary is

________ required to identify the two persons who witnessed the signing by mark

unless they are acting in the capacity of credible witnesses.

11. A credible witness may________ have a financial interest in the document and

may __________ be named within the document.

12. When notarizing a signature by mark, the notary must still verify the

_____________ of the one signing by mark.

Answers: 1. driver’s license, identification card, Department of State 2. signed; serial number 3. five 4. must 5. notary 6. credible

witnesses 7. subscribing witness; notary 8. cannot 9. Quitclaim Deed, Grant Deed, Deed of Trust, Security Agreement, Mortgage

10. two; not 11. not; not 12. identity

60

CHAPTER 6

THE NOTARY JOURNAL AND SEAL

Chapter Objective:

This section will further discuss the important requirements and use of

your notary journal and your notary seal.

The Sequential Journal A notary is required to obtain and use an official Journal of Notarial Records

which will retain certain information concerning any notary act performed during the

notary’s commission. A notary public is only permitted to keep one active sequential

journal at a time which records of all official acts performed as a notary public. The

journal must be kept in a locked and secured area, under the direct and exclusive control

of the notary because failure to secure the journal may be cause for the Secretary of State

to take administrative action against your commission. This means that your commission

may be suspended or revoked. If the notary who is an employee wishes to notarize

documents outside of regular business hours, the same journal must be used as the notary

may only use one journal at a time regardless of what they are notarizing

The journal must contain the following information:

1) Date & time the document is notarized

2) The type of notary act performed (acknowledgment or jurat)

3) The character (almost always the name) of the document notarized

(such as Grant Deed)

4) A statement as to the identity of a person making an

acknowledgment or taking an oath or affirmation which must be based

on satisfactory evidence.

5) Name of the identification document (such as driver’s license) or an

indication that credible witnesses were used and pertinent

identification information about the credible witness when required

(see chapter 5).

6) Serial number of the identification document, i.e. driver’s license

number

7) Date of issue or expiration of the identifying document

8) Signature of the person

9) Fees charged for notary services

10) Right thumbprint is required for a Power of Attorney and for Deeds

(for example, Warranty Deeds, Quitclaim Deeds, Grant Deeds) or

Deeds of Trust affecting real property. ***Please note that not all

documents with the word Deed in their title require a right thumbprint!

For example, Thumbprints are not required for Deeds of

Reconveyance or for a Trustee’s Deed if the Property is in

foreclosure. (When a property loan is paid in full, a Deed of Reconveyance is

issued; a Trustee’s Deed is issued for transfer of property which has been placed into

foreclosure.)

61

If the right thumbprint is unavailable, use a left thumbprint or any available finger

but be sure to indicate what was used. If the signer is unable to provide a print, the notary

must document the inability and state an explanation as to why the fingerprint was

unavailable. Failure to obtain a thumbprint when required is subject to a civil penalty of

up to $2,500.

Also note that addresses and birth dates are not required for journal entry. You

will find a sample journal entry in the appendix of this study guide on page A-5.

Lost, Damaged or Surrendered Journals

If the journal is stolen, lost, destroyed, damaged, or otherwise rendered unusable,

the notary public must immediately notify the Secretary of State by certified or registered

mail. The notification must include 1) the period of the journal entries, 2) the notary

public commission number, and 3) the expiration date of the commission, and 4)

when applicable, a photocopy of any police report which may have been taken.

Willful failure to report the theft or loss of a journal is grounds for suspension or

revocation of the notary commission. Anyone who willfully destroys, conceals or defaces

a notary journal (or any notarial record) may be charged with a misdemeanor as well as

other relief or remedy as provided by law.

The notary public may not surrender the journal to any person, except the County

Clerk, or to a peace officer who is acting in his or her official capacity and within his or

her authority. The peace officer must have probable cause to believe the journal contains

evidence of a criminal offence. The peace officer who seizes the journal must notify the

Secretary of State within 24 hours or as soon as possible with the name of the notary

public whose journal was seized.

The notary must comply with the request from the peace officer immediately or as

soon as possible if the journal is not in his or her possession. The willful failure to

provide the journal to a peace officer when requested is punishable by a civil penalty of

up to $2,500 from the Secretary of State or public prosecutor and suspension or

revocation of the commission.

If the notary is required to surrender his or her journal, the notary must obtain a

receipt for the journal and notify the Secretary of State within 10 days by certified mail

that the journal was relinquished to a peace officer. The notification must include: 1) the

period of journal entries 2) the commission number of the notary public, 3) the

expiration date of the commission, 4) and a photocopy of the receipt. If that journal

is later returned, the notary may not make any additional entries in that journal.

The peace officer, if acting within his or her authority, may also examine a notary

public’s pertinent records whether or not a request is made of the notary to surrender

those records.

If the notary resigns his or her commission or allows more than 30 days to pass

after his or her commission expires without recommissioning, the notary must turn in his

or her journal to the county clerk. Failure to do so can result in a charge of a

misdemeanor. Do not turn your journals into the office of the Secretary of State. It is not

necessary for the notary to begin a new journal when recommissioning so long as less

than the 30 days has passed between commissions.

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Provide Copies of Journal Entries

A notary is required to 1) Furnish Certified Copies of journal entries to the

Secretary of State upon request. The notary must respond in the time provided in the

request from the Secretary of State. 2) A notary must provide the journal for examination

and copying in the presence of the notary upon receipt of a subpoena duces tecum or a

court order and must certify the copies if requested.

Any member of the public may request a copy of a journal entry, but they must

include in their request the 1) name of the parties, 2) the type of document, and 3) the

month and year in which notarized. The notary must provide a photocopy of the line

item only and may not charge more than thirty cents ($0.30) per page. Simply cover the

remaining entries on the page before photocopying. The notary public must respond to a

request for a transaction in the notary public journal within 15 business days after the

receipt of the request and supply either a photostatic copy of the line item or

acknowledge that no such line item exists.

If your employer wishes to have copies of the notary journal records pertaining to

the business, the notary must supervise the process of copying those journal entries.

The Notary Seal Upon receiving your letter of commission from the Secretary of State, you will

also receive an authorization to have your notary seal (stamp) manufactured. Included in

your authorization will be a list of authorized seal manufacturers. Prices vary widely, so

shop around. Your seal must be obtained from an “Authorized Seal Manufacturer”. In

order for a document to be properly notarized, you must imprint your seal on the

document. Any notarized document must contain the imprint of the seal in a clear,

photographically reproducible manner regardless of the color ink used.

Your notary seal must be obtained from an “Authorized Seal Manufacturer‖.

The seal will include the following information:

a) The State Seal

b) The words ―Notary Public‖

c) Name of the Notary Public as shown on the commission

d) County where the oath and bond are on file

e) Commission expiration date

f) Sequential identification number (commission number) assigned

to the notary

g) Manufacturer or Vendor Identification Number

h) Serrated or milled edge border

JOHN Q. NOTARY

Commission..# 1234567

Notary Public- California

Los Angeles County

My Comm. Expires Jul. 9, 2012

CA State Seal

MM

M1

MM

M1

Sequential Commission

Number

Manufacturer or Vendor

ID Number The seal may be rectangular no more than 2 ½ “ x 1” or circular with

no more than a 2” diameter. Note that this seal is not to scale.

63

California Sub-Division Maps

The only instance when an official notary seal is not required when notarizing a

document is for an acknowledgment of a California Subdivision map. If you find yourself

notarizing this document and cannot use your seal because of the texture or some other

reason, you may write the information contained on the seal. You would include a) your

name b) the county of your principal place of business c) commission expiration

date all typed or printed below or immediately adjacent to the signature of the

notary on the acknowledgment. The commission number is not required in this

instance.

Requirements for the Notary Seal

The seal must be photographically reproducible when it is affixed to a document.

This means the seal must be used with ink. Black ink is most common but is not required.

The county will not accept the round embossers notaries used to use although many

notaries continue to use embossers in addition to their acceptable seal for extra security.

Inked seals can be easily copied and placed illegally onto another document.

The seal must also contain the State Seal and the words “Notary Public” as well

as your commission number, expiration date, the name of the county where the oath of

office and bond are on file.

The seal must contain the identification number assigned to the manufacturer and

finally it must have a serrated or milled edged border. This simply means that the seal

does not have a geometrical border, rather the border usually looks like the edge of a

steak knife might with wavy edges. The seal may be either round (2 inches max diameter)

or rectangular (no larger than 1” x 2 1/2 “) as long as it is photographically reproducible.

The County Clerk will not accept a document if the seal impression is not clear

and precise. If you smudge the seal impression, simply re-seal with a clear impression. If

the document does not allow enough room for you to place your seal without covering up

text or signatures, you should add a loose certificate or place your Jurat stamp on another

page and record all of the important information on that page pertaining to the document

so it may not be removed and reattached to another document inappropriately.

No notary seal or press stamp may be manufactured, duplicated, sold, or

offered for sale unless first authorized by the Secretary of State with a proper

Authorization to Manufacture a Seal.

Seal is for Official Use Only

Of course, the notary may never use the official notarial seal except for the

purpose of carrying out the duties of a Notary. You would never place your seal in an

advertisement, for example nor would you put your seal on photographs or photocopies

not containing proper notarial verbiage.

Similarly, a notary public also may never use the title ―notary public‖ except

for the purpose of rendering notarial services.

As discussed previously, the official seal of a notary public is the exclusive

property of that notary public, and may never be surrendered to an employer upon

the termination of employment, whether or not the employer paid for the seal, or to any

other person. The notary, or his or her representative, must destroy or deface the seal

upon termination, resignation, or revocation of the notary’s commission.

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What to Do If Your Seal is Lost.

If the official seal is lost, destroyed, or damaged, you will need to contact the

Secretary of State through mail who will issue a new certificate of authorization upon

request within five working days after receipt of the notice which you may then use to

obtain a replacement seal. Neglecting to notify the Secretary of State of a lost or stolen

seal can be cause for a $1,500 fine. Once your notary commission is expired, you must

destroy the seal to prevent possible fraudulent use by another.

When the notary who has obtained their commission as an employee leaves the

employer, he or she is to keep their notary seal and journals. The employer may not

demand that either the notary seal or the journal be returned to them or left on their

premises after termination of employment. Remember that the commission is yours and

the seal and journal is your personal property which you must retain and control at all

times. If your employer wishes to have copies of the notary journal records pertaining to

the business, the notary must supervise the process of copying.

Chapter Summary

The Notary Journal and Seal

JOURNAL RECORDS

The notary is required to keep a sequential journal of records. A notary public is

only permitted to keep one active sequential journal at a time which records of all

official acts performed as a notary public. The journal must always be kept in a

locked and secured area, under the direct and exclusive control of the notary

when not in use.

1. The journal must contain the following information:

a) Date & time the document is notarized

b) The type of notary act performed (acknowledgment or jurat)

c) The character (almost always the name) of the document

notarized (such as Grant Deed)

d) A statement as to the identity of a person making an

acknowledgment or taking an oath or affirmation which must

be based on satisfactory evidence.

e) Name of the identification document (such as driver’s

license) or an indication that credible witnesses were used and

pertinent identification information about the credible witness

when required (see chapter 5).

f) Serial number of the identification document, i.e. driver’s

license number

g) Date of issue or expiration of the identifying document

h) Signature of the person whose name is being notarized

i) Fees charged for notary services

j) Right thumbprint is required for a Power of Attorney and for

Deeds (for example, Warranty Deeds, Quitclaim Deeds, Grant

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Deeds) or Deeds of Trust affecting real property. ***Please

note that not all documents with the word Deed in their title

require a right thumbprint! For example, Thumbprints are not

required for Deeds of Reconveyance or for a Trustee’s

Deed if the Property is in foreclosure. (When a property loan is

paid in full, a Deed of Reconveyance is issued; a Trustee’s Deed is issued

for transfer of property that has been placed into foreclosure).

2. If the right thumbprint is unavailable, use a left thumbprint or any

available finger but be sure to indicate what was used. If the signer is

unable to provide a print, the notary must document the inability and

state an explanation as to why the fingerprint was unavailable. Failure

to obtain a thumbprint when required is subject to a civil penalty of up to

$2,500.

3. Note that addresses and birth dates are not required for journal entry.

Immediate Notification To Secretary Of State

4. If the journal is stolen, lost, destroyed, damaged, or otherwise rendered

unusable, the notary public must immediately notify the Secretary of

State by certified or registered mail. Willful failure to report the theft or

loss of a journal is grounds for suspension or revocation of the notary

commission.

5. The notification must include 1) the period of the journal entries, 2) the

notary public commission number, and 3) the expiration date of the

commission, and 4) when applicable, a photocopy of any police report

which may have been filed.

6. Anyone who willfully destroys, conceals or defaces a notary journal (or

any notarial record) may be charged with a misdemeanor as well as other

relief or remedy as provided by law.

10-Day Notification To Secretary Of State

7. The notary is may not surrender the journal to any person, except the

County Clerk, or to a peace officer who is acting in his or her official

capacity and within his or her authority. The peace officer must have

probable cause to believe the journal contains evidence of a criminal

offense. The peace officer who seizes the journal must notify the Secretary

of State within 24 hours or as soon as possible with the name of the notary

public whose journal was seized.

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8. The notary must comply with the request from the peace officer

immediately or as soon as possible if the journal is not in his or her

possession. The willful failure to provide the journal to a peace officer

when requested is punishable by a civil penalty of up to $2,500 from the

Secretary of State or public prosecutor and suspension or revocation of the

commission.

9. The peace officer, if acting within his or her authority, may also examine a

notary public’s pertinent records whether or not a request is made of the

notary to surrender those records.

10. If the journal is surrendered, the notary must obtain a receipt for the

journal and notify the Secretary of State within 10 days by certified mail

that the journal was relinquished to a peace officer. The notification must

include: 1) the period of journal entries 2) the commission number of

the notary public, 3) the expiration date of the commission, 4) and a

photocopy of the receipt. If that journal is later returned, the notary may

not make any additional entries in that journal.

11. If the notary resigns his or her commission or allows more than 30 days to

pass after his or her commission expires without recommissioning, the

notary must turn in his or her journal to the County Clerk’s office where

the oath is on file and the Secretary of State should be notified. Failure to

do so could result in a misdemeanor. Documents delivered to the

Secretary of State will be returned to the sender. If the notary is unable to

deliver the journals (either through illness or death), someone appointed

on the notary’s behalf should follow this requirement on behalf of the

notary. It is not necessary for the notary to begin a new journal when

recommissioning so long as less than the 30 days has passed between

commissions.

Provide Copies Of Journal Entries

12. A notary is required to 1) Furnish Certified Copiesof journal entries to the

Secretary of State upon request. The notary must respond in the time

provided in the request from the Secretary of State. 2) A notary must

provide the journal for examination and copying in the presence of the

notary upon receipt of a subpoena duces tecum or a court order and must

certify the copies if requested.

13. Any member of the public may request a copy of a journal entry, but they

must include in their request the 1) name of the parties, 2) the type of

document, and 3) the month and year in which notarized. The notary

must provide a photocopy of the line item only and may not charge more

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than thirty cents ($0.30) per page. Simply cover the remaining entries on

the page before photocopying. The notary public must respond to a request

for a transaction in the notary public journal within 15 business days after

the receipt of the request and supply either a photostatic copy of the line

item or acknowledge that no such line item exists.

14. If your employer wishes to have copies of the notary journal records

pertaining to the business, the notary must supervise the process of

copying those journal entries.

15. When the notary who has obtained their commission as an employee

leaves the employer, he or she is to keep their journals. The employer may

not demand that the notary journal be returned to them or left on their

premises after termination of employment.

THE NOTARY SEAL 16. Your notary seal must be obtained from an “Authorized Seal

Manufacturer‖. The seal will include the following information:

a. The State Seal

b. The words ―Notary Public‖

c. Name of the Notary Public as shown on the commission

d. County where the oath and bond are on file

e. Commission expiration date

f. Sequential identification number (commission number)

assigned to the notary

g. Manufacturer or Vendor Identification Number

h. Serrated or milled edge border

Example of a Notary Seal

17. If seal is lost, the notary must obtain another authorization from the

Secretary of State in order to order a new seal. Upon receiving the request

to manufacture a new seal, the Secretary of State will send the notary

authorization within 5 business days for a seal replacement. Neglecting to

notify the Secretary of State of a lost or stolen seal can be cause for a

$1,500 fine.

JOHN Q. NOTARY

Commission..# 1234567

Notary Public- California

Los Angeles County

My Comm. Expires Jul. 9, 2008

CA State Seal

MM

M1 M

MM

1 Sequential Commission

Number

Manufacturer or Vendor

ID Number The seal may be rectangular no more than 2 ½” w x 1”l or circular

with no more than a 2” diameter. Note that this seal is not to scale.

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18. In order for a document to be properly notarized, you must imprint your

seal on the document. Any notarized document must contain the imprint

of the seal in a clear, photographically reproducible manner. You

should not affix your seal over a printed or written portion of the

document.

19. Illegible or improperly placed seals can be cause for rejection by the

County Recorder.

20. The only instance when an official notary seal is not required when

notarizing a document is for an acknowledgment of a California

subdivision map. When notarizing this document, simply sign and

directly underneath or next to your signature, type or print the

following

a. Notary’s name

b. The county of the notary’s principal place of business (this

is the county where the oath and bond are on file)

c. Commission expiration date.

The commission number is not required for California sub-division

maps.

21. When the notary who has obtained their commission as an employee

leaves the employer, he or she is to keep their notary seal and journals.

The employer may not demand that either the notary seal or the journal be

returned to them or left on their premises after termination of employment.

22. When the notary public commission is no longer valid the notary public

seal must be destroyed to protect the notary from possible fraudulent use

by another.

Check Your Knowledge

1. A notary should only keep ________ active journal at any time. The journal is the

exclusive property of the notary. Failure to secure the journal can be cause for the

Secretary of State to take administrative action against the notary’s commission.

2. The notary must require a right thumbprint (left if the right is unavailable) if the

document is a _____________ ____________ ____________, Deed (such as

Quitclaim Deed, Warranty Deed, or Grant Deet) and Deeds of Trust affecting real

property.

3. A seal must be ______________________ reproducible when affixed to a

document.

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4. A seal must also have a __________________ or milled edged border.

5. Using the seal on any document not containing the proper notarial wording is

____________________________. The seal must not be used for any other

purpose other than the rendering of a notarial service.

6. When the notary public commission is no longer valid, the notary public seal must

be __________________ to protect the notary from possible fraudulent use by

another.

7. If a notary is to surrender his or her journal to a peace officer, the notary must

notify the Secretary of State in writing within ____________ days.

8. Failure to submit journal records with the county clerk or notify the Secretary of

State within 30 days after the completion of your commission (without

recommissioning) can result in the charge of a _____________________.

answers: 1. one 2. Power of Attorney 3. photographically 4. serrated 5. illegal 6. destroyed 7. ten 8. misdemeanor

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CHAPTER 7

ADDITIONAL PROHIBITED ACTS AS A NOTARY

Chapter Objective:

This section outlines some illegal notarial acts or practices. Students will

be able to correctly identify improper notary procedures.

Quite often, clients appear before the notary public wishing for legal advice or

assistance. This may because of unfamiliarity with the office of the Notary in general or

sometimes is a result of confusing the office of the Notary Public in California with

notaries in other countries. For example, in Mexico, and many Latin American countries

or even some European countries, notaries are attorneys who specialize in the legal area

of Notary work. When the public goes to a notary in any one of these countries, they are

expecting that the notary will be able to assist them with specific types of legal questions

or problems.

In the United Sates; however, most notaries are not attorneys and the scope of

notary duties in the United States and particularly California is very limited. A non-

attorney notary in the United States may never represent himself or herself as an

attorney nor may they perform any service which would be considered to be the

practice law. In fact, we must be very careful as notaries not to mislead the public

regarding this issue either in our advertising or services which we provide.

You already know that you cannot notarize your own document and that while

you may notarize documents for a spouse or relatives, you should be very careful that the

documents could not have a beneficial or financial interest to you. You also know that it

is illegal for a non-attorney notary to give legal advice or provide legal assistance. Let’s

look as a few more prohibitions.

Notarizing Wills A notary should not notarize a will unless an attorney recommended that the will

should be notarized. There are some wills that will be nullified simply by the

notarization. If a client comes in and request that a will be notarized, you should decline

unless the client informs you that an attorney requested the will to be notarized. You

might want to request the name and phone number of the attorney for verification and be

sure to record all of that information in your journal.

Certification of Documents A notary may not certify copies of birth, death, marriage records, etc. Remember

from our earlier discussion that the only document a notary may certify is a copy of a

power of attorney and a copy of record(s) from his or her notary journal.

We do not notarize photographs or copies of documents such as academic

records, birth certificates or any document which does not have a place for a person to

sign.. If the photograph or academic record is attached to a statement indicating, for

example, that the attached document is a true and correct copy of the original, the notary

can notarize that statement upon the oath and signature of the declarant. In such an

example, the notary is not notarizing the photograph or the document reproduction.

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Translation of Notary Public into Spanish A notary may not translate the term “Notary Public” into the following Spanish

terms: notario público or notario. In addition, if a notary advertises their services in

another language other than English, the notary must also post along with that

advertisement, the following statement in English and the other language:

“I am not an attorney and, therefore, cannot give legal advice about

immigration matters or any other legal matters”.

The notary must also post their fees which cannot exceed the legal fees for their services.

See the next chapter for a discussion of fees.

Violation of this requirement may be cause for the Secretary of State to suspend

the Notary commission for not less than 1 year on the first offense and the commission

will be revoked permanently on the second offence.

You can see that the reason for this law is so your Spanish-speaking clients will

not presume that you carry the same legal authority as notaries in their mother county.

Immigration Specialists or Consultant A notary may not advertise in any manner whatsoever that he or she is a notary if

the notary promotes himself or herself as an immigration specialist or consultant. This

again is to help eliminate confusion concerning the differences between the limited duties

of a notary public in California versus duties of a notary public in other countries.

Another point about immigration consultants is that while a notary may notarize

immigration forms, only a person who is qualified and bonded as an immigration

consultant under the Business and Professions Code may assist the client in

completing immigration forms.

Certifying Translations As a notary, you may receive requests from the public to certify a translation. A

notary is not allowed to certify a translation; however, a notary may notarize the

signature statement of the translator indicating that the translation was performed

accurately, but be very careful that you do not give the impression that you are certifying

the translation.

Falsifying Information A notary may not falsify any information including dates on the document to be

notarized. Sometimes a client will ask you to backdate an acknowledgment or jurat but it

is illegal to comply with this request. A notary may never notarize a document containing

information known to the notary to be false. Doing so may result in a charge of a

misdemeanor and if the document is a Deed of Trust or any other document which

encumbers the signer into the property, you may be guilty of a felony.

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Chapter Summary

Additional Prohibited Acts as a Notary

1. A non-attorney notary may not give legal advice in any manner. This

includes situations when the document signer requires notary services but

does not know whether to complete an acknowledgment or jurat. In these

instances, the notary is to refer the client to the originator of the document

for advice as to which one to complete.

2. A notary should not notarize a will unless an attorney recommended that

the will should be notarized.

3. A notary may NEVER notarize any documents containing statements

known by the notary to be false. A notary found guilty of doing so will be

charged with a misdemeanor and depending on the document and

circumstances, a felony. Any misdemeanor or felony charge is punishable

with criminal prosecution, possible jail time and/or suspension or

revocation of the notary’s commission.

4. There are many differences between notaries in other countries and the

United States which often lead to a misunderstanding of the role of a

notary in the United States by clients from these other countries. Hence, a

notary may not translate the term “Notary Public” into the following

Spanish terms: notario público or notario.

5. If a notary advertises their services in another language other than English,

the notary must also post along with that advertisement, the following

statement in English and the other language: “I am not an attorney and,

therefore, cannot give legal advice about immigration matters or any

other legal matters”. The notary must also post their fees which cannot

exceed the legal fees for their services.

6. Violation of these two requirements (see numbers 4 & 5) shall be

cause for the Secretary of State to revoke or suspend the notary

commission for not less than 1 year on the first offense and the

commission will be revoked permanently on the second offense.

7. A notary may not advertise in any manner whatsoever that he or she is a

notary if the notary promotes himself or herself as an immigration

specialist or consultant. While a notary may notarize immigration forms,

only a person who is qualified and bonded as an immigration

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consultant under the Business and Professions Code may assist the client

in completing immigration forms.

8. We do not notarize photographs or copies of documents such as

academic records, birth certificates or any document which does not have

a place for a person to sign. However, if the photograph or academic

record is attached to a statement such as the one below which indicates

that the attached document is a true and correct copy of the original, the

notary can notarize that statement upon the oath and signature of the

declarant. In such an example, the notary is not notarizing the photograph

or the document reproduction, only the statement regarding such

documents. Remember the only 2 things that a California Notary Public

may CERTIFY is a Copy of a Power of Attorney, and a line item from

your notary journal.

9. The notary may never use the notary seal or the title for anything other

than the rendering of notarial services.

10. The notary must not affix his or her seal to a document without the

accompanying required notarial verbiage on the document.

11. It is illegal for a notary to notarize a blank or an obviously incomplete

document.

This is an example of a statement which might be attached to a copy of a

document should a client want to certify his or her own copy and request

that their signature be notarized.

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Check Your Knowledge

1. Giving legal advice to a client is ___________________ unless the notary is an

attorney.

2. You should ________________ to notarize a will unless the client has been

directed by an attorney to have the will notarized.

3. A notary may not translate the term “notary public” directly into the following

Spanish terms: _____________ ______________ or ____________________.

4. Only a person who is _________________ and bonded as an

_________________ __________________ may assist the client in completing

immigration forms.

5. Violation of direct translation into notario público or notario or failing to post fees

in this instance is punishable by revocation or suspension of the notary’s

commission for at least _____ year on the first offense .

6. A notary may not notarize photographs, or academic ___________ and diplomas,

birth certificates or other documents which have no indication for place where a

signer would

Answers: 1. illegal, 2. refuse 3. notario público, notario 4. qualified; immigration consultant 5. one 6. records

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CHAPTER 8

ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS A NOTARY MUST KNOW

Chapter Objective:

This section covers additional requirements for notaries concerning

relocating, name changes and other miscellaneous provisions. Once

again, the student will be able to recognize proper and improper notary

procedures.

Foreign Language Documents

A notary may notarize a document in a foreign language that they are not

familiar with, as a notary public is not responsible for the contents of the document. The

notary should be able to identify the type of document being notarized for entry in

the notary’s journal. If unable to identify the type of document, the notary must make

an entry to that effect in their journal, e.g. “a document in a foreign language.”

Change of Name If a notary changes his or her name (through marriage for example), the notary

must complete a name change application and file it with the Secretary of State,

whereupon an amended commission will be sent to reflect the new name. The notary will

need to obtain a new stamp with the new name, however; the sequential commission

number and the expiration date will remain unchanged. The notary must also change

the name on their bond and re-file the amended bond with the county clerk within 30

days or the commission will not go into effect and will become void. The amended

commission will not go into effect until the oath and amended bond are on file and the

new notary seal must be obtained within 30 days of filing.

Change of Residence or Principal Place of Business A notary public may not use a commercial mail receiving agency or post office

box as his or her principal place of business or residence unless the notary public

provides the Secretary of State with a physical street address as the principal place of

residence. If a notary changes residence or their principal place of business, the notary

must inform the Secretary of State, in writing by certified mail within 30 days. The

notary is not required to file a new oath and bond within a new county, but may elect to

do so. The notification must include: 1) Name of the notary as on the commission, 2)

commission number and expiration date of commission, 3) whether change of address is

for the business, residence, and/or for mailing purposes, 4) new address, 5) signed and

dated by the notary.

If a notary is appointed solely on behalf of a governmental office, or to a military

installation that notary must relinquish their commission when changing business

locations.

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Grounds for Commission Refusal, Suspension and Revocation Aside from commission denial as a result of the background check, there are

many reasons for a notary to find his or her commission in jeopardy.

Failing to disclose convictions of any misdemeanor or felony, or any

pending trial, on the notary application

Any conviction of a misdemeanor or felony including convictions

resulting from a plea of nolo contendere (no contest), denial,

revocation or suspension of any professional license as a result of

misconduct or dishonesty

A notary’s failure to properly carry out the required duties as a notary

can result in criminal prosecution as well as personal liability in

addition to commission suspension or revocation.

The notary also risks suspension or revocation as a result of being

found liable for damages if the suit was based upon fraud or

misrepresentation

If the notary uses false or misleading advertising which suggests that

the notary has rights or powers which are prohibited by law, the

Secretary of State may suspend or revoke the commission.

Willful failure to report the theft or loss of a journal

Making a false writing

Fraud relating to a Deed of Trust (if relating to a real property single-family

residence, the notary may be subject to other relief or remedies provided to the

parties by law) Unlawfully acting as a notary public

Filing false or forged documents

Forgery

Embezzlement

Falsely obtaining personal information.

Willful failure to provide access to a journal when requested by a

police officer

Previously revoked commissions may be cause for the Secretary of State to deny any

future applications from that applicant.

Electronic Signatures Notarization of electronic signatures is acceptable but the notary must also sign

electronically. Except for a California subdivision map, current law requires a notary

seal on the document in order for the document to be properly notarized, but there are

exceptions made if the document is electronic. If there is no notary seal present with the

notary’s electronic signature, new California law ((Government code section

27931(e)(2004)) permits the county recorder to accept the document for recording

without the seal as long as the document contains the following information:

a) The name of the notary

b) The words “notary public”

c) The name of the county where the notary’s bond and oath are on file

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d) The sequential identification number of the notary (commission

number) and the seal manufacture’s number

Taking Depositions If required to take a deposition, the notary should refer these services to an

attorney.

Chapter Summary

ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS A NOTARY MUST KNOW

1. A notary may notarize a document in a foreign language that they are not

familiar with, as a notary public is not responsible for the contents of the

document. The notary should be able to identify the type of document

being notarized for entry in the notary’s journal. If unable to identify

the type of document, the notary must make an entry to that effect in their

journal, e.g. “a document in a foreign language.”

2. If a notary changes his or her name (through marriage for example), the

notary must complete a name change application and file it with the

Secretary of State, whereupon an amended commission will be sent to

reflect the new name. The notary will need to obtain a new stamp with the

new name, however; the sequential commission number and the

expiration date will remain unchanged. The notary must also change the

name on their bond and re-file the amended bond with the county clerk

within 30 days or the commission will not go into effect and will become

void. The amended commission will not go into effect until the oath and

amended bond are on file and the new notary seal must be obtained within

30 days of filing.

3. A notary public may not use a commercial mail receiving agency or post

office box as his or her principal place of business or residence unless the

notary public provides the Secretary of State with a physical street address

as the principal place of residence.

4. If a notary changes his or her residence or principal place of business, the

notary must inform the Secretary of State, in writing by certified mail

within 30 days. The notary is not required to file a new oath and bond

within a new county, but may elect to do so. The notification letter must

include: 1) Name of the notary as on the commission, 2) commission

number and expiration date of commission, 3) whether change of address

is for the business, residence, and/or for mailing purposes, 4) new address,

and 5) signed and dated by the notary. If the principal place of business

address was changed in the application for name change, either a new

bond or a duplicate of the original bond must be filed along with the

amendment to the bond.

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5. If a notary is appointed solely on behalf of a governmental office, or to a

military installation that notary must relinquish their commission when

changing employers.

6. Grounds for commission refusal, suspension and revocation. Failing to disclose convictions of any misdemeanor or felony,

or any pending trial, on the notary application

Any conviction of a misdemeanor or felony including

convictions resulting from a plea of nolo contendere (no

contest), denial, revocation or suspension of any professional

license as a result of misconduct or dishonesty

A notary’s failure to properly carry out the required duties as a

notary which can also result in criminal prosecution as well as

personal liability in addition to commission suspension or

revocation

Being found liable for damages if the suit was based upon

fraud or misrepresentation

If the notary uses false or misleading advertising which

suggests that the notary has rights or powers which are

prohibited by law, the Secretary of State may suspend or

revoke the commission

Willful failure to report the theft or loss of a journal

Making a false writing

Fraud relating to a Deed of Trust (if relating to a real property single-

family residence, the notary may be subject to other relief or remedies

provided to the parties by law) Unlawfully acting as a notary public

Filing false or forged documents

Forgery

Embezzlement

Falsely obtaining personal information

Willful failure to provide access to a journal when requested by

a police officer

7. Notarization of electronic signatures is acceptable, but the notary must

also sign electronically. Except for a California subdivision map, current

law requires a notary seal on the document in order for the document to be

properly notarized, but there are exceptions made if the document is

electronic. If there is no notary seal present with the notary’s electronic

signature, new California law ((Government code section 27931(e)(2004))

permits the county recorder to accept the document for recording without

the seal as long as the document contains the following information:

a) The name of the notary

b) The words “notary public”

c) The name of the county where the notary’s bond and oath are

on file

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d) The sequential identification number of the notary

(commission number).

e) The seal manufacture’s number.

Check Your Knowledge

1. A notary ___________ notarize a document in a foreign language, but the notary

should attempt to identify the type of document if possible.

2. Upon completing a name change application, the notary will receive a new

authorization to manufacture a seal. The name will be changed but the

commission number will be the _____________.

3. If a notary changes his or her name (through marriage for example), the notary

must complete a ___________ ________________ application and file it with

the Secretary of State

4. A notary has ________ days to notify the Secretary of State if they change their

residence or place of business and must do so by _____________ or

______________ mail.

Answers: 1. may 2. same 3. name change application 4. thirty, certified; registered

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CHAPTER 9

ALLOWABLE NOTARY FEES

Chapter Objective:

This section lists the prescribed fees a notary may charge for his or her

services. The state of California has placed a limitation on the fees a notary may charge for

their services. Of course, the notary is not required to charge for his or her services and

can in fact reduce the charges to whatever amount they wish, but the notary may never

charge more than the prescribed fees.

Prescribed Fees a) For notarizing one signature on an acknowledgment, Jurat, Proof of

Execution: $10 per signature.

b) Deposition: $20 plus $5 for the oath and $5 for the certificate.

c) Protest: $10 plus $5 for serving a notice of nonpayment and $5 for

recording the protest.

d) Services relating to immigration papers: $10 not inclusive of the

signature charges.

e) Certifying copy of powers of attorney: $10

f) Copy of journal entry: $0.30

Remember that only a person who is qualified and bonded as an Immigration

Consultant under the Business and Professions Code may assist a client in completing

immigration forms. A notary may not charge any individual more than $10 for each set of

forms, unless the notary is also an attorney who is rendering professional services as an

attorney. This fee limitation applies even if the person is not performing notarial duties.

Voting Materials or Military Pension Documents Simply stated, you are not allowed to charge any fees to notarize these types of

documents.

Employees A notary who received his or her commission as an employee at the expense of the

employer may, upon agreement with the employer, be required to submit fees charged for

notarial services back to the employer. This is usually up to negotiation between you and

your employer; however, if a notary public is an employee of a school or government

office and was appointed at the request and expense of their employer and notarizes

documents specifically for that employer, any fees charged must be remitted back to

that employer.

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Travel Fees and Extras While state law has limited the fees for notarial acts, no limitation is placed on a

notary for travel costs and other related expenses. Full time notaries most often work as

mobile notaries rather than out of an office. Let’s look at just one of the available options

to you as a mobile notary.

Loan Signing and Special Fees Whenever property is purchased or refinanced, there are several documents which

require notarization. Even if the property is purchased without a loan, the Grant Deed

which legally transfers ownership of the property must be notarized. Typically, of course,

property is purchased through a Deed of Trust which means that the new owner has

borrowed the money and promises to pay the loan back under the conditions stipulated in

the loan agreement.

As you might imagine, thousands of home purchases and refinance agreements

are entered into daily and this means a lot of notaries are needed to complete the

transactions. While many banks, escrow companies and lenders have their own full time

notaries, a great amount of loan signings require the services of mobile notaries who can

travel to the home of a borrower, a bank, or escrow company where there are not enough

notaries to meet the demand.

As a mobile notary, you may be requested to provide notarial services after

regular business hours, for example, or on Saturdays and Sundays or for companies that

simply have more volume than their full time notaries can handle.

If you are interested in providing loan signing services, you will want to become

certified as a loan signer. While this is not a legal requirement, many loan signing

agencies, banks, or escrow companies will not want to risk using your services unless

they can be assured that you know the business and will not make errors. To become a

certified loan signer, you will want to take a seminar (typically one-day) or do a home

study course which provides certification after testing. In addition, many companies that

engage your services will want you to complete a certification program with them as

well. Again, the effort to become certified is minimal and you will be worth more in the

marketplace and to the public. If interested, go to www.certifiedloansigners.com for

more information.

Loan signers are currently making on average from $50 to $150 per loan signing

depending on whether they are working through an agency or directly with the lender or

escrow company. Loan signings should take around 60 to 90 minutes to complete and

many experienced loan signers complete 4 or 5 loan signings per day if they have

marketed their services well and have proven their professionalism to the companies

seeking mobile notaries.

The fee is standard regardless of the number of signatures to be notarized. These

fees do not violate the set fees of $10 per signature because the excess amount is

considered travel charges. When you enter your fees in the journal, be sure that you do

not enter more than the allowable legal fees for the notarial services as your travel fees

should not be included in the journal entry.

Allow me to introduce a word of caution if you are a new notary concerning the

market rate for mobile notary fees. There are some loan signing agencies who are

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attempting to attract new mobile notaries for fees under $50 per loan signing. Accepting

fees like $30 or $40 per loan signing does not compensate the notary nearly enough for

his or her time, travel expenses or other related business expenses, not to mention the

taxes you will need to pay at the end of the year. The adage that says you get what you

pay for holds true especially with this type of profession and you will want to ensure that

you are treated as a professional and paid accordingly.

Chapter Summary

ALLOWABLE NOTARY FEES

1. Below are the maximum allowable fees for notary services. Notaries are

not required to charge a fee. If no fee is charged, the notary is still required

to enter $0 into their journal. Travel fees are not limited and are not

included in these amounts.

2. Acknowledgments, Jurats and Proofs of Execution (Subscribing Witness

Jurat)- $10/ signature.

3. Deposition - $20 plus $5 for the oath and $5 for the certificate. (Notaries

rarely perform depositions in California because that function is typically

carried out by a Court Reporter)

4. Filling out immigration forms- $10 plus signature charges.

a) Notaries may fill out immigration forms only if they are

licensed and bonded as an immigration consultant.

5. Certifying copies of a Power of Attorney - $10

6. Copy of a journal entry- $.30

7. Protesting a non-payment -$10 (See page 12, #16)

8. Serving a protest- $5 (See page 12, #16)

9. Recording a Protest- $5 (See page 12, #16)

10. No fees may be charged for verifying public election (voting) materials

or a circulator’s affidavit. A circulator’s affidavit is an affidavit sworn to

by someone who collects signatures for a public petition.

11. No fees may be charged to a veteran for notarizing military pension and

benefit documents.

12. No fees may be charged by notaries appointed to a military or naval

reservation.

13. A notary who received his or her commission as an employee at the

expense of the employer may, upon agreement with the employer, be

required to submit fees charged for notarial services back to the employer.

This is usually up to negotiation between you and your employer.

14. Notaries who are employees of a public school or the government and

have obtained their commissions upon the requirement of their

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employer, and who have had their commissioning fees and other

associated fees paid for by their employer, must remit any fees charged

for notary services back to their employer.

15. Notaries who notarize documents on behalf of a county or judicial district

are required to provide receipts when requested.

Check Your Knowledge

1. A notary may never charge _______________ than the prescribed fees for his or

her services.

2. ______ fees may be charged for notarizing ______________ ____________,

military __________________ or _____________ documents.

3. Only a notary who is licensed and bonded as an immigration consultant may

assist a client in completing ________________ documents.

4. The charge for notarizing three signatures on a single acknowledgment cannot

exceed ___________ dollars.

5. A copy of a journal entry may be charged at _________ per copy.

Answers: 1. more 2. no; voting materials; pensions; benefit 3. immigration 4. $30 5. $.30

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CHAPTER 10

VIOLATIONS, FINES AND PENALTIES

1. Violation of Notary laws can result in serious consequences which can

include:

a) Civil penalties levied by Secretary of State and local and state

prosecutors

b) Administrative actions levied by the Secretary of State

c) Criminal prosecution of a felony, misdemeanor or infractions.

Civil Penalties levied by Secretary of State

2. The Secretary of State may levy penalties of up to $1,500 for notarial

misconduct. These penalties may be in addition to suspension or

revocation of the notary commission (Government Code § 8214.15(a)).

The penalties of up to $1,500 may apply in the following

circumstances:

a) The use of false or misleading advertising wherein the

notary public has represented that he or she has duties,

rights, or privileges that he or she does not possess.

b) Commission of any act involving dishonesty, fraud, or

deceit with the intent to substantially benefit the notary

public or another, or substantially injure another.

c) Execution of any certificate as a notary public

containing a statement known to the notary public to be

false.

d) Violating the prohibition against a notary public who

holds himself or herself out as an immigration specialist

or consultant advertising that he or she is a notary or

violating the restrictions on charging to assist in the

completion of immigration forms.

e) Violating the restrictions on advertising notarial

services in a foreign language or literally translating the

phrase “notary public” into Spanish

$750 Penalties levied by the Secretary of State

The Secretary of State may levy penalties of up to $750 for notarial

misconduct. These penalties may be in addition to suspension or

revocation of the notary commission (Government Code § 8214.15(b)).

The penalties of up to $750 may apply in the following circumstances:

a) Charging more than the fees prescribed by law.

b) Failure to complete the acknowledgment at the time the

notary’s signature and seal are affixed to the document.

c) Failure to administer the oath or affirmation as required by law.

d) The negligent failure to discharge fully and faithfully any of

the duties required of a notary public

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Additional Civil Penalties $1,500 levied by state and local

prosecutors.

A separate provision of the law permits the Attorney General, a

district attorney, city attorney or a prosecutor in any city and

county to bring a civil action to recover a civil penalty not to

exceed $1,500 for each violation from:

a) Violators of the provisions relating to the unauthorized

manufacture, duplication, sale and related offenses

concerning the notary seal.

$2,500 Civil Penalties; A civil penalty of up to $2,500 may be

brought by the Secretary of State in an administrative

proceeding or by a public prosecutor in superior court.

a) Failure to obtain a thumbprint when required.

b) Willful failure to provide a peace officer with a journal

when requested.

$10,000 Civil Penalty A civil penalty of up to $10,000 may be

brought by the Secretary of State in an administrative

proceeding or by a public prosecutor in superior court.

a) Failing to obtain proper evidence of identification of a

person making an acknowledgment.

b) Falsifying an acknowledgment (perjury)

Criminal Penalties

3. Aside from civil penalties and administrative actions by the Secretary of

State, notary misconduct can result in criminal prosecution.

Felonies – Some notary misconduct is serious enough to qualify for

prosecution as a felony. Other than committing perjury, which is a felony

for everyone, not just notaries, felonies are limited to dishonest or

fraudulent actions with respect to encumbering someone into property.

a) Any notary act performed with the intent to defraud in relation

to a Deed of Trust.

b) Any person acting as a notary without being duly

commissioned and their action places an encumbrance on a

party affecting title to real property (such as with a Deed of

Trust).

c) Anyone who knowingly makes a false sworn statement to a

notary for a document which affects transfer of property title or

places an encumbrance on a party is guilty of a felony. Any

person filing with the county recorder false or forged

documents of this nature is guilty of a felony and the fine on

this action can be up to $75,000.

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d) Any notary who commits perjury (punishable by state

imprisonment of 2, 3 or 4 years.)

Misdemeanors- Some notarial violations are classified as misdemeanors;

however, even these violations can carry a possible fine as well as possible

incarceration in a city or county jail.

a) It is misdemeanor for a notary to notarize any document, other

than documents relating to a Deed of Trust (see felonies) that

contains information known by the notary to be false.

b) Any person acting as a notary without being duly

commissioned

c) Destruction, concealment or defacing notary records.

d) Soliciting or coercing a notary to perform an illegal or an

improper act.

e) Making false statements to a notary.

f) Failing to submit notarial journals to the County Clerk within

30 days after a notary commission is no longer valid and the

notary does not obtain reappointment.

g) Willfully fails to properly maintain his or her notarial journal.

h) Willfully fails to notify the Secretary of State if his or her

notarial journal is lost, stolen, rendered unusable or surrendered

to a peace officer.

i) Willfully fails to permit a lawful inspection or copying of his

or her notarial journal.

j) Willfully fails to keep his or her notarial seal under direct and

exclusive control.

k) Willfully surrenders his or her notarial seal to any person not

authorized to possess it.

l) Any person who solicits, coerces, or influences a notary public

to improperly maintain the notary public’s journal.

False Acknowledgments/Forgery (Felony or Misdemeanor)— The law

may make a notary public guilty of forgery if he or she issues an

acknowledgment knowing it to be false. A person who falsifies the

acknowledgment of a notary public may also be guilty of forgery. Forgery

is punishable by imprisonment in the state prison, or by imprisonment in

the county jail for not more than one year. (False certification by a notary

public may also be a misdemeanor pursuant to Government Code § 6203.)

Infractions

a) Willful failure to notify the Secretary of State of a name

change is punishable as an infraction by a fine of up to $500.

b) Willful failure to notify the Secretary of State of a change of

address is punishable as an infraction by a fine of up to $500.

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4. Administrative actions levied by the Secretary of State resulting in

possible commission denial, cancellation, suspension or revocation

a) Any conviction of a misdemeanor or felony including

convictions resulting from a plea of nolo contendere (no

contest), denial, revocation or suspension of any professional

license as a result of misconduct or dishonesty.

b) A notary’s failure to properly carry out the required duties as a

notary can result in criminal prosecution as well as personal

liability in addition to commission suspension or revocation.

c) The notary also risks suspension or revocation as a result of

being found liable for damages if the suit was based upon fraud

or misrepresentation.

d) If the notary uses false or misleading advertising which

suggests that the notary has rights or powers which are

prohibited by law, the Secretary of State may suspend or

revoke the commission.

e) Making a false writing.

f) Fraud relating to a Deed of Trust (if relating to a real property

single-family residence, the notary may be subject to other

relief or remedies provided to the parties by law).

g) Unlawfully acting as a notary public

h) Filing false or forged documents

i) Forgery

j) Embezzlement

k) Falsely obtaining personal information.

l) Willful failure to provide access to a journal when requested by

a police officer.

m) Failure to secure or misuse of the notary stamp (seal)

n) Failure to secure the notary journal

o) Failure to remit court ordered judgments

p) Failure to submit a payment demanded by the Secretary of

State

q) Failure to report the theft or loss of a journal

r) Writing an insufficient funds check for the application or exam

will result in a likely the cancellation of your application.

5. The person affected will have a right to a hearing prior to a

revocation or suspension or after a denial of a commission, or prior to

the imposition of a civil penalty.

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6. The person will not have a right to a hearing after a denial of an

application for a notary public commission in either of the following

cases:

a. The Secretary of State has, within one year previous to the

application denied or revoked the applicant's application or

commission.

7. Resignation or expiration of commission will not stop investigation or

disciplinary proceedings.

8. Criminal Convictions/Court Revocation of Commission — If a notary

public is convicted of a crime related to notarial misconduct, including the

false completion of a notarial certificate (Government Code § 6203), or of

any felony, the court must revoke the notary public’s commission and

require the notary public to surrender to the court the notary seal. The

court will then forward the notary public’s seal to the Secretary of State.

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Fine

Amount

Summary Notes

Violating the prohibition against a notary public who holds

himself or herself out as an immigration specialist or

consultant advertising that he or she is a notary or violating the

restrictions on charging to assist in the completion of

immigration forms.

$1,500

S or R

Improper advertising, immigration

consultant limitations or Spanish

translation of Notary or Notary

Public

Violating the restrictions on advertising notarial services in a

foreign language or literally translating the phrase “notary

public” into Spanish

$1,500

S or R

The use of false or misleading advertising wherein the notary

public has represented that he or she has duties, rights, or

privileges that he or she does not possess.

$1,500

S or R

Violators of the provisions relating to the unauthorized

manufacture, duplication, sale and related offenses concerning

the notary seal.

$1,500 Unauthorized duplication or sale of

seal

Failure to notify the Secretary of State that a notary seal is lost,

stolen, etc.

$1,500

S or R

Failure to notify the SOS of a lost,

stolen ...seal

Commission of any act involving dishonesty, fraud, or deceit

with the intent to substantially benefit the notary public or

another, or substantially injure another.

$1,500

R

Fraud or dishonesty by the notary

Execution of any certificate as a notary public containing a

statement known to the notary public to be false

$1,500

R

Charging more than the fees prescribed by law. $750

S or R

Failure to complete the acknowledgment at the time the

notary’s signature and seal are affixed to the document.

$750

S or R Negligent failure regarding any

notary act and especially failure to

complete the Ack or Jurat properly

Failure to administer the oath or affirmation as required by

law.

$750

S or R

The negligent failure to discharge fully and faithfully any of

the duties required of a notary public

$750

S or R

Failure to obtain a thumbprint when required. $2,500

Willful failure to provide a peace officer with a journal when

requested.

$2,500

Failing to obtain proper evidence of identification of a person

making an Acknowledgment.

$10,000 Falsifying an acknowledgment

(forgery) and failing to obtain proper

evidence of identification of a person

making an Acknowledgment. Falsifying an acknowledgment is forgery punishable by

imprisonment in the county jail for up to 1 year

$10,000

M or F

Literal Spanish translation of the phrase “notary public” S or R

$1,500

Minimum 1 yr on 1st and permanent

revocation on 2nd

Improper advertising procedures in foreign languages S or R

$1,500

1) Felonies can be remembered as those violations which usually involve fraud when documents are being recorded

or relate to a Deed of Trust. A notary charged with forgery can be charged with a misdemeanor or felony. When

charged with forgery as a felony, this charge carries a possible prison term of 2,3 or 4 years.

2) There are a host of misdemeanors. Misdemeanors are violations which involve in particular the WILLFUL neglect

of a notary to complete something required of him or her. Most violations that carry a potential for criminal prosecution

are misdemeanors.

3) There are two infractions which are summed up as the failure to notify the state of a name or address change.

4) Revocation can be the result of willful failure, dishonesty or unauthorized practice of law.

5) Suspension or Revocation for most violations

Hopefully, you will find the following table beneficial in recalling the

fines and penalties for the exam. You are encouraged to study this

chapter well before taking the exam!

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Chapter Summary

Violations, Fines and Penalties

1. There are only five (5) fine amounts (civil penalties) to remember.

a) $500

b) $750

c) $1,500

d) $2,500

e) $10,000

2. There are only two violations to remember for each of the following fine

amounts:

a) $500

i. Willful failure to notify the Secretary of State of a name

change

ii. Willful failure to notify the Secretary of State of an address

change

b) $750

i. Negligent failure to fully or properly complete any notarial

duty including

ii. Failing to give the oath or affirmation when required

iii. Failing to complete the Acknowledgment form at the time

the notary’s signature and seal are placed onto the

document

iv. Charging more than the prescribed fees of the notary act

c) $2,500

i. Failure to obtain a right thumbprint when required.

ii. Failure to submit the journal to a peace officer when

requested

d) $10,000

i. Failing to obtain proper identification

ii. Perjury or falsifying any notary wording

3. All additional violations are subject to a $1,500 fine.(Secretary of State)

a) False or misleading advertising

b) Commission of any dishonest notary act, fraud or deceit.

c) Executing any notary certificate (Acknowledgment, Jurat,

Certified POA, Subscribing witness Jurat) for a document

which the notary knows contains false statements

d) Violation of simultaneous advertising as a notary and

immigration consultant

e) Violation of the prohibitions for filling out immigration forms.

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f) Violation of requirements when advertising notary services in a

foreign language

g) Translating Notary Public into Spanish as Notario Público or

Notario

h) Failure to notify the Secretary of State of a lost or stolen notary

seal

i) Completing a notary act without being a commissioned notary.

j) Unauthoized duplication, manufacture or sale of the notary

seal.(Public Prosecutor)

4. Infractions, misdemeanors and felonies (Criminal).

a) Infractions

i. Willful failure to notify the Secretary of State of a name

change.

ii. Willful failure to notify the Secretary of State of an address

change.

b) Felonies

i. Perjury (issuing a false notary ackowledgment)

ii. Up to two, three or four years in prison

iii. Fraudulent actions by a notary or other party with respect to

a Deed of Trust

iv. Acting as a notary without being commissioned for a Deed

of Trust (or any document encumbering property)

c) Midemeanors

i. Almost all violations, if serious enough to be criminal will

be a misdemeanor.

1) Notarizing documents containing false statements if

the notary knows about those false statements

(exception is a Deed of Trust which is a felony).

2) Acting as a notary without being commissioned.

3) Destruction, concealment or defacing notary

records.

4) Soliciting or corercing a notary to perform an illegal

or improper notary act.

5) Making false statements to a notary.

6) Failure to submit journal records with the County

Clerk when required.

7) Willful failure to properly maintain journal.

8) Willful failure to notify Secretary of State of a lost,

stolen or destroyed notary journal.

9) Willful failure to notify Secretary of State of a lost,

stolen or destroyed notary journal.

10) Willful failure to notify the Secretary of State if a

journal is surrendered to a peace officer.

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11) Willful failure to allow the lawful inspection or

copying of a notary journal.

12) Willful failure to keep jotary seal under direct and

exclusive control.

13) Willful surrender of journal or seal to someone not

authorized.

14) Any person who solicits, coreces or influences the

notry to improperly maintain journal.

15) Any person who changes notary wording on an

acknowledgment (falsifying the acknowledgment)

5. Suspension or Revocation of the notary commission (administrative)

a) All notarial misconduct is subject to suspension or revocation

of the notary commission.

6. The person affected will have a right to a hearing prior to a revocation

or suspension or after a denial of a commission, or prior to the imposition

of a civil penalty.

7. The person will not have a right to a hearing after a denial of an

application for a notary public commission in either of the following

cases:

The Secretary of State has, within one year previous to the

application, denied or revoked the applicant's application or

commission

8. Resignation or expiration of commission will not stop investigation or

disciplinary proceedings.

9. Criminal Convictions/Court Revocation of Commission — If a notary

public is convicted of a crime related to notarial misconduct, including the

false completion of a notarial certificate (Government Code § 6203), or of

any felony, the court must revoke the notary public’s commission and

require the notary public to surrender to the court the notary seal. The

court will then forward the notary public’s seal to the Secretary of State.

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CHAPTER 11

REVIEW: STEPS TO RECEIVING YOUR COMMISSION

Chapter Objective:

This section reviews the important topics regarding the necessary steps

for a California Notary Public to receive a commission and the

requirements to meet before performing the first notarial act.

Steps Become A California Notary Public Qualifications

1. The California Secretary of State is responsible for issuing the notary

commission for a 4-year term after which the notary must take an

education course and retake the exam to be re-commissioned. To receive

your commission you must meet the following requirements:

a. You must be 18-years of age or older

b. You must be a legal resident of CA

i. A notary public may not use a commercial mail

receiving agency or post office box as his or her

principal place of business or residence unless the

notary public provides the Secretary of State with a

physical street address as the principal place of

residence.

c. All notary commissions issued after July 1,2005 will require

the completion of a state approved 6-hour notary course prior

to commissioning. Subsequent commissioning will require a 3-

hour refresher course. The Proof of Completion is valid for

two (2) years.

Pass The Exam

2. Pass a written exam with a score of 70% or greater. Exam results are

valid for one (1) year. You will complete an application for Notary

commission at that time. This application will include information which

will be used by the Secretary of State to complete your background check.

Failure to list arrests or convictions on your application may be cause for

denial. Even convictions which have been dismissed must be disclosed.

The Secretary of State will recommend denial for conviction of a felony

and any disqualifying misdemeanors where probation for that offense has

been completed less than 10 years ago.

Pass A Background Check

3. All notary applicants must submit fingerprints to the DOJ and FBI for a

background check. The Secretary of State will be notified of any results

as well as any subsequent arrests

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Receive Your Commission

4. Within 30 calendar days of receiving your notary commission:

a. Your bond must be purchased from a California admitted

surety company and must be in the amount of $15,000. The

notary is personally and financially liable for notarial acts

completed improperly, illegally or through negligence. The

bond offers protection to the public in the event you are sued

and in no way protects you. b. You will receive an Authorization to Purchase a Seal along

with your Commission certificate. Send the original

authorization to an approved seal manufacturer to purchase

your notary seal.

c. Take your oath of office and file your bond with the County

Clerk in the County listed on your application as your principal

place of business.

d. Failing to file your bond or take your oath of office within the

30 calendar day period would require that you pay $20 to

reapply for a commission, resubmit a 2”x2” picture, and

resubmit fingerprints via livescan to the DOJ and the FBI.

5. Once you have filed your oath and bond you are considered to be a

Commissioned California Notary. You must receive your notary seal

before you can perform your first notary act. Even though you filed your

bond in the county of your principal place of business, you may notarize

documents anywhere inside the state of California.

You are a public servant of the state of California and must notarize

documents anytime someone comes to you with the proper request and the

fees to pay you. If a Notary is notarizing documents in the capacity of an

employee for the purposes of the employer, an agreement may be made

with the employer to have their notarial services limited to the purposes of

the employer during their hours of employment.

If a Notary Wants to Relinquish Their Commission

6. Notify the Secretary of State that you wish to relinquish your commission

a. Include your notary name, commission number and expiration

date

b. Send the notification via Certified or Registered Mail

c. Remit your journals to the County Clerk where you last filed

your oath and bond

d. Destroy your notary seal(s)

What to Do When Your Commission Has Expired:

7. Destroy your notary seal

8. Begin the renewal process within 30 days or submit your journals to the

county clerk where you last filed your oath and bond. (If you do not start

the renewal process within 30-days, your journals will go to the County

Clerk where you last filed your oath and bond).

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CHAPTER 12

THE TEST

Chapter Objective:

This section describes what to expect concerning the State Exam and

registration process.

You will need to register for the exam and select an examination site. You can

register on line at http://www.cps.ca.gov/takeatest/notary/schedule.asp or by phone at 1-

916-263-3520 Mon thru Fri 8am-5pm. Walk-in registration is also available but not

guaranteed.

Be sure to arrive 30 min prior to the exam time. The fee for first time examinees

or those renewing their commission is $40. The fee for those who have previously taken

the test and failed is $20.00. Fees must be made with check or money order. The

Cooperative Personnel Services (CPS) is contracted with the state to administer the test

and their Proctors do not accept cash since all monies are forwarded to the Secretary of

State.

Take your completed application to the examination site. This application is then

also forwarded to the Secretary of State for qualifying information. If taking a seminar,

this application will be available for you at the seminar site. Be certain to submit your

“Proof of Completion” for the mandatory educational requirements or you will not

receive a commission even if you pass the examination.

Testing will be a maximum of 50 minutes; the CPS proctor administers the test

and they will require you to bring identification (driver’s license, DMV ID card, passport

or US military card). Do not ask the CPS Proctors notary questions because as

Proctors for the Notary Examination, they are not permitted to be notaries

themselves. If you are retaking the exam, you should also bring in a completed

application form and the fail letter notification. Bring two #2 pencils (not required at our

seminar site).

Finally, the actual test is a closed-book exam with 30 questions.

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SAMPLE NOTARY EXAM 30 Questions- Select the BEST answer

The idea on the notary exam is that the BEST answer is the right answer. This

requires that you read the question very carefully and then read EVERY answer before

making your selection. Just because an answer is sometimes right depending on the

situation does not mean that it is the best answer available to you. Perhaps another answer

is right in every circumstance and therefore that answer becomes the BEST and most

correct answer.

Some questions will be written in a complex manner and the best answer may

sometimes be obscured by the other answers that may seem correct. If you do not know

the answer, eliminate the ones you absolutely know cannot be correct. Then, from the

remaining answers, try to place them in a scenario which utilizes the knowledge you have

acquired through this course. If all else fails, select your best guess. Never leave an

answer blank. Take the time to review your answers after you are finished to make sure

that you haven’t misread the question. Answers will be discussed during the seminar.

Good luck!

1) Charging someone more than the allowable fees as prescribed may result in:

a) A fine of up to $750

b) A fine of up to $1,500

c) A suspended or revoked commission

d) a & c

2) The office of the Notary Public is authorized through a written commission from:

a) The Federal Government Notary Commission

b) Cooperative Personnel Services (CPS)

c) Secretary of State, California

d) None of the above

3) Notaries who are commissioned within the State of California are permitted to

notarize documents:

a) Anywhere in the state of California

b) Only in the county where the notary has filed a bond and oath

c) In any state as long as the document venue states that it was completed in

California

d) Anywhere in the United States

4) Upon receiving the letter of commission, where should the notary file their oath and

bond?

a) The Secretary of State

b) In the county of residence

c) In the county where the notary maintains his or her principal place of business

d) All of the above

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5) The $15,000 notary bond:

a) Provides the minimum required amount of liability insurance for the notary

b) Limits the maximum amount of recoverable monetary award against a notary

in a civil lawsuit

c) Must be obtained through a California admitted surety company

d) All of the above

6) When a notary completes either a jurat or acknowledgment, they are:

a) Guaranteeing that the signer proved their authorized capacity before the

notary

b) Assuring the truth and accuracy of the contents within all documents

c) Guaranteeing that the signer personally appeared before the notary at the time

of notarization

d) All of the above

7) A non-attorney notary may never give legal advice. An example of a notary giving

legal advice is:

a) Requiring identification for an acknowledgment

b) To require a solemn oath from the signer as to the truthfulness of the

document’s contents

c) Determining the notary act to be performed

d) All of the above

8) When completing a signature by mark, under what circumstances must the notary

verify the identity of the document principal?

a) Never

b) Only when the two witnesses also are used as credible witnesses

c) If one witness is used as a credible witness and is personally known to the

notary

d) Always

9) Failing to properly identify the signer of an acknowledgment can result in a charge of

which of the following?

a) A fine of up to $10,000

b) Suspension or revocation of the commission

c) Personal liabilities

d) All of the above

10) If the document being notarized is a Security Agreement the notary must:

a) Require a copy of the principal’s identification

b) Get a thumbprint in the notary sequential journal

c) Put the principal under oath

d) All of the above

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11) Lisa Kennedy is notarizing a document for John Bennett who is the President of J&B

Corporation. When completing the Acknowledgment what is entered after the

“before me”:

a) John Bennett, President of J&B Corporation

b) John Benett

c) John Bennett

d) The notary name followed by the title Notary Public

12) The VENUE specifically indicates:

a) The state and county where the document was physically notarized

b) The state and county where the document was drawn

c) The state and county where the notary has filed his or her bond and oath

d) The state and county which has reference within the document

13) Suppose a husband and wife wishes to notarize a grant deed transfer to a third party

who accompanies them to your office. Upon signing, the husband explains that

someone had stolen his wallet and the only identification he has is a DMV temporary

license, which does not have his photograph on it. The temporary license also states

that it is not an approved form of identification. His wife and the grantee are there

with him, however, and you suggest that since there are two other persons with him,

they could act in the capacity of credible witnesses and still have his signature

notarized. Were you right?

a) Yes, because you may use two credible witnesses if someone does not have

ID

b) No, credible witnesses may only be used if they both know the notary and the

signer. There is no indication that the witnesses know the notary

c) Yes, credible witnesses may used even if they are related to the signer

d) None of the above

14) Suppose a document is signed as Jason W. Smith, Jr. and the identification document

presented lists Jason Wilson Smith, the notary should:

a) Accept the identifying document since the middle name for Jason W. Smith is

completely spelled out and the identifying document can have more

information than the signature, but never less.

b) Complete the notarization as long as Mr. Smith swears to the truthfulness of

the identifying document

c) Notarize the document as requested

d) Require an alternative form of identification based on insufficient evidence for

the principal’s identification

15) David E. Jones and Carolyn S. Jones, recently married, both personally appear before

the notary and request notary services relating to a Deed of Trust. Upon presentation

of their identification, the notary notices that Carolyn’s identification document still

has her maiden name but Carolyn quickly presents a copy of a marriage certificate

showing that her name has been changed to Jones. The notary must:

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a) Refuse to notarize the document since acceptable identification is not

presented for Carolyn

b) Require that they both return when she has an acceptable form of

identification

c) A & B

d) None of the above

16) When using one credible witness to verify the identity of the signer, the credible

witness :

a) Must prove their identity to the notary

b) May be known by either the signer or the notary, but not necessarily both

c) May not have a beneficial or financial interest in the document being

notarized

d) A & C

17) Thumbprints are required in the notary’s sequential journal for:

a) All document signers, credible witnesses and/or subscribing witnesses

b) All acknowledgments, but not jurats

c) Power of Attorney, Deeds, deeds of trust and quitclaims affecting real

property (not on Deeds of Reconveyance or Trustee’s Deeds if property is in

foreclosure)

d) Any notarization regardless of the nature of the document

18) When a document requires the signatures of two persons, and both signatures require

notarization, both signers:

a) Must be present before the notary at the same time during signing

b) Can appear at different times, but the notary should only complete only one

notarial certificate (acknowledgment or jurat)

c) Must request a certified copy of the completed document showing that both

signatures have been notarized

d) Can appear at different times, but the notary should complete a separate

notarial certificate (acknowledgment or jurat) for each signer

19) A first offense for failing to comply with legislation regarding the posting of proper

verbiage in both English and non-English, including the posting of fees (if a notary is

advertising his or her services in any non-English language) will result in:

a) Immediate and definite revocation of the notary commission.

b) There is no such legislation.

c) A 6-month suspension of the notary commission.

d) None of the above

20) When notifying the Secretary of State within 10 days that a journal has been

surrendered due to the issuance of a warrant, the notary must also include:

a) A copy of the receipt for the journal

b) The period of journal entries

c) The commission number and expiration date of the notary

d) All of the above

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21) Some (but not necessarily all) information that the journal entries must include are:

a) Birth date of the signer, signature of the signer, fee charged, date, time

b) Signature of the signer, fee charged, serial number and expiration date of the

identifying document used or some indication of how the signer was identified

c) Fee charged, name of the document, thumbprint for all documents notarized

d) Names of all document principals for every document notarized

22) Maximum allowable fees for notary services include:

a) $10/notarized signature, $20 for depositions, $.30 for copies of notary journal

entries, $10 for protesting a non-payment, $5 for serving the protest and $5 for

filing the protest, $10 for certifying a copy of a Power of Attorney.

b) $10/ notarized signature, $10 for depositions, $.30 for copies of notary journal

entries, $10 for protesting a non-payment, $5 for serving the protest and $5 for

filing the protest, $10 for certifying a copy of a Power of Attorney.

c) There are no limitations of fees.

d) None of the above

23) A fine of up to $750 may be issued to the notary for which of the following

a) Notarizing documents without being commissioned.

b) Acting as an attorney.

c) Failing to give the oath when required, failure to complete an

acknowledgment at the time of notarization, charging more than the

prescribed fees or negligent failure to perform duties required of a notary.

d) b & c only

24) Negligent failure to fully carry out your notary duties as required can result in:

a) A felony

b) Suspension or revocation

c) $750 fine

d) b & c

25) Finally, you have received the letter from the Secretary of State which contains your

Certificate of Commission. You have sent your letters of authorization to an approved

seal manufacturer and have received your notary seal back before you have had time

to file your bond and oath. A friend brings you a Deed of Trust to notarize and since

he is your friend, you go ahead and notarize the document since you are planning on

filing your bond and oath in a few days anyway. You are guilty of:

a) A misdemeanor punishable by a $1,500 fine.

b) A misdemeanor

c) A felony

d) Nothing since you already have received your commission.

26) Suppose Mr. Jones’s house had been burglarized and the insurance company asked

Mr. Jones to provide notarized photographs of any items claiming to be stolen in

order to back up his claim. Mr. Jones brings in the photographs and attaches them to a

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statement which states that he swears that the photographs are true and correct. He

then requests that you notarize each photograph along with the statement in order to

prove to the insurance company that he did not in any way alter the photos since

appearing before the notary. What is your response?

a) Refuse to notarize the statement or the photographs since the proper notarial

verbiage is not present.

b) Notarize the photographs only.

c) Refuse the notarization since you are not allowed to notarize photographs.

d) Notarize the statement only

27) If a journal entry requires a right thumbprint, but no right thumb is available, the

notary should:

a) Refuse the notary.

b) Complete the notary using the left thumbprint if available and noting which

thumb was used and an explanation as to why in the journal.

c) Omit the thumbprint from the journal.

d) Require an additional signer.

28) If a notary is convicted of committing perjury, the punishment can be:

a) 10,000 fine.

b) Conviction of a felony.

c) Revocation of the notary commission.

d) All of the above

29) Failing to notify the Secretary of State of a lost, broken or damaged seal can result in

a fine of:

a) $750

b) $1,500

c) $2,500

d) $1,000

30) A notary changing his or her name (due to a marriage, for example) must:

a) Submit an application with the Secretary of State for a name change.

b) File a new oath of office and an amendment to the bond within 30 days.

c) Obtain a Certificate of Authorization to manufacture a new seal with the new

name (but the commission number remains the same).

d) All of the above

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ANSWER KEY

SAMPLE NOTARY EXAM

30 Questions- Select the BEST answer

1) Charging someone more than the allowable fees as prescribed may result in:

a) A fine of up to $750

Yes, but not the best answer available

b) A fine of up to $1,500

No..the fine is $750

c) A suspended or revoked commission

Yes, but not the best answer available

d) A & C

2) The office of the Notary is authorized through a written commission from:

a) The Federal Government Notary Commission

There is no such commission

b) Cooperative Personnel Services (CPS)

This is the testing agency, not the Commissioning agency. (By the way,

CPS Proctors will not provide any information at the testing site about

notary questions since they are not permitted to become notaries

themselves!)

c) Secretary of State, California

Correct

d) None of the above

3) Notaries who are commissioned within the State of California are permitted to

notarize documents:

a) Anywhere in the State of California

Correct, but remember that the notary must comply with the laws of

California. For example, if a State requires that a notary certify the

capacity of a signer (i.e. CEO, Treasurer), the notary may not do so.

b) Only in the county where the notary has filed a bond and oath

c) In any state as long as the document venue states that it was completed in

California

d) Anywhere in the United States

4) Upon receiving the letter of commission, where should the notary file their oath and

bond?

a) The Secretary of State

NO…see below

b) In the County of residence

The principal place of business is the determining condition

c) In the County where the notary maintains his or her principal place of

business

d) All of the above

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5) The $15,000 notary bond:

a) Provides the minimum required amount of liability insurance for the notary

The notary bond provides protection for the public, not the notary.

b) Limits the maximum amount of recoverable monetary award against a notary

in a civil lawsuit

The notary is personally liable for all monetary awards regardless of the

amount

c) Must be obtained through a California admitted surety company

Correct

d) All of the above

6) When a notary completes a jurat or acknowledgment, they are:

a) Guaranteeing that the signer proved their authorized capacity before the

notary

The notary is not allowed to certify the capacity of a signer in California

b) Assuring the truth and accuracy of the contents within the document

Notarization can never guarantee or assure the truth and accuracy of a

document’s contents.

c) Guaranteeing that the signer personally appeared before the notary at the time

of notarization

Correct

d) Certifying the document

The notary may only certify copies of Powers of Attorney and their own

journal

7) A non-attorney notary may never give legal advice. An example of a notary giving

legal advice is:

a) Requiring identification for an acknowledgment

In this case, the notary is required to obtain identification

b) To require a solemn oath from the signer as to the truthfulness of the

document’s contents

This requirement is necessary in order to complete a Jurat

c) Determining the notary act to be performed

Correct. The notary may not suggest to the client whether to perform an

Acknowledgment or a Jurat. To do so is considered to be a practice of

law. The client must be referred to the originator of the document.

d) All of the above

8) When completing a signature by mark, under what circumstances must the notary

verify the identity of the document principal?

a) Never

The document principal signed the document with an “x” but the notary

must still verify his or her identification.

b) Only when the two witnesses also are used as credible witnesses

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c) If one witness is used as a credible witness and is personally known to the

notary

d) Always

9) Failing to properly identify the signer of an acknowledgment can result in a charge of

which of the following?

a) A fine of up to $10,000

b) Suspension or revocation of the commission

c) Personal liabilities

d) All of the above

10) If the document being notarized is a Security Agreement the notary must:

a) Require a copy of the principal’s identification

A notary is never required to get a copy of the principal’s identification

b) Get a thumbprint in the notary sequential journal

Correct. Security Agreements are the same as a Deed of Trust

c) Put the principal under oath

Oaths are required for principals presenting jurats, credible witnesses and

subscribing witnesses. There is no indication that this principal has

presented a Jurat.

d) All of the above

A and C are incorrect.

11) Lisa Kennedy is notarizing a document for John Bennett who is the President of J&B

Corporation. When completing the Acknowledgment what is entered after the

“before me”:

a) John Bennett, President of J&B Corporation

Incorrect. Titles or representative capacity would never be entered in a

notarial Certificate

b) John Benett

Incorrect. John Benett is not mentioned in this scenario

c) John Bennett

John Bennett is the principal and is entered after “personally appeared”

d) The notary name followed by the title Notary Public

Correct. The notary is speaking. What is entered after the before me is the

notary name followed by Notary Public.

12) The VENUE specifically indicates:

a) The state and county where the document was physically notarized

Correct

b) The state and county where the document was drawn

Incorrect

c) The state and county where the notary has filed his or her bond and oath

Incorrect

d) The state and county which has reference within the document

Incorrect

105

13) Suppose a husband and wife wishes to notarize a grant deed transfer to a third party

who accompanies them to your office. Upon signing, the husband explains that

someone had stolen his wallet and the only identification he has is a DMV temporary

license, which does not have his photograph on it. The temporary license also states

that it is not an approved form of identification. His wife and the grantee are there

with him, however, and you suggest that since there are two other persons with him,

they could act in the capacity of credible witnesses and still have his signature

notarized. Were you right?

a) Yes, because all you need is two credible witnesses if someone does not have

ID.

However, the Credible witnesses may not be named or have a beneficial

interest in the document.

b) No, Credible witnesses may only be used if they both know the notary and the

signer. There is no indication that the witnesses know the notary.

Two credible witnesses who prove their identity to the notary are used

specifically when the notary does not personally know one. The two

credible witnesses in this case would be fine except that they are both

named within the document.

c) Yes, credible witnesses may used even if they are related to the signer.

Credible witnesses related to the signer may be used but not when named

within the document.

d) None of the above

Correct. In this case the two credible witnesses are named within the

document and cannot be used. They must leave and return with another

proper form of identification in order to have this transfer notarized.

14) Suppose a document is signed as Jason W. Smith, Jr. and the identification document

presented lists Jason Wilson Smith, the notary should:

a) Accept the identifying document since the middle name for Jason W. Smith is

completely spelled out and the identifying document can have more

information than the signature, but never less.

Unfortunately, without the “Jr.” also present on the identifying document,

it cannot be used.

b) Complete the notarization as long as Mr. Smith swears to the truthfulness of

the identifying document.

This example is not an acceptable form of identification

c) Notarize the document as requested

The notary will need to have an alternate form of identification since”Jr.”

is not present on the identification document in this example.

d) Require an alternative form of identification based on insufficient evidence for

the principal’s identification.

15) David E. Jones and Carolyn S. Jones, recently married, both personally appear before

the notary and request notary services relating to a Deed of Trust. Upon presentation

of their identification, the notary notices that Carolyn’s identification document still

106

has her maiden name but she quickly presents a copy of a marriage certificate

showing that her name has been changed to Jones. The notary must:

a) Refuse to notarize the document since acceptable identification is not

presented for Carolyn

b) Require that they both return when she has an acceptable form of

identification

The Deed of Trust can be notarized for David but Carolyn will need to

return with proper identification or credible witnesses.

c) A & B

d) None of the above

The document can be immediately notarized for David but not for Carolyn

16) When using one credible witness to verify the identity of the signer, the credible

witness:

a) Must prove their identity to the notary

When using one Credible Witness, the Notary and the Signer must

personally know the Credible Witness.

b) May be known by either the signer or the notary, but not necessarily both

Both the signer and the Notary must know the Credible Witness;

otherwise, two credible witnesses are used.

c) May not have a beneficial or financial interest in the document being

notarized

Correct

d) A & C

17) Thumbprints are required in the Notary’s sequential journal for:

a) All document signers, credible witnesses and/or subscribing witnesses

Thumbprints are required only for deeds, deeds of trust and quitclaims

affecting real property.

b) All acknowledgments, but not jurats

Incorrect

c) Power of Attorney, Deeds, deeds of trust and quitclaims affecting real

property (not on Deeds of Reconveyance or Trustee’s Deeds if property is in

foreclosure)

Correct

d) Any notarization regardless of the nature of the document

Incorrect, but most notaries obtain thumbprints for everything anyway

unless the client refuses to provide the thumbprint.

18) When a document requires the signatures of two persons, and both signatures require

notarization, both signers:

a) Must be present before the notary at the same time during signing.

No. They may appear at different times

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b) Can appear at different times, but the notary should only complete a single

notarial certificate (acknowledgment or jurat) for both.

A notorial certificate must be completed for each since they appeared at

different times. A “loose certificate” should be completed and attached for

the second signer at the time the notary notarizes the second signature.

c) Must request a certified copy of the completed document showing that both

signatures have been notarized.

Incorrect

d) Can appear at different times, but the notary should complete a separate

notarial certificate (acknowledgment or jurat) for each signer.

Correct

19) Failing to comply with legislation regarding the posting of proper verbiage in both

English and Non-English, (if a Notary is advertising their services in any non-English

language) will result in:

a) Immediate and definite revocation of the notary commission.

Incorrect- a minimum of one-year suspension, but not immediate

revocation

b) There is no such legislation.

Incorrect

c) A 6-month suspension of the notary commission.

A minimum of one-year suspension

d) None of the above

A minimum of one-year suspension and a possibility of revocation

20) When notifying the Secretary of State that a journal has been surrendered, the notary

must also include:

a) A copy of the receipt for the journal

Yes, but the best answer is d) all of the above

b) The period of journal entries

Yes, but the best answer is d) all of the above

c) The commission number and expiration date of the notary

Yes, but the best answer is d) all of the above

d) All of the above

Correct

21) Some (but not necessarily all) information that the journal entries must include are:

a) Birth date of the signer, signature of the signer, fee charged, date, time

Birth date is not required

b) Signature of the signer, fee charged, serial number and expiration date of the

identifying document used or some indication of how the signer was

identified.

Correct. Please note that not everything is included here. For example,

you need the date and time the document was notarized. The question does

108

suggest that all information in the journal is listed. It only states that these

items are required.

c) Fee charged, name of the document, thumbprint for all documents notarized

Thumbprints are required for deeds, grant deeds and quitclaims affecting

real property, not for all documents.

d) Names of all document principals for every document notarized

Remember that not all document principals sign the document in every

instance. For example, document principals in a Grant Deed are the

Grantors and Grantees, but only the Grantors will sign the document and

have it notarized.

22) Maximum allowable fees for notary services include:

a) $10/notarized signature, $20 for depositions, $.30 for copies of notary journal

entries, $10 for protesting a non-payment, $5 for serving the protest and $5

for filing the protest, $10 for certifying a copy of a Power of Attorney

b) $10/ notarized signature, $10 for depositions, $.30 for copies of notary

journal entries

It is $20 for depositions

c) There are no limitations of fees

Obviously incorrect

d) None of the above

23) A fine of up to $750 may be issued to the notary for which of the following

a) Notarizing documents without being commissioned

This fine is $1,500

b) Acting as an attorney.

No stipulated fine but could include suspension or revocation along with

personal financial liability and criminal prosecution.

c) Failing to give the oath when required, failure to complete an

acknowledgment at the time of notarization, charging more than the

prescribed fees or negligent failure to perform duties required of a notary.

Correct

d) b & c only

24) Negligent failure to fully carry out your notary duties as required can result in:

a) A felony

b) Suspension or revocation

c) $750 fine

d) b & c

25) Finally, you have received the letter from the Secretary of State which contains your

Certificate of Commission. You have sent your letters of authorization to an approved

seal manufacturer and have received your notary seal back before you have had time

to file your bond and oath. A friend brings you a Deed of Trust to notarize and since

109

he is your friend, you go ahead and notarize the document since you are planning on

filing your bond and oath in a few days anyway. You are guilty of:

a) a misdemeanor punishable by a $1,500 fine

b) a misdemeanor

Acting as a notary without commission is usually a misdemeanor but

when it affects the encumbrance of property it is a felony.

c) a felony

It is a felony

d) nothing since you already have received your commission

You are not a commissioned notary until you file your oath and bond.

26) Suppose Mr. Jones’s house had been burglarized and the insurance company asked

Mr. Jones to provide notarized photographs of any items claiming to be stolen in

order to back up his claim. Mr. Jones brings in the photographs and attaches them to a

statement which states that he swears that the photographs are true and correct. He

then requests that you notarize each photograph along with the statement in order to

prove to the insurance company that he did not in any way alter the photos since

appearing before the notary. What is your response?

a) Refuse to notarize the statement or the photographs since the proper notarial

verbiage is not present

You may not notarize the photographs but you may certainly notarize

the statement with a Jurat since it a statement in which the signer is

guaranteeing the truthfulness of the statement.

b) Notarize the photographs only

You may never place your notary seal on any document not containing

proper notarial verbiage.

c) Refuse the notarization since you are not allowed to notarize photographs

You may not notarize the photographs but you may certainly notarize the

statement with a Jurat since it a statement in which the signer is

guaranteeing the truthfulness of the statement.

d) Notarize the statement only

Correct

27) If a journal entry requires a right thumbprint but no right thumb is available, the

notary should:

a) Refuse the notary

b) Complete the notary using the left thumbprint if available and noting which

thumb was used and an explanation as to why in the journal.

Right thumbprints are required for certain types of documents and if the

right is not available, the left may be used or if the left is unavailable a

fingerprint may be used. In all events, if the right thumb is not available,

the notary needs to indicate which one was used and why.

c) Omit the thumbprint from the journal

d) Require an additional signer

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28) If a notary is convicted of committing perjury, the punishment can be:

a) $10,000 fine

b) Conviction of a felony

c) Suspension or revocation of the notary commission

d) All of the above

29) Failing to notify the Secretary of State of a lost, broken or damaged seal can result in

a fine of:

a) $750

b) $1,500

c) $2,500

d) $1,000

30) A notary changing their name (due to a marriage, for example) must:

a) Submit an application with the Secretary of State for a name change

b) File a new oath of office and an amendment to the bond within 30 days

c) Obtain a Certificate of Authorization to manufacture a new seal with the new

name (but the commission number remains the same)

d) All of the above

CALIFORNIA ALL-PURPOSE

CERTIFICATE OF ACKNOWLEDGMENT

State of California

County of _______________________

On __________________ before me, _________________________________________________________, (here insert name and title of the officer)

personally appeared _______________________________________________________________________,

who proved to me on the basis of satisfactory evidence to be the person(s) whose name(s) is/are subscribed to

the within instrument and acknowledged to me that he/she/they executed the same in his/her/their authorized

capacity(ies), and that by his/her/their signature(s) on the instrument the person(s), or the entity upon behalf of

which the person(s) acted, executed the instrument.

I certify under PENALTY OF PERJURY under the laws of the State of California that the foregoing paragraph

is true and correct.

(Seal)

WITNESS my hand and official seal.

________________________________________

Signature of Notary Public

ADDITIONAL OPTIONAL INFORMATION

DESCRIPTION OF THE ATTACHED DOCUMENT

___________________________________________ (Title or description of attached document)

_____________________________________________________

(Title or description of attached document continued)

Number of Pages _____ Document Date__________

___________________________________________ (Additional information)

CAPACITY CLAIMED BY THE SIGNER

□ Individual (s)

□ Corporate Officer

___________________ (Title)

□ Partner(s)

□ Attorney-in-Fact

□ Trustee(s)

□ Other _______________________________

INSTRUCTIONS FOR COMPLETING THIS FORM Any acknowledgment completed in California must contain verbiage exactly as appears above in the notary section or a separate acknowledgment form must be

properly completed and attached to that document. The only exception is if a

document is to be recorded outside of California. In such instances, any alternative acknowledgment verbiage as may be printed on such a document so long as the

verbiage does not require the notary to do something that is illegal for a notary in

California (i.e. certifying the authorized capacity of the signer). Please check the document carefully for proper notarial wording and attach this form if required.

State and County information must be the State and County where the document signer(s) personally appeared before the notary public for acknowledgment.

Date of notarization must be the date that the signer(s) personally appeared which must also be the same date the acknowledgment is completed.

The notary public must print his or her name as it appears within his or her commission followed by a comma and then your title (notary public).

Print the name(s) of document signer(s) who personally appear at the time of

notarization.

Indicate the correct singular or plural forms by crossing off incorrect forms (i.e.

he/she/they, is /are ) or circling the correct forms. Failure to correctly indicate this information may lead to rejection of document recording.

The notary seal impression must be clear and photographically reproducible. Impression must not cover text or lines. If seal impression smudges, re-seal if a

sufficient area permits, otherwise complete a different acknowledgment form.

Signature of the notary public must match the signature on file with the office of the county clerk.

Additional information is not required but could help to ensure this acknowledgment is not misused or attached to a different document.

Indicate title or type of attached document, number of pages and date.

Indicate the capacity claimed by the signer. If the claimed capacity is a corporate officer, indicate the title (i.e. CEO, CFO, Secretary).

Securely attach this document to the signed document

CAPA v12.10.07 800-873-9865 www.NotaryClasses.com A-1

RECORDING REQUESTED BY

AND WHEN RECORDED MAIL THIS DEED AND, UNLESS

OTHERWISE SHOWN BELOW, MAIL TAX STATEMENT TO: ┌ ┐

NAME Jane Doe and John Doe

STREET ADDRESS

1234 Main St

CITY, STATE, ZIP

Los Angeles, CA 90034

└ ┘

________________________________________________________________________SPACE ABOVE THIS LINE FOR RECORDER’S USE ______________________

~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

__________________________________________________________

STATE OF CALIFORNIA ______________________________________________

COUNTY OF _____________ ______________________________________________

On ______________ ____________ before me, ___________________________________________________________________ , (Name/Title, i.e. “Jane Doe, Notary Public)

personally appeared __________________________________________________________________________________________ ,

who proved to me on the basis of satisfactory evidence to be the person(s) whose name(s) is/are subscribed to the within

instrument and acknowledged to me that he/she/they executed the same in his/her/their authorized capacity(ies), and that by

his/her/their signature(s) on the instrument the person(s), or the entity upon behalf of which the person(s) acted, executed the

instrument.

I certify under PENALTY OF PERJURY under the laws of the State of California that the foregoing paragraph is true and correct.

WITNESS my hand and official seal.

__________________________________

(SIGNATURE OF NOTARY) (SEAL)

FOR VALUABLE CONSIDERATION, receipt of which is acknowledged, I (we) William A. Jones and Mary B. Jones, (NAME OF GRANTOR(S))

Husband and Wife

grant to John Doe and Jane Doe, husband and wife (NAME OF GRANTEE(S)

, AS JOINT TENANTS,

all that real property situated in the City of Los Angeles (or in an unincorporated area of)

Los Angeles County, State of CA , described as follows (insert legal description):

Lot 21 of Tract 345 as per plat recorded in book 17 of pages 28 and 29 inclusive of records of said county.

Assessor’s Parcel No: 323-98-1234

Executed on January 3, 2009 at Los Angeles, CA (CITY AND STATE)

GRANT DEED Joint Tenancy

Los Angeles

January 4, 2009 John Q. Notary, Notary Public

William A. Jones and Mary B. Jones

John Q. Notary

William A. Jones

Mary B. Jones

Notary Seal Imprint Here Close to your signature

The venue indicates the location where

this notary act occurred

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RECORDING REQUESTED BY

AND WHEN RECORDED MAIL TO NAME: John P Smith ADDRESS: 1234 Main St. CITY: Los Angeles, STATE & ZIP: CA 90075

TITLE ORDER NO. 123788 ESCROW NO. 1234441 APN NO. 12334444222

AFFIDAVIT OF DEATH OF JOINT TENANT John P Smith , of legal age, being first duly sworn, deposes and says: That Ann D. Smith , the decedent mentioned in the attached certified copy of Certificate of Death, is the same person as named as one of the parties in that certain Grant Deed dated August ,4 ,2007, executed by Kenneth Jefferson and Margaret N. Jefferson to John P. Smith and Ann D. Smith, husband and wife, as joint tenants, recorded as Instrument No. ___177998_______________________ on August 5, 2007, in Book ____35_______________, Page _____2______, of __Los Angeles___________________ Records of Los Angeles County, California, covering the following described property situated in the said County, State of California: Lot 21 of tract 4055 State of California County of _____________________ Subscribed and Sworn to (or affirmed) before me on this ________________ day of ___________, 20 __________ by ______________________, proved to me on the basis of satisfactory evidence to be the person(s) who appeared before me. ______________ Signature

John P. Smith

San Diego

John P. Smith

19th January 09

John Q. Notary

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Example of proper Jurat wording for California as

of Jan 1, 2008

Document signer must be given an

oath or affirmation regarding the

truthfulness of the contents in this

document.

(Notary Seal)

Proof of Execution by a SUBSCRIBING WITNESS

(Subscribing Witness Jurat) State of _________________ County of ______________________

On ________________________ before me, the undersigned, a notary public for the state, personally (date) appeared ________________________________ proved to me to be the person whose name is subscribed (subscribing witness’s name) to the within instrument, as a witness thereto, on the oath of _____________________________________, [credible witness’s name] a credible witness who is known to me and provided a satisfactory identification document. ____________________________________ being by me duly sworn, deposed and said that he/she was (subscribing witness’s name) present and saw/heard ___________________________________________________________________________________ (name[s] of principal[s]) the same person(s) described in and whose name(s) is/are subscribed to the within, or attached, instrument in his/her/their authorized capacity(ies) as (a) party (ies) thereto, execute or acknowledge executing the same, and that said affiant subscribed his/her name to the within instrument as a witness at the request of ___________________________________________________________________________________ (name[s] of principal[s]). WITNESS my hand and official seal. ____________________________ Notary Signature

OPTIONAL INFORMATION While law does not require the following information, completing relevant portions may minimize the potential of this document being fraudulently attached to another document subsequent to signing.

________________________________ Name of document ________________________________ Date of document ________________________________ Number of pages

_________________________________ _________________________________ _________________________________ _________________________________ Other information

Stamp clear impression of notary seal above.

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Journal Entry Left Page

Time and date that the person PERSONALLY appeared before you.

Type of notary act performed.

Document date is not necessarily the date of notarization

Identification Document used if any. If credible witnesses are used, indicate their names here. Be sure to include serial number and expiration date or date of issuance.

Journal Entry Right Page

Address not required but can be very helpful later if someone needs to contact the signer.

Signature required. The signature should be exactly as the name within the document . We must assume that since John D. Signer signed the journal, the name in the document was not John D. Signer, Sr. for example.

Notary fees only! Not travel fees if any.

Thumbprints for POA and Deeds are required!

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