This month I would like to discuss the importance of the Notary Public. This is an often misunderstood topic and from my own experience, it can be a little challenging at times to understand what details go into such a thing as a Notary. Let’s dive right into the exciting world of notarization, you never know when you could need one.

The National Notary Association defines a Notary Public is an official of integrity appointed by state government —typically by the secretary of state — to serve the public as an impartial witness in performing a variety of official fraud-deterrent acts related to the signing of important documents. These official acts are called notarizations, or notarial acts. Notaries are publicly commissioned as “ministerial” officials, meaning that they are expected to follow written rules without the exercise of significant personal discretion, as would otherwise be the case with a “judicial” official. To put it simply, a Notary Public is an official unbiased witness to the signing of an important document. Notaries can also do a slew of other things including but not limited to: administering oaths and affirmations, taking affidavits and statutory declarations, take acknowledges of deeds, protest bills and notes of exchange, and even provide notices of foreign drafts.

The Notary Public is to screen the signers of the document to ensure there is no sort of fraud, duress, of incoherence taking place in the signing of documents. These documents could be things such as power of attorney documents, quitclaim deeds, unclaimed property documents and much more.  Some notarizations also require the Notary to put the signer under an oath, declaring under penalty of perjury that the information contained in a document is true and correct.

Notaries are also duty-bound not to act in situations of which they have a personal interest (such as notarizing a quitclaim deed for a rental property that their parents are buying or their own documents, etc.). A Notary Public must be impartial and not act in their own self-interest for the sake of public trust and must not refuse to take a notarization due to race, nationality, religion, politics, sexual orientation or status as a non-customer. This is important because the documents that notaries sign can be life-changing (power of attorney, trusts, deeds, etc.) because they have on civilians.

Official documents (such as documents closing the sale of a house) must be notarized. Notarization is the official fraud-deterrent process that assures the parties of a transaction that a document is authentic and can be trusted. It is a three-part process, performed by a Notary Public, that includes vetting, certifying and record-keeping. This is to screen willingness, awareness, and identity to the individuals signing any important documents. The Notary keeps a journal of all the individuals that sign a document for review if needed. Upon all signatures being on the documented the Notary will stamp and/or seal the document making it officially notarized.

As a Notary Public, I will also share some do’s and don’ts when it comes to meeting with a Notary. Firstly, the document must not be signed before coming to a notary; that defeats the purpose of the notary and renders the document invalid and the notary will have you get a new document to be signed. Secondly, the Notary Public is to verify and deter fraud happening on documents on transactions they are being apart of, not assist in filling out the paperwork. Third, you must have valid identification present to have documents notarized as well, this is essential to the verification process.

The Notary Public is an important part of many important transactions. You can find notaries in many places such as clerk offices, banks, and credit unions, and there are even websites dedicated to finding a Notary in your area. That is all I have for the overview of what a Notary does, until the next time. Excelsior!