Duties of a Notary Public

Using the Title “Notary Public”

A notary public may only use the title “notary public” for the purpose of providing notarial services.

Performing Notarial Acts

Note: Notaries Public employed by financial institutions have duties beyond the scope of those listed here.

When requested, it is the duty of a notary public to:

  • Establish the completeness of the document. A Notary public must deny proof or acknowledgement of any instrument that is incomplete.
  • Take the proof or acknowledgement and give certificate of proof or acknowledgment, endorsed on or attached to the following instruments:
    • Advance Health Care Directives
    • Powers of Attorney
    • Mortgages
    • Deeds
    • Grants
    • Transfers
    • Other instruments of writing executed by any person
  • Take depositions and affidavits, and administer oaths and affirmations, in all matters incident to the duties of the office, or to be used before any court, judge, officer, or board.
  • Certify copies of Powers of Attorney;
  • Sign in the Notary public’s own handwriting each certificate, acknowledgement, deposition, affidavit, oath, or affirmation.

 

Furnishing Notarial Records

When requested in writing, it is the further duty of a notary public to:

  • Furnish to the Secretary of State certified copies of the notary’s journal, and to respond within 30 days after receiving written requests sent by certified mail from the Secretary of State’s office for information relating to official acts performed by the notary;
  • Furnish photocopies of requested notarial acts or an acknowledgement if the record does not exist to members of the public within 15 business days after receiving the written request. The written request must include the:
    • Name(s) of the parties;
    • Type of document; and
    • Month and year in which the notarization took place.

The Notarial Journal and Seal

The notary public should safeguard the sequential journal and any official seals by ensuring they are kept in a locked and secured area under the direct and exclusive control of the notary, and should not surrender these to any other person, including an employer, except for when requested by a peace officer (see circumstances under below).

NOTARIAL JOURNAL

Journal Entries

Notaries public are responsible for keeping one active sequential journal at a time, in which all officially performed notarial acts are recorded. Each entry must include:

  • The date;
  • The time;
  • The type of official act;
  • The character of every instrument sworn to, affirmed, acknowledged or proved before the notary;
  • The signature of each person whose signature is being notarized;
  • A statement that the identity of a signer was based on satisfactory evidence;
  • The signature of credible witnesses if used;
    • The type of documents identifying credible witnesses;
    • The identifying numbers on credible witness identifying documents;
    • The dates of issuance or expiration of the documents identifying witnesses;
  • The governmental agency issuing the document;
  • The serial or identifying number of the document;
  • The date of issue or expiration of the document;
  • The fee charged for the notarial service;
  • A thumbprint, fingerprint or an explanation of the signer’s physical condition should a fingerprint be unavailable, of signers of:
  • A deed;
  • A quitclaim deed;
  • A deed of trust; or
  • Another document affecting real property; or
  • A power of attorney document.

Report Journal Mishap

Notaries Public must notify the Secretary of State by certified or registered mail immediately if a sequential journal of official acts performed by a notary public is:

  • Stolen;
  • Lost;
  • Misplaced;
  • Destroyed;
  • Damaged; or
  • Otherwise rendered unusable as a record of notarial acts and information.

The notification shall include:

  • The period of the journal entries;
  • The Notary public’s commission number;
  • The expiration date of the commission, and
  • A photocopy of any police report that specifies the theft of the sequential journal of official acts, when applicable.

Surrendering Notarial Journal

A Notary public is required to surrender the journal immediately or as soon as possible to the county clerk, or to a peace officer upon request when acting in his or her official capacity and within his or her authority, for investigating a criminal offense. Applicable requirements of and exceptions to state and federal law apply to a peace officer engaged in the search or seizure of a sequential journal.

  • The notary public shall obtain a receipt for the journal and shall notify the Secretary of State by certified mail within 10 days that the journal was relinquished to a peace officer. The notification shall include:
  • The period of the journal entries;
  • The commission number of the notary public;
  • The expiration date of the commission; and
  • A photocopy of the receipt.
  • The notary public shall obtain a new sequential journal.
  • The notary public should not make any new entries in a returned journal if they have already started making entries in a new journal. They should close out the journal that was returned after being relinquished to a police officer.
  • If the notary public receives a subpoena duces tecum or a court order, the notary public should provide the journal for examination and copying with the notary public present, and should certify the copies if this is requested.

NOTARY’S OFFICIAL SEAL

A notary public uses an official seal to authenticate all official notarial acts. A notary’s official seal must:

  • May be a stamp or a seal made to required size and language specifications;
  • Only be used to carry out legal notarial acts;
  • The stamped seal or impression must be clearly legible and reproducible;
  • If a notary’s commission is discontinued for any reason, the notary’s stamp or seal should be defaced either by the notary or his or her representative.