February 2019 - Notary Blog - Signing Tips, Marketing Tips, General Notary Advice - 123notary.com
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February 22, 2019

Apostille – General Information

Filed under: Technical & Legal — Tags: , , , , , — admin @ 9:31 am

What is an Apostille?
An Apostille can be a document or certificate that is attached to a document notarized by a notary public, that is going to be sent OVERSEAS to a country that is not NOT a member of the HAGUE Convention. Or it can be an original document such as a Birth Certificate or Marriage Certificate that contains the original seal from the state that it originated from. In either case, the document is going to be sent overseas to places such as Mexico, Spain, Argentina, or India.

Where do I get an Apostille?
Apostilles are usually obtainable from a State Notary Division or a Secretary of State’s Office. Due to budget cuts, Secretary of State Offices are not always nearby, so it can be labor intensive to get to them.

How do I get an Apostille?
You might consider contacting an experienced notary who has been through the Apostille process many times. There are many notaries who fit this description, but you need to know how to find them. Or, you could contact your state’s Secretary of State yourself, and drive to them, and go through this process (which is like pulling teeth) yourself.

Q. Can you recommend a few notaries who are experts in the Apostille Process?
A. Yes, see the 2011 version of this blog article for recommendations.

You might also like:

What is an Apostille?
http://www.internationalapostille.com/what-is-an-apostille/

Department of State — Apostille Requirements
https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/legal/travel-legal-considerations/internl-judicial-asst/authentications-and-apostilles/apostille-requirements.html

2011 version of — How do I get an Apostille or Authentication?
http://blog.123notary.com/?p=1793

Using the correct notary certificate for an Apostille
http://blog.123notary.com/?p=19902

Certified copy of an Apostille?
http://blog.123notary.com/?p=14923

Basic Notary Vocabulary
http://blog.123notary.com/?p=19495

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February 18, 2019

Notary Oath of Office Information

Filed under: Technical & Legal — Tags: , — admin @ 10:40 am

Some states require a Notary Public to take an Oath of Office. The verbiage of the Oath changes from state to state. What you need to know is that you have to swear under Oath to a statement in front of a Notary Public. This is normally done in the county clerk’s office. Then you file your Oath which is in the form of a document that has been signed, sworn to and notarized — you file that with your county clerk and pay a small fee for their service.

The oath and bond must be filed with the county clerk within 30 days of the beginning of your commission in California.

Here is some sample wording for a general Oath of Office

State of California
County of Los angeles
I, (name), do solmenly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the constitution of the United States and the Constitution of the State of California against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear the faith and allegiance to the Constitution of the United States and the State of California, that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion, and that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties upon which I am about to ender and during such tim as I hold the office of (name of office).

Signature _______________

Subscribed and sworn to before me (name of notary) by (name of affiant) this ___ date of month, year.

You might also like:

Filing your Oath & Bond in California
http://www.sos.ca.gov/notary/checklist/bond/

Notary Public Oath of Office information 2012 edition
http://blog.123notary.com/?p=2545

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February 15, 2019

Notaries who fail the California Notary exam

Filed under: California_Notary,Popular on Facebook (A little) — Tags: , — admin @ 10:43 am

Failing the California Notary Exam
Did you fail your California Notary Exam? I passed it many years ago. I studied about 30 hours to make sure I passed the first time. I was nervous and so afraid that I would forget something. We were instructed to bring a see through plastic bag and put particular objects in that bag such as a pencil and a few other things.

The California notary exam is a a lot harder now than in 1997 and 2001 when I took it. The questions are harder, and the multiple choice questions are close variations of each other making it hard to spot the correct answer unless you know your stuff intimately. So study hard. You need to study from the California Notary Handbook but also there are updates on the newsletter from the California Notary Division.

The state carefully hides their questions so you won’t know what is coming unless you know someone who wants to share answers with you. You need to know your notary acts, fees, procedures and application process inside out or you will fail. I believe they allow seven wrong out of thirty, but the questions are so hard that is still not easy.

There are a lot of notaries failing the test and there are fewer Notaries in the state of California as a result. On a more pleasant note, the quality of Notaries in California is far superior to all other states. I know because I test people by phone on notary procedure since I run a notary directory.

You might also like:

Has anyone failed the notary exam?
http://blog.123notary.com/?p=1999

NNA certified signers who failed our test
http://blog.123notary.com/?p=892

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February 10, 2019

Proof of Execution

Filed under: Notary Acts & Certificates — Tags: , — admin @ 10:48 am

What is a Proof of execution? This is an unusual Notary act that few Notaries have ever done. Yet it is allowed in roughly 45 of the 50 states. A Proof of Execution is an act where a Principal signer signs a document in the presence of a Subscribing Witness. The Subscribing Witness then soon after swears under Oath before a Notary Public that the principal signer signed the document in their presence. This type of notary act is prohibited for Deeds and Powers of Attorney, but for less critical documents is allowed.

You might also like:

Proof of Execution and basic notary acts in Notary Public 101
http://blog.123notary.com/?p=19500

Which Notary act does not require the personal appearance of the principal signer?
http://blog.123notary.com/?p=19668

Subscribing witnesses explained
http://blog.123notary.com/?p=16707

Glossary Proof of Execution
http://www.123notary.com/glossary/?proof-of-execution

Glossary Power of Attorney
http://www.123notary.com/glossary/?power-of-attorney

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February 4, 2019

Compilation – Best blog posts from 2010

Filed under: Compilations — admin @ 6:10 am

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TOP

Funniest things that happen to signing agents
http://blog.123notary.com/?p=55

Stories of Notaries who fail and what they did wrong
http://blog.123notary.com/?p=143

Confirming the signing
http://blog.123notary.com/?p=19

Just say no Article 3
http://blog.123notary.com/?p=376

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MARKETING

Stories of Notaries who fail and what they did wrong
http://blog.123notary.com/?p=143

Bilingual Notaries – how often are they needed?
http://blog.123notary.com/?p=238

Business cards for Notaries
http://blog.123notary.com/?p=36

Notary etiquette from A to Z
http://blog.123notary.com/?p=300

2010 version – everything you need to know about notary advertising
http://blog.123notary.com/?p=30

Getting Paid the ins and outs
http://blog.123notary.com/?p=27

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SOCIAL

Welcome to the 123notary Blog
http://blog.123notary.com/?p=1

Social Media – what we are doing
http://blog.123notary.com/?p=3

Funniest things that happen to signing agents
http://blog.123notary.com/?p=55

TECHNICAL

Confirming the signing
http://blog.123notary.com/?p=19

Just say no Article 3
http://blog.123notary.com/?p=376

Hospital Notary jobs from A to Z
http://blog.123notary.com/?p=76

Everything you need to know about journals
http://blog.123notary.com/?p=70

Signature by X
http://blog.123notary.com/?p=203

911 and California Law Changes
http://blog.123notary.com/?p=212

New laws for Notaries in Illinois
http://blog.123notary.com/?p=198

Jail Notary jobs from A to Z
http://blog.123notary.com/?p=151

Credible Witnesses – When ID and docs have different names
http://blog.123notary.com/?p=230

Typical Things Notaries do Wrong
http://blog.123notary.com/?p=58

Meeting clients at a jail
http://blog.123notary.com/?p=274

12 points on eNotarizations
http://blog.123notary.com/?p=228

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February 3, 2019

Credible Witness Notary — information & resources

Filed under: Credible Witnesses — Tags: , , , , , , — admin @ 8:26 am

Here are some links that explain the credible witness process in the Notary profession. Please keep in mind that each state has a different procedure and rules for credible witnesses and a few states don’t allow this practice at all. Please also keep in mind that a Credible Witness for Notary work is also called a Credible identifying witness as their function is to identify signers who lack proper identification.

California Credible Witness Information
There is a long list of things a California Credible Witness must swear to that go above and beyond the identity of the signer. The credible witness must also swear that the signer cannot easily obtain identification. Here are what the CW must swear to:

1. The individual appearing before the notary public as the signer of the document is the person named in the document;

2. The credible witness personally knows the signer;

3. The credible witness reasonably believes that the circumstances of the signer are such that it would be very difficult or impossible for the signer to obtain another form of identification;

4. The signer does not possess any of the identification documents authorized by law to establish the signer’s identity; and general information

5. The credible witness does not have a financial interest and is not named in the document signed.

Please note that the credible witness does not have to swear that the signer has a particular legal name. Shouldn’t that be the whole point of the Oath?

Please refer to page eight and nine of the 2018 California Notary Public Handbook for details.
http://notary.cdn.sos.ca.gov/forms/notary-handbook-2018.pdf

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Information & Resources

Credible witnesses from A to Z
http://blog.123notary.com/?p=452

Glossary Entry — Credible Witness
http://www.123notary.com/glossary/?credible-witness

Which states allow credible witnesses?
http://www.123notary.com/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=4047

Credible Witnesses — the process explained
http://blog.123notary.com/?p=16695

NNA’s guide to credible witnesses
https://www.nationalnotary.org/notary-bulletin/blog/2015/10/notary-challenge-how-handle-credible-witness

NotaryClasses.com guide to credible witnesses
https://www.notaryclasses.com/tutorials/homestudy/56.aspx

Can a notary act as a witness?
http://blog.123notary.com/?p=21359

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Keywords:
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2 Credible Witnesses
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California Notary credible witness form
California Notary Oath of credible witness

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