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July 28, 2021

A Rabbi explains Notary Oaths & Affirmations

Filed under: General Stories — Tags: , , , — admin @ 5:24 am

Oaths and Affirmations have many religious overtones. The fact that God is mentioned in one and not the other is one aspect. The other gets into rules that resemble some of the rules for getting in an elevator during a kosher shabbat. Remember — some elevators are more kosher than others.

SUSIE: Rabbi, I heard that you can discuss how to do kosher notarizations. Can you elaborate in the case of Oaths?

RABBI NOTARIVICH: Yes. You see, (pauses, while pulling gently on his long and flowing beard) there are two types of solemn statements that could be made under the penalty of perjury to a Notary Public. One is an Oath, and the other is an Affirmation. The affirmation cannot be kosher because it doesn’t mention God. But, on the other hand the Oath is also perhaps not kosher because it makes you swear under Oath to God as a special act. This insinuates that under normal situations you would not necessarily tell the truth, but because you are engaged in a solemn ceremony with the Notary Public under the penalty of perjury that you will tell the truth. So, therefore neither solemn statement is kosher from that point of view.

On the other hand, for legal purposes we need such acts, otherwise, supposedly nothing could get done in the business world. And since we need to have sworn statements, it would be good if we did so under God, not solely for the purpose of swearing under God, but because those who engage in Affirmations seem to ignore God, disacknowledge God, dislike God, or dislike those who believe in him. So, Oaths would be more kosher than Affirmations relatively speaking although there is no formal standard, and technically a Notary act can neither be kosher, nor non-kosher.

However, on the third hand…

SUSIE: Rabbi, do you have three hands?

RABBI: Figuratively, I have infinite hands, it is a manner of speech. Anyway… So, on the third hand, there is another legal aspect which parallels with some of the ideology behind kosher elevators.

SUSIE: Does that mean you have to do a blessing on the elevator, or do a blessing while you are in the elevator, or the elevator needs to be milchik?

RABBI: If you ate meat, you definitely shouldn’t cook in a milchik elevator, but not so many people cook in an elevator unless they are really behind schedule. But, when a Notary is confronted with a client, the Notary may not choose the Notary act. They can explain the Notary acts and compare and contrast them but not choose them. The notary can ask if the client wants an Oath or Affirmation. Now, the case may arise where the Affiant is not the client. One party is paying for the notarization while another is being Notarized. This is common. So, which one chooses the Notary act. The answer is the one paying even if he chooses the wrong act for the situation. The document custodian if there is one might be wise to voice a preference as to what type of Notary act they will accept, as they can ultimately reject the notarization.

SUSIE: So, this is complicated, you have an affiant, a client, a custodian, a notary, AND a rabbi? What would happen if all of these entities went into a bar together? Or had to screw in a light bulb? What would happen?

RABBI: Easy. If the Rabbi was asked how to screw in the light bulb, he would want to spend at least 100 hours referencing sources in the scriptures and the midrashim to find suitable precedents for how to handle the situation. However, he would get nowhere because he wouldn’t be able to see without a functional lightbulb, so he would sit there in frustration and ultimately shrug his shoulders, say, “Oy gevalt”, and then leave. The document custodian would not be there so he could do nothing. The affiant would be a guest and would therefore do nothing. The client would be remote as well and would do nothing. The Notary would leave. However, the building custodian — a sixth entity would probably be the one to change the lightbulb, or the building manager, or whomever owns or manages the property.

SUSIE: That was complicated but makes sense. What if they went into a bar?

RABBI: The Rabbi would order a Manhattan, but would spent 20 minutes bothering the bartender as to whether or not the glass it was to be served in had even touched anything with dairy over the life of its existence and the bar tender would get annoyed and help someone else. The Notary would order a Santa Barbara Cabernet Sauvignon called, “Notary Public Red Blend”… yes, it actually exists, or something with the name Notary Public because the vineyard was owned by someone who used to be a Notary. The client would order a beer, and the affiant, would not want to swear under the influence so he would say, “I will have Ginger Ale”.

SUSIE: An interesting take on an old joke.

RABBI: So anyway, the client or the affiant if he is also the client chooses the type of notarization. We can compare choosing the notarization to pressing a button on an elevator or online menu. After all, with online notarizations, you would have to click a button to choose your notary act. On Shabbat which is from Friday sundown to Saturday sundown a person who is shomer shabbat (who follows the rules of kosher) cannot press an elevator button or turn on a light unless it is an emergency. However, a kosher elevator, stops on every floor, so you don’t have to press a button to call it nor do you have to press a button to choose what floor.

SUSIE: I feel sorry for kosher people who used to go to the world trade center, that used to have 200 floors. That would take four hours to get to the top if it stopped at every floor and by then shabbat would be half over.

RABBI: A good point.

ANSWERING QUICK QUESTIONS BY PHONE ON THE SABBATH

LAURA: Rabbi, I called a Notary on Shabbat to ask if she did Debt Consolidations. She responded that she could not answer business questions on Shabbat because that would be working. So, I asked, why did you answer the phone then?

RABBI: On the one hand.

SUSIE: Here we go with the hands again. I’m expecting at least four hands.

RABBI: One the one hand, and just for the sake of argument, let’s say it is the left hand, it is forbidden to work on the sabbath which is shabbat in Hebrew. The Torah also forbids walking more than 2000 cubits out of your respective town on shabbat, perhaps because that would also be laborious even though that is not work. 2000 cubits is roughly 1KM just for the sake of reference. And it might take 15 minutes to walk that far.

So, this kosher Notary is willing to burden herself with a phone call on shabbat not knowing if it is a personal call or a business call. Since the Torah prohibits, working, but also prohibits recreational activities such as unnecessary or excessive walking that could prove laborious after a few minutes…. hmmm… there is no formal point of view on this matter.

It seems that since the notary took the trouble to answer the call which she knew had nothing to do with shabbat, that she could also answer a quick question about business just as long as answering that question was not excessively laborious like walking a kilometer. After all, at Synagogue, people discuss what business they are in and what is going on at their companies. That is talking about work, but it is very different than actually working. The point of not being laborious in any way on Shabbat is to save your energy and focus for prayer, relaxing, and socializing. If you waste your time on endless phone calls you lose that focus. It would be better that she would not answer the phone unless it was family or related to shabbat. But, answering a quick question would be okay in my book. I’m sure others will disagree as this is a controversial topic.

It would probably be better not to answer any phone calls on shabbat unless it is an emergency or related to who is coming to dinner.

NOTARY REVIEWS: SLANDER & GOSSIP ACCORDING TO THE SCRIPTURES

VICKI: Rabbi, if a Notary did a bad job, would it be considered unkosher gossip or “Leshon Hara” to write a bad review on his listing?

RABBI: Many will agree that committing leshon hara could be worse than murder. But, on the other hand, if you don’t say anything, that notary might harm others endlessly. If you write a bad review, you might be harming that Notary’s reputation which could cause terrible spiritual consequences in this life and the next. On the other hand, if you don’t write the review, that Notary might harm others. So, should you choose the lesser of the evils? Should you only write the review if that Notary did something very bad and showed no sign of remorse? It is hard to answer a question like this as it is a judgement call.

THE NOTARY AND THE BACON BURGER

SAM: I just did a meditation where I visited Notary Hell. There was a guy there who wrote a bad review about someone who ruined a hospital notarization. The only crime the inmate at hell had done in his life was to write a bad review. The Notary’s reputation was permanently ruined as his prime clients saw the review, and the Notary later starved to death as a result. And it was all because of that guy who wrote the bad review.

RABBI: Did he mention anything about how the social life is in hell? Word on the street is, “Go to hell for the social life, but heaven for the weather.”

SAM: Next time I’ll have to ask. I’m going to the underworld tonight, but I’m sure I’ll have time to visit hell sometime on Wednesday. Oh wait. I have an Apostille signing on Wednesday, maybe Wednesday night.

RABBI: One of my friends accidentally ate a piece of bacon and he was sure he would end up in hell. Could you… umm… you know, check up on him and see if he actually made it to hell?

SAM: Was his name Saul? And did he always wear red suspenders?

RABBI: Yes.

SAM: Never heard of him.. Just kidding. Saul is in purgatory. His Teshuva (repentance) is to think less about nonsensical trivialities. Until he masters this, the angels won’t let him into heaven.

RABBI: The irony of it all. Well I guess that wraps it up. We have answered all of our rabbinical Notary questions. Tune in next week to Ask the Rabbi!

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October 8, 2017

Airline meals verses Notary Oaths & Affirmations

Filed under: Technical & Legal — Tags: , , , — admin @ 3:06 am

Have you ever wondered what airline meals have in common with Notarial Oaths? More than you think. In the old days airlines would only have one choice. The choice would normally have meat, and a few sides. Those were the good old days when women stayed at home and men supported them, and children had fathers. But, we solved the problem of children having fathers (so old fashioned and unnecessary.) Now, we are all the more wiser and realize that children do just fine without a live-in father and don’t need school prayer either. What a waste of time. Additionally, we have stopped reproducing for the most part which is another way to solve our sociological problems.

On the other hand, a preacher from Tennessee on television says, “If God goes out, then the Devil comes in… Since we have stopped prayer in school, there has been an upsurge in drugs, teen pregnancy, violence, and the list goes on…” But, I digress.

Now, you can get the regular airline meal, vegetarian, vegan, gluton free, high fiber, and about ten other choices. Singapore air even has some good Asian delicacies (yes please!) But, let’s get to the point of this article. It does have a point, right?

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AIRLINE MEALS

Let’s say that on Trans-Notarial Airlines you have two choices of a meal.

(1) THE REGULAR MEAL: which has a chunk of certified angus beef, two veggie sides and an embossed oreo plus a can of Affiant Cola. And then, there is

(2) THE VEGETARIAN OPTION which gives you the broccoli with tofu, their signature salad, corn, chocolate cake and a drink.

The problem is that the Notaries who ran Trans-Notarial Airlines thought they knew everything about notary food law, but didn’t. What the Notaries did was to offer vegetarians the regular meal, but remove the meat. The Notaries did not know that there was a vegetarian meal since they had not been trained.

Similarly, Notaries are unaware that most states have an OATH and an AFFIRMATION. The affirmation was created or invented as not to offend those who did not want to mention God or swearing. But, what Notaries often do is to administer an Oath, but remove the required Oath verbiage of “swear” and “God” as to please the politically correct and religious zealots instead thereby bastardizing an Oath rather than administering an Affirmation. The other mistake Notaries make is to only do Affirmations when legally they might (are likely to) be required to offer a CHOICE of acts.

MY RECOMMENDATIONS

Offer your clients a choice of an Affirmation or an Oath in a Jurat execution or if they want a purely oral sworn statement. It is their choice, so you have no place choosing for them. It is the same as offering a choice of the regular meal or the veggie meal rather than giving the regular meal without the meat. Where’s the beef? My opinion is that if you leave God out, the devil comes in. So, when you administer a sworn statement to me, don’t forget the God part. Without him/her, we wouldn’t even exist! And for New York Notaries, I recommend not doing Affirmations with the cab drivers because cabbies prefer to swear!

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You might also like:

Notary Public 101 – Oaths, Affirmations, Jurats & Acknowledgments
http://blog.123notary.com/?p=19500

Should you give book wording for Oaths or improvise?
http://blog.123notary.com/?p=19660

Oaths – how Notaries completely screw them up
http://blog.123notary.com/?p=19369

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July 21, 2023

Top Hurdles: The Problems Notaries Encounter

Filed under: General Articles — Tags: — Tom Wilkins @ 12:00 am

The notary industry is among the oldest yet most critical components of business transactions and legal documents. This job involves a lot of responsibility, complex details, and potential mistakes that may only be obvious once you have experience. We’ll look at some of the top issues affecting notaries everywhere and how they can prepare for these potential hurdles as best as possible, from knowing when to refuse to sign a document to understanding common frauds that you should watch out for a while on duty. The purpose of this blog post is to provide you with comprehensive information on how to become a successful notary and maintain your success.

Notarizing Documents When A Signer Isn’t Present

One of the primary concerns among notaries is the improper notarization of documents when the signer is absent, whether physically or through remote conferencing. Despite clear warnings against this practice, notaries may face pressure from clients or fall victim to social engineering tactics, such as bogus phone calls from the supposed signer.

When the signer isn’t present, the potential for fraud increases significantly. Ethical notaries must be prepared to decline requests for executing documents without all signers present, ensuring the integrity of the notarial process.

Insufficient Signer Identification

Confirming the identity of the signer is a critical step for notaries. State statutes typically require either personal knowledge or satisfactory evidence that the individual matches the description in the document. Government-issued identification, such as driver’s licenses, passports (foreign and domestic), military IDs, and permanent resident IDs, is commonly used to verify a signer’s identity.

To ensure compliance, notaries must familiarize themselves with the identification rules specific to their state and adopt reliable methods to confirm the identity of signers.

Incomplete Certificates and Oath/Affirmation Neglect

Completing a notarial certificate before signing and stamping it is a fundamental requirement. Neglecting to do so constitutes significant notary misconduct, potentially resulting in losing one’s commission or facing fines. Similarly, not administering an oath or affirmation during the notarization of a jurat is a common error to avoid.

To prevent such mistakes, notaries should review the essential elements of a notarial certificate, diligently learn the required verbal ceremonies for each act, and affix their seal only after completing the certification and ceremony accurately.

Challenges in an Expired Notary Environment

Navigating the notary business when one’s commission has expired can be daunting. It is essential to determine whether a traditional or electronic notary is required based on document specifications. For electronic notarization, notaries need to verify if their state permits remote online notarization (RON) and seek out providers that meet legal and security standards.

Notaries should schedule appointments with suitable RON providers to overcome these challenges, gather all necessary documents and valid identification, and be prepared to cover any applicable fees. Proactive planning ensures a seamless transition and avoids disruptions caused by the expiration of a notary commission.

Notarizing Documents After Commission Expiry

Remaining vigilant about commission expiration is crucial to avoid issues related to notarizing documents after expiration. Notaries must be aware of the consequences of acting as a notary public after their commission has expired, as fines and legal penalties vary by state.

Notaries should diligently monitor their commission’s expiration date to mitigate this risk and refrain from performing notarial acts beyond that point. Before scheduling customer appointments, thoroughly familiarizing oneself with state regulations and different notarial acts is essential.

Credible Witness Situations

Credible witnesses are pivotal in notarial services addressing one of the top issues affecting notaries. A credible witness becomes invaluable when confronted with a customer who needs more acceptable identification and is unfamiliar with the notary. This reliable third party is entrusted with the responsibility of testifying to the customer’s identity, helping to uphold the integrity of the notarial process.

Before proceeding with the notary act, notaries must notarize a verification on oath or affirmation signed by the credible witness. The witness confirms the customer’s identity and attests to their acquaintance.

Overcome Challenges, Excel As A Notary, And Leave Your Mark In The Field – Success Awaits You!

While these top issues affecting notaries may present challenges, they should encourage individuals to embrace their roles as public servants. By acknowledging these challenges and proactively preparing to overcome them, notaries can ensure the effective and reliable delivery of notarial services. Should additional problems arise or further assistance be needed, experienced notaries can provide guidance and support. Together, we can tackle these hurdles and uphold the integrity of the notary profession.

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July 4, 2023

Mobile Notary: The Perks of Flexibility

Filed under: General Articles — Tags: , — Tom Wilkins @ 12:00 am

In today’s fast-moving world, convenience and adaptability are key to success. This applies to multiple industries, including the notary business. The emergence of mobile notary services has created exciting opportunities for professionals in the field, enabling them to provide their services while on the go. Moreover, this shift offers numerous benefits for both notaries and clients. This article will discuss the benefits of becoming a mobile notary and how flexibility can vastly improve business practices.

Accessible Anytime, Anywhere

One of the primary benefits of becoming a mobile notary is the ability to provide services wherever and whenever needed. Unlike traditional notaries who operate from fixed locations, mobile notaries can travel to clients’ homes, offices, or any other designated meeting place. This accessibility ensures that individuals and businesses can notarize their documents without the hassle of travel or time constraints.

Enhanced Customer Convenience

The mobile notary profession revolves around providing top-notch customer service. By offering flexibility in location and availability, mobile notaries make it easier for clients to have their important documents notarized. This convenience becomes especially valuable for individuals with mobility limitations, busy professionals, or those living in remote areas. Mobile notaries eliminate the need for clients to adjust their schedules or commute to a notary office, providing a stress-free and efficient notarization experience.

Versatile Notarial Services

Mobile notaries offer a wide range of services beyond the traditional scope of notarization. These services may include administering oaths and affirmations, witnessing document signings, and facilitating loan signings. By expanding their repertoire, mobile notaries become versatile professionals capable of meeting diverse notarial needs. This versatility increases their marketability and ensures a steady stream of clients seeking their services.

Building Personal Connections

As a mobile notary, you can build personal connections with your clients. Meeting them in person establishes trust and rapport, which is crucial in any service-oriented business. Mobile notaries often work with repeat clients who appreciate the convenience and professionalism they offer. You can establish a strong reputation and generate positive word-of-mouth referrals through these personal connections, further expanding your client base.

Flexibility in Scheduling

Flexibility in scheduling is another significant benefit of becoming a mobile notary. You can set your working hours and take on as many or as few assignments as possible. This flexibility allows you to balance personal commitments, such as family or other part-time jobs, while maintaining a fulfilling mobile notary career. Whether you prefer working during weekdays, weekends, or evenings, the choice is entirely yours.

Independence and Autonomy:

As a mobile notary, you can be your boss. You can establish your own business, set your rates, and choose the clients you want to work with. This independence allows you to shape your career according to your preferences and goals. You can focus on specific industries or niche markets, positioning yourself as an expert in certain notarial services. The autonomy of being a mobile notary allows for a rewarding and fulfilling professional journey.

Unlocking Your Potential as a Mobile Notary

To wrap it up, the benefits of becoming a mobile notary are numerous, from flexibility and convenience to generating additional income. Not only is it a comparatively low-stress job, but you can also have the pleasure of helping other people with their more significant jobs.

As a mobile notary, the world can be your office! Whether you work from home or in the heart of it all, you’ll have access to clients no matter where you go. Whether for personal or professional matters, you’ll be able to provide an invaluable service to those who need it—and make money in the process! What’s more, you can find yourself in unique and lucrative opportunities—all with minimal overhead costs. So why wait? Get out there and start to market your notary business today!

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December 2, 2021

The “menu society” might be complicated for Notaries

Filed under: General Stories — admin @ 11:52 am

We live in a menu society. In the old days, life was very predictable. There was one God, one types of sworn statement, namely an Oath. One type of relationships namely marriage between a biological male and a biological woman. And there were two genders.

Now we have multiple genders and you can change your gender identity on a whim and perhaps even have it documented on your driver’s license.

We have multiple Gods. You can believe in The God of Abraham, Krishna, or whomever you want to. I joked that on the new Affirmation and Oath form there is a check box where you choose your entity that you are swearing under. It is kind of like a menu. Ooops, I just heard thunder and lightning — I better not joke about that topic any more.

But, on Notary forms, how would you document a polyamorous relationship? With all of the flexibility we have in society, you still cannot marry more than one person, not even in Utah with all the Mormons. What is the world coming to — or not coming to as the case might be.

What if a man is married to two other men, one woman and a sheep who is non-binary.

Maybe these types of people don’t get loans, but imagine if they did. Anyway, I’m just thinking out loud as usual.

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November 18, 2021

Notary almost loses commission over botched Oath

Filed under: Notary Mistakes — admin @ 8:50 am

A Notary in Maine was talking to me a while back. She said that she gave an Oath rather than giving a choice of an Oath or Affirmation. The Maine Secretary of State threatened to take her notary commission away if she made that mistake again.

I learned this because I gave her a phone quiz. I asked her to give me an Oath for a document that said, “I love starbucks double shot” (which incidentally is not sold in stores currently due to supply chain issues.)

She offered me a choice of an Oath or Affirmation after I had requested an Oath. That is similar to a customer ordering coffee, and then the waiter asking if he wants coffee or tea. He just said that he wanted COFFEE.

The signer has the legal right to choose the Notary act, not the Notary. So, if someone chooses an Oath, then give them their Oath. Most signers are clueless and don’t know what to choose – in that case, offer them a choice.

Would you like an Oath or Affirmation?
Affirmation

Would you like cream or sugar in your affirmation?
Soy milk please.

See how easy that was.

What most people do, including in court these days is to say, “Do you solemnly swear or affirm that…..” This verbiage includes both acts in one, so you don’t have to offer a choice. However, if someone asks for an Oath, and then you say, “Swear or affirm” you are overriding their choice of an Oath, and still offering them a choice after they very clearly made their choice.

But, take this seriously, because if you goof, you could lose your commission.

SUMMARY
1. Give the signer a choice of notary acts if they haven’t chosen.
2. Don’t override their choice if they already chose.
3. Bring soy creamer just in case.

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June 10, 2021

Comments on good journal entry procedure

Filed under: Journals — admin @ 3:09 am

I have written thorough information on journal keeping in other articles. But, here is a summary of some of the more critical points.

1. KEEP A JOURNAL – or else. Even if your state does not require you to keep a journal, it is your only evidence if investigated by the FBI or if summoned to appear before a Judge. This happens more than you think to Notaries so be prepared and keep records in a journal.

2. Don’t forget to enter the type of NOTARY ACT that you are performing in the journal. This is generally a Jurat, Acknowledgment, Oath or Affirmation. Copy Certification might be considered a Jurat in some states, but you could put both names to be thorough.

3. Obviously enter the ID INFORMATION in your journal unless you live in a state that forbids that. Otherwise you have no evidence that you looked at their ID. Make sure the photo looks like them and that the signature on the ID matches the one in the journal and the document. If you want to get cute, ask them their sign and see if it matches their birthday.

4. THUMBPRINTS are almost foolproof. ID’s can be faked, but all thumbprints in the planet are unique to a particular individual. To deter fraud and help the FBI catch very very bad people (and yes we have stories from 123notary members about exactly this.) then keep a thumbprint for all notarized documents in your journal. NNA sells a nice journal with room for thumbprints and you need an inkless thumbprint pad too which is not expensive.

5. DOCUMENT DATES
Most people don’t know what a document date is or what it means. It is an arbitrary date inscribed within the document which normally corresponds to the date the document was drafted or signed. It is yet another indication of which document you are dealing with, just in case you notarize two documents from the same signer with the same document name.

6. SIGNATURES
Signers must sign all journal entries that pertain to documents that they are being notarized on.

7. PRICES. The price you are charging the signers should be indicated in the journal. If you are charging a travel fee, or a flat fee for a mobile signing, indicate this somehow in your records, perhaps on the top entry of a particular signing.

8. ADDITIONAL NOTES? The NNA journal has a section for additional notes. If you have credible witnesses, they sign there. If you notice anything unusual about the signing, write it down as that could jog your memory when you are in court several years after the fact. It is hard to remember all of your signings and roughly 15% of our full-time Notaries who have been around for several years have been to court due to Notary related reasons.

9. STORAGE. Keep your used journals in a safe and dry place. You might get a query for an old journal entry and you need to be able to find them. Your Notary division might want your journals if you quit your commission or you expire, so keep them where you can find them where nobody will steal them.

That’s all for today!

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April 16, 2021

Trick questions — you already gave them a choice

Filed under: Technical & Legal — admin @ 8:00 am

I have a trick question in one of my email quizzes. In the question, the affiant requests an Oath for a document about whether he likes Starbucks or not. It is a sort of a nonsense Oath, but goes over some critical knowledge about Oaths as silly as it sounds.

The answers have to do with the first words the Notary should say when administering the Oath. Some of the answers include:

1. You should ask if the signer wants an Oath or Affirmation
2. Do you swear or affirm that…

These particular answers (and there are about seven total answers to this question to see who really knows their stuff and who is guessing or fudging.) reveal a lot. The signer already request an Oath, so you have already fulfilled your obligation to let the signer choose what type of notarization they want. So you don’t have to ask again what type of Notary act they want. If you answered 1 or 2, you are being redundant and those answers are therefore not good answers. You should then say,

“Do you solemnly swear that you love Starbucks?”

They should raise their right hand and say, “yes” or “I do.”

The purpose of this question is to see who thinks straight and who does not. People who have illogical thinking are not the best people to hire. On the other hand, I recently learned that people who ignore emails are even riskier to hire because they are negligent by definition!

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November 24, 2020

Notary IQ Test: 123notary is to Snapdocs what…

Filed under: Certification & Communication Skills — Tags: , , , — admin @ 11:09 pm

Here is yet another Notary IQ test to test your Notary knowledge and thinking skills.

1. A Jurat is a Notary act that:
a. Has to be sworn to.
b. Has to be signed in front of the notary and sworn/affirmed to as opposed to an Acknowledgment which doesn’t have to be signed in front of the notary.
c. Has to be affirmed to. It is bad to ask people to swear as that might offend certain people.
d. Requires a Jurat certificate and an Oath or Affirmation.

2. Acknowledgment is to Jurat what:
a. A pre-fab home is — to a home that is built on site.
b. A chicken that has an egg inside it and then lays it — to a stork that brings your baby.
c. An Oath — to an Affirmation
d. A venue — to a certificate.

3. An Oath is to an Affirmation what:
a. Traditional is to politically correct.
b. God is to your personal honor
c. A New Yorker says in traffic to what a Millennial in California says at a formal appointment of office.
d. Choosing God to Choosing your diety of choice (pick option 4 for Lord Krishna).

4. A Mobile Notary is one that
a. Lives in Mobile Alabama
b. Used to live in Mobile Alabama
c. Travels to jobs
d. Charges a travel fee.
e. Prefers to book jobs at Starbucks… his “office” so he can have mocha-java while waiting for clients to show up. Sounds like the modern day Fonz having an “office.”

5. 123notary is to Snapdocs what
a. Source of information about real Notaries — to source of information about sad excuse for Notaries.
b. Directory is to Portal
c. Old school vs. High Tech
d. Public reviews vs. Thumbs up or thumbs down.
BTW, I just had a glass of 14 hands Merlot at a restaurant. The waiter asked me how I liked it and I said, “14 thumbs up, but not necessarily from the same seven hands.”

6. NNA is to 123notary what
a. One stop shopping is to advertising and signing agent training
b. Conferences are to blog articles and phone sessions with Carmen
c. A good source for ammunition is to a good source of higher paying Notary leads. (or am I confusing them with the NRA? — sorry, old joke.)
d. A big company where you don’t get to know the staff personally vs. a small company where everybody knows Jeremy & Carmen, but not Raymond.

7. The additional / optional information section on an Acknowledgment is critical because
a. It is good to show you are thorough
b. Jeremy says so
c. You can identify the document in multiple facets on the certificate so that it would be obvious if the certificate were swapped out to a different document.
4. To prevent someone from using the certificate on another document.

8. The most effective use of an embosser would be
a. To create a raised impression on all pages of every document you notarized to detect page swapping after the fact. Also, to prevent page swapping onto other documents that were not notarized by you.
b. To create a really large Oreo cookie.
c. To look hype when you arrive at a notary appointment — check out my embosser yo! Stainless!
d. You could use it as a weapon in case the signer tries to attack you — hey, it happens.

That is all for today students. I hope you enjoy our quiz. You can discuss potential answers in the comments or read Notary Public 101 to learn how I would answer some of these.

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November 23, 2020

Notary Test about Notary acts and more

Filed under: Technical & Legal — admin @ 9:41 am

Here are some test questions for you guys to see who’s got it and who has been faking it all this time.

1. In an Acknowledgment, who acknowledges what?

2. In a Jurat, does the signer swear that they:
(a) Signed a particular document and that they agree to it
(c) Are the person who they claim to be
(d) All of the above

3. If a document was signed on March 1, 2001, and today is March 2, 2020, what type of notary act can you use to notarize the document without having it resigned?

4. When administering an Oath to an affiant, after having the affiant raise their right hand (or paw) the Notary should start with the words:
(a) I solemnly swear
(b) Do you solemnly swear
(c) Do you affirm
(d) I solemnly affirm

5. What is the difference between an Oath and an Affirmation?
(a) In an Oath you swear; In an Affirmation you Affirm;
(b) They are essentially the same
(c) In an Oath, the affiant swears under God; In an Affirmation the affiant affirms on their personal honor;
(d) In both acts the affiant makes a solemn promise

6. A proof of execution is an act where the principal signer:
(a) Does not show up
(b) Must show up because the signer must show up for all notary acts
(c) Does not show up, but has someone show up for them
(d) There is no such act.

7. If you have two names on an Acknowledmgent (John & Sally) but Sally cannot make it, what is the most pressing benefit to crossing her name out on the form rather than using a fresh form.
(a) Your recording fees will not be affected
(b) There is less danger of the new form being detached and used fraudulently
(c) It is easier
(d) It will look better in court because it is “cleaner” than using a new form and stapling it to the document.

8. If you are notarizing the signatures of three people each on ten Grant Deeds, how many journal entries should you use?
(a) 1
(b) 3
(c) 30
(d) 13

9. If you are notarizing the signatures of one person on five Grant Deeds, how do you differentiate the Deeds in your journal?
(a) Indicate the property address
(b) Indicate the APN number
(c) Indicate the document date
(d) Just say, “Grant Deed” in your journal entry(ies)

10. If you are at a loan signing and have a question about a notarization…
(a) You should ask title
(b) You should ask the lender
(c) You should ask the NNA
(d) You should ask your state Notary division

Summary
These are very important notary questions. Answering them correctly will help you know your job and reduce your chance of ending up in a sticky situation. You can consult our Notary Public 101 course on the blog to look up content regarding these points although we don’t address these specific questions in particular.

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