We write about this topic every so often. It is so basic and so critical that all new Notaries should understand. Every year, hundreds of thousands of Americans become Notaries. As Notaries they can perform tasks such as Acknowledging signatures, performing Jurats, administering Oaths, and other tasks which might be state specific. Notaries can hold their heads up high as their function is to identify signers, keep good records (in most states at least) and deter or prevent fraud. But, that is only if they are doing their job correctly — and most states do not vet their Notaries well enough to know the difference.
What is a Notary?
(1) A Notary Public is a state appointed official that is authorized to perform particular Notary functions. All states allow Notaries to perform Acknowledgments, Jurats, and Oaths, while some states allow Notaries to act as an official witness, safety box opener, proof of execution, protests, take Depositions, and more.
(2) A Notary receives a formal certificate of commission from their state, and a commission number.
(3) Many states require a Notary to have an official notary seal that has the Notary’s name, commission number, expiration date, state andcounty.
(4) Many states require the Notary to keep a bound and sequential official journal of notarial acts.
To be short, a Notary can perform certain basic Notary functions that their state allows them to function. Their state offers them a formal certificate of commission, and normally allows them to get one or two official Notary seals with their name, commission number, expiration date, city and state, etc. Notaries use prescribed state specific wording for particular Notary acts and that wording can be used on loose certificates that they can purchase from businesses who sell Notary supplies. A Notary is a public official, although most Notaries don’t understand that on an emotional level. They are appointed by their state as an official who will uphold (or at least are supposed to) the laws of their state at all costs.
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And, you would blush at the sloppy Notary work done at the courthouse, even backdating documents. Nobody questions the work of these bureaucrats. I dreamed that I went for a signing, partied with the singer’s and realized that we passed midnight before we started signing. I decided that we would sign anyway, write in the post midnight date and complete the paperwork and that I would contact the lender and title later that day to see if we needed to resign, asking forgiveness, not permission.
Comment by Betty — March 8, 2020 @ 2:37 pm