NOTARY NEWS

Acting as a Notary Public is a large and important part of our business, the following is the latest news bulletin provided by the Washington State Notary Public, Department of Licensing.

Consumer news: Notaries public

Consumer alert: Appearing before a notary
To get valid notarial services in Washington State, you must appear before a notary public for acknowledgements, verifications, and to have your signature witnessed. This means all the signers must be physically present with the notary while the notarization is taking place. A video image, phone call, or other form of non-physical representation doesn’t count.

May 2012

• Greetings!
  The year is speeding by and it’s time for another message. We hope you find our notary news bulletin informative and that you share it with any and all interested parties. Our mission is to help you become an informed notary. To that end, we wanted to share a couple of topics with you:
  A notary must not certify a copy of vital records, such as birth, marriage, or death certificates
  Generally, a notary may certify copies of original documents. You must be certain that the copy is an exact replica of the original document. The best way is to make the copy from the original document yourself.

  • The law that authorizes you to certify copies is RCW 42.44.080, number (5).
  • You must use the appropriate notary certificate, which is in RCW 42.44.100, number (5).

  However, notaries are not to certify vital records. That’s because the document that an individual obtains from the vital records office is already a certified copy. Often people think they have obtained their original birth certificate, for example, when it’s actually a copy of the original. The document they receive has been certified as a copy by the vital record provider. The original vital record is never in the possession of an individual.
  If a person requests that you notarize a vital record, explain that the document they have is actually a certified copy of the original and you cannot notarize it. Here in Washington certified copies of vital records can be obtained from the Department of Health or the appropriate county health department.
  Keep your notary stamp secure!!
  Although our notary law doesn’t direct you to do this, it’s just prudent to keep your notary stamp in a secure location so that you and you alone have access to it. Consider keeping it under lock and key when not in use. A notary stamp is a potential tool for fraud in the wrong hands.
  You must tell us if your stamp has been lost or stolen (WAC 308-30-050). Send us a letter or an email and we’ll put a note on your record. Our contact information is at the end of this bulletin. Your replacement stamp must be different from the lost or stolen one. We recommend that you have the stamp vendor add a couple of asterisks before and after your name. If your stamp was stolen, you may want to inform law enforcement.
  Destroy your stamp so it can’t be used when your term is over or if you resign.
  And speaking of stamps and seals…

  • Sign your name on your notarizations exactly as it is on your stamp or seal (WAC 308-30-120)
  • Remember that a crimping seal doesn’t show up in a photocopy unless you rub the impression with lead or something that will make it legible
  • Make sure that your stamp or seal meets the requirements of the law (RCW 42.44.050 and WAC 308-30-010).

  Other Information
  Visit our laws and rules on our website.

  • RCW 42.44 and WAC 308-30 are the notary regulations
  • RCW 18.235 and WAC 308-08 are our enforcement regulations

  Please encourage every notary you know to sign up for these announcements.
  They can join the Listserv® by visiting our website and following these steps:

  • Under “What’s new”, click on get email updates
  • Click on Notaries LISTSERV®
  • Select the Join or leave Notaries (or change settings) link
  • Complete the email address and name fields, then click on the Join Notaries button
  • A confirmation email will be sent to the new list member

  Check the status of a business or professional license
  Use the Department of Licensing’s Business and Professional License Search to find out:

  • if a person or business has a professional license.
  • if a business or professional license is active.
  • when a business or professional license will expire.
  Skip a trip – go online: www.dol.wa.gov

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  Greetings!
  It’s a new year and our message has a new look! We hope you find our notary news bulletin informative and that you share it with any and all interested parties. Our mission is to help you become an informed notary.
  The Purpose of a Notary Public
  As a notary public, you perform a vital function in the world of commerce by ensuring that a document signer’s identity and signature are genuine and that the notary act is performed correctly. How do you do that? By making sure that you:

  • Properly identify the signer according to our notary law
  • Notarize only when each signer is physically in the same room with you, not, for example, on a webcam or over the phone
  • Correctly and lawfully perform the notary act described in the certificate that you sign, whether it’s witnessing a signature, administering an oath, or taking an acknowledgment

  Why is this so important? Because you help prevent fraud and identify theft when you identify signers with care and notarize according to the law. Because the public expects you to be ethical, honest, and competent. And because your role is to be a trusted, impartial, third-party witness to essential transactions. Documents that require notary acts are often among the most important ones that people sign.
  Unscrupulous notaries can cause great monetary and emotional harm to the public by participating in fraudulent activity. But you may also cause harm if you are ignorant of the law. It’s prudent to seek notary public training to better understand your role and responsibilities. Classes are listed on our website.
  Notary Public vs. Notario Publico
  Although “Notario Publico” is a literal Spanish translation of the English words “Notary Public”, the resemblance ends there. In Latin America a Notario Publico is an attorney who can perform specific legal duties that a non-attorney Notary Public in this state cannot. Many people, especially immigrants from Latin American countries, have been harmed because they didn’t understand the difference.
  To help address this issue, a law (RCW 19.164) was passed last year that prohibits Notaries from using the term “Notario Publico” in their advertising; see RCW 19.164.060(3)(a). The Department of Licensing may sanction violators according to RCW 19.164.060(5).
  Acknowledgments vs. Oaths

  • When you perform an acknowledgment, you are certifying that the signer signed freely and understands the document.
  • How do you take an acknowledgment? You must ask each signer, “Do you acknowledge that you are signing (or signed) this document freely for the purpose described therein?” Or use the exact language that’s on the certificate.
  • When you take an oath (or a verification upon oath or affirmation, as it’s called in our law), the signer is stating under oath or affirming that the content of the document or the statement he or she is making in the document is true.
  • How do you do this? You must put the signer under oath by asking, “Do you swear (or affirm) that the content of this document is true?”
  • Don’t perform these acts the same way you would witness a signature. You must perform every notary act exactly as the notary certificate that you sign says you did.
  • If you have any doubts that a signer understands what he or she is signing, decline to notarize.

  See RCW 42.44.080 and RCW 42.44.100 for descriptions of the acknowledgment and the verification upon oath or affirmation, as well as sample certificates with appropriate wording.
  Other Information
  Visit our laws and rules on our website.

  • RCW 42.44 and WAC 308-30 are the notary regulations
  • RCW 18.235 and WAC 308-08 are our enforcement regulations

  Please encourage every notary you know to sign up for these announcements.
  They can join the Listserv® by visiting our website and following these steps:

  • Under “What’s new”, click on get email updates
  • Click on Notaries LISTSERV®
  • Select the Join or leave Notaries (or change settings) link
  • Complete the email address and name fields, then click on the Join Notaries button
  • A confirmation email will be sent to the new list member

  Check the status of a business or professional license
  Use the Department of Licensing’s Business and Professional License Search to find out:

  • if a person or business has a professional license.
  • if a business or professional license is active.
  • when a business or professional license will expire.

  Skip a trip – go online: www.dol.wa.gov

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  NOTARIES

  Linda Mead is part of the Notary Public Program staff and she has prepared a list of the most common mistakes made by notaries.  This staff helps to educate notaries in our state to fulfill their commissions in accordance with the statutory requirements and it imposes sanctions on those notaries found to violate these requirements.  In addition to the list shown below, in the future, she will be looking at each issue separately in more detail.  These messages can be found by signing up for the listserv at www.dol.wa.gov/business/notary.

  Hello.  Here is our message for August 2010.
  One of the functions of the Notary Public Program at the Department of Licensing is to impose sanctions when notaries have violated our notary public laws.  Currently our sanctions consist of payment of a fine, completion of a notary education class, and (in the most serious cases) revocation of the notary license.
  None of the Notary Public Program staff are notaries, but we’ve learned through the mistakes of others how we would behave if we were.  Here’s our basic list.  In future messages we’ll look at each one in more detail.
  If I were a notary:
  1.      I would take a notary public education class to help me understand my duties and responsibilities as a notary public for the state of Washington.  Although not required by our law, we recommend that every notary take a class.  You can find a list of providers on our website at www.dol.wa.gov/business/notary.
  2.      Along with taking a class, I would thoroughly study the notary public law for the state of Washington, particularly RCWs 42.44.080, 42.44.090, and 42.44.100. 
  3.      I would notarize only for signers who were physically in my presence.  Period.  No exceptions.  Ever. 
  4.      If I didn’t know a signer personally, I would carefully check the appropriate ID.  If the signer had no ID, I would identify him or her by taking the oath or affirmation of a credible witness personally known to meand who also knew the signer.
  5.      I would perform only those notary acts that are authorized under our law.
  6.      I would agree to notarize only if the document had a proper notary certificate.  I would not add the notary certificate myself as that is (with few exceptions) the responsibility of the producer, receiver, or signer of the document.
  7.      I would carefully complete every element required on the notary certificate.
  8.      I would keep a journal and record as much detail as possible aboutevery notary act I performed.  I would require every signer to also sign my journal.  Keeping a journal isn’t required by our law, but it’s the prudent thing to do.
  9.      I would decline to notarize in any situation where there is theslightest doubt that the signer understands the document, is competent to sign, or is signing freely, no matter how aggressively anyone else present might urge me to notarize.
  10.     I would think twice when asked to notarize for family, even though it’s not against our notary law.  I would request that they seek an impartial notary to avoid any appearance of conflict-of-interest on my part, especially concerning financial documents, powers-of-attorney, or wills.
  11.     I would understand that I am personally--and that means financially-- responsible for every notarization I perform.

  12.     I would understand that notaries have been sued civilly and prosecuted criminally for everything from performing innocent-but-incorrect notary acts to actively participating in fraud with their notary stamps.
  Please encourage other notaries to sign up for our listserv at www.dol.wa.gov/business/notary.
  Important Notice
  The Governor signed Bill 6503 concerning closing state agencies on certain days from July 2010 through June 2011 to save money for the budget.  The Notary Public Program Office will be closed these upcoming days through the end of 2010:
  ·       Tuesday, September 7, 2010
  ·       Monday, October 11, 2010
  ·       Monday, December 27, 2010
  The Department of Licensing is looking at alternate savings options to determine whether we will also be closed for five days through June 2011.