Penalties for notary misconduct, crimes, and misdeeds
I very rarely hear about notaries engaging in any type of illegal activity or illegal notarizations. The normal problem with notaries is lack of skill, neglegence, or bad tempers in a few cases. I have only heard of one notary that engaged in a serious crime, and he went to jail. This blog entry will discuss various types of notary misconduct and types of penalties for this misconduct in California. Please keep in mind that the notary rules are different in each of the 50 states, and that notary rules are also always changing. However, if something is illegal in one state, there is a high chance that it will also be illegal in your state — although the penalties might be different. The information here is time sensitive and could change at any time. These are listed in the order of which I feel they are important to mobile notaries.
Asking a notary to do an improper notarization.
This is a misdemeanor. If it involves real property, then it is much more serious. Clients might ask you to notarize them using a different name variation that is not documented, or put a false date. This is illegal. They are guilty for asking you to do this, and you will be guilty if you give in to their pressure. If you have driven thirty minutes to a job, you have a beneficial interest in notarizing their document unless you have gotten your travel fee up front when you walk in the door. So, legally, you MUST get your travel fee BEFORE you see the document, or are informed who the signers are, or see their ID, because a conflict of interest can easily happen. If someone asks you to do something illegal, you can threaten to report them to the Secretary of State’s office. This is a serious crime and you should treat it as such.
Issuing a false certificate
A notary who issues false certificates, and this could include backdated certificates would be guilty of a misdemeanor. A false Acknowledgment certificate constitutes FORGERY. Additionaly, the notary could have their commission revoked if found guilty of this crime, with an additional fine of $1500 per incident.
Failure to Identify a Credible Witness
A fine of $10,000 per incident could occur if a notary fails to check a credible witness’s identification documents and see that they have acceptable identification.
Failure to get a thumbprint!!!
This is my favorite. Thumbprints are critical for identifying a signer if fraud is suspected. Powers of Attorney and Deeds require a journal thumbprint in California. A fine of up to $2500 per incident would be the penalty.
Failure to administer an Oath
A fine of $750 per incident could be incurred, not to mention revocation, or suspention of a notary commission, or refusal to grant a commission.
Felony Convictions
If you have a felony conviction or have been convicted of a crime involving dishonesty or moral turpitude, you will most likely not be allowed to get a notary commission in the first place. If you already had a notary commission, it would be suspended or revoked the minute your state’s ntoary division finds out about it!
Professional Misconduct
This refers to dishonesty in your professional activities. The penalty would once again be suspension, revocation, or refusal to grant a notary commission.
Failure of Duty
This means that you refuse to serve a member of the public who has a legitimate request for a notarization. However, if the signer doesn’t have proper identification, or doesn’t have a properly filled out document, or seems very questionable, you have the right to refuse service to such a client. The penalty would be refusal to grant a notary commission, suspension, or revocation of a notary commission. Additionally a fine of $750 could be imposed on the California notary public.
Falsely Acting as a Notary
This is a misdemeanor
Making false statements to a notary
Anyone who induces a notary to make an improper notarization with regards to real property can be found guilty of a FELONY. This is the most serious type of fraud possible in the notary profession.
False or misleading notary advertising
Making false statements in notary advertising is illegal, and the penalty for California notaries is $1500 per incident. Additionally, such a notary’s commission could be suspended, revoked, or there could be a refusal to issue a commission. Claiming to be an immigration expert, or be able to give legal advice could be a serious example of false advertising.
Selling personal information
If the notary sells or misuses personal information of those he/she has notarized, that is illegal as well. Remember to keep your journals locked up, so that nobody can have access to that information. When making copies of journal entries, make sure that the neighboring journal entries are covered, so that their information is not shared with the public. Once again, your application could be denied, or your commission could be suspended or revoked for such a crime.
Misstatements on a notary application (Application misstatement)
Your notary commission could be suspended, revoked, or refused if you are guilty of this misconduct
Here are some other crimes… I will just list them here, but may or may not describe the penalties.
Failure to deliver a journal to the county clerk at the end of your commission. – misdemeanor
Failure to safeguard seal and journal – revoke/suspend/refuse
Failure to report a lost or damaged seal – $1500 fine
Nonpayment of judgement / Refusal to pay child support – refusal to issue a commission
Failure to keep a journal – such notaries will be prosecuted
There are a few others laws that I am not going to mention, but these were the interesting ones…
You might also like:
9/11 Notary Law Changes
http://blog.123notary.com/?p=212
All you need to know about notary work
http://blog.123notary.com/?p=2354
How to complain about a notary public
http://blog.123notary.com/?p=2179
Penalties for notary misconduct and fraud (2018 version)
http://blog.123notary.com/?p=21315
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Can a notary notarize a birth certificate?
Can a notary notarize a copy of a birth certificate?
Notaries are advised to stay away from notarizing copies of vital records including birth certificates, marriage certificates, and death certificates. The state and/or county clerks are in charge of vital records. Just politely decline when asked to notarize a signature on a birth certificate. These types of vital records must be certified by the county clerk in the corresponding county.
No place to sign!
Additionally, there is no place for a signer to sign on a birth certificate, so how can you notarize a document without a signature? Conceivably, you could draw up an Affidavit that claims that the copy is a true and complete copy of the original birth certificate. The signer could sign that affidavit, and you could notarize the signature on the affidavit and give them a quick oath. But, this is not legal in many states in conjunction with a birth certificate.
What should a notary do?
As a notary, you should know the name of the document that is to be notarized BEFORE you get in your car. Imagine driving 45 minutes in traffic only to find out that you are going to be asked to notarize a birth certificate. Have fun getting your travel fee in that case when you tell the client, “no can do”.
Fetal Death Certificates?
I never knew this existed until I read someone’s reply to a forum post about notarizing (or not notarizing) birth certificates. I never knew there was such thing as a fetal death certificate. How can you give a certificate to someone who has not yet been named? Do souls have an SKU number? Was the fetus mature enough to have been infused with a soul yet? When you study spirituality, you start asking questions like this! On a brighter note, the fetus will be reincarnated, and won’t suffer much according to a colleague who specializes in past life regression!
Refer them to an Attorney
When asked to do questionable or illegal acts, just refer your client to an Attorney so that they can get a professional answer.
You might also like:
Can I notarize a birth certificate – forum discussion http://www.123notary.com/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=3924
How to get something notarized that doesn’t have a signature
http://blog.123notary.com/?p=4695
The chicken & egg: Birth Certificate problem solved
http://blog.123notary.com/?p=3474