How To Spot Illegal Notary Requests
By NNA Staff on July 13, 2012
Updated 1-26-21. As a Notary, you are required to refuse a notarization if the request is illegal. If someone wants you to perform a notarization and you aren't sure if it’s OK to proceed, ask yourself the following 3 questions.
1. Are you being asked to skip, ignore or falsify part of the notarization?
If the answer is “yes,” that’s a clear warning sign the notarization shouldn’t be performed. Any request to skip personal appearance or identification of the signer, completion of the certificate wording or other essential elements is an immediate sign that something isn’t right.
2. Are you being asked to give someone else access to your Notary tools?
A Notary’s tools must be safeguarded carefully because in the wrong hands they can be used to enable document fraud. It is fraud and a criminal act for anyone to use a Notary seal who is not the Notary named in that seal. If anyone demands that you hand over your seal of office, journal or loose certificates, be aware that only you as the Notary are authorized to use these tools and they should not be given to anyone else to use.
3. Does the request violate your state Notary laws?
If you have reason to believe the request is against the law, do not proceed with the notarization. For example, California Notaries who falsify information in an acknowledgment certificate are considered guilty of forgery under state law. Notaries should review their state’s laws and ethical standards such as The Notary Public Code of Professional Responsibility to avoid faulty notarizations that could lead to possible legal issues.