MAY I MAKE A CERTIFIED COPY OF A BIRTH CERTIFICATE?
No. A birth certificate is a recordable document. However, a Notary Public has the authority to
make certified copies of documents not recordable in
the public records. This provision was enacted
in order to deter fraud and hand-copying mistakes. Two key words a Notary Public may use in
determining whether or not they may make a certified copy of a document are "Filed" and "Recorded."
If a Notary Public is brought a document which contains either of these words, the Notary Public may
not supply the person with a certified copy. The document need not be recorded, but merely
recordable, for the Notary Public to be unable to make a certified copy. The person must obtain a
certified copy from the custodian of the record: county clerk, registrar, Secretary of State.
MAY A NOTARY PUBLIC DETERMINE WHICH TYPE OF NOTARIAL CERTIFICATE SHOULD BE ATTACHED TO A DOCUMENT?
No. A Notary Public who is not an attorney should only complete a notarial certificate which is
already on the document or type a certificate of the maker's choosing. If a Notary Public is brought a
document without a certificate and decides which certificate to attach, that Notary Public would be
"practicing law." Therefore, never decide which certificate should have to be used--leave that up to the
maker of the document.
SHOULD A NOTARY PUBLIC RELY ONLY ON A CREDIT CARD IN DETERMINING THE IDENTIFICATION OF A SIGNEE?
No. If the signer is not personally known by the Notary Public or identified by a credible witness, the
Notary Public must use an identification card issued by a
governmental agency or a passport issued
by the United States to identify the signer.
PROHIBITED ACTS
THE SECTION BELOW PROVIDES A NOTARY PUBLIC WITH A LIST OF PROHIBITED ACTS HE/SHE MAY NOT DO IN CARRYING OUT THEIR OFFICE. IF THE NOTARY PUBLIC PERFORMS ANY OF THE FOLLOWING HE/SHE MAY BE SUBJECTING THEMSELVES TO POSSIBLE CRIMINAL PROSECUTION, CIVIL LIABILITY, AND THE REVOCATION OR SUSPENSION OF HIS/HER NOTARY PUBLIC COMMISSION.
A Notary Public may not:
- perform acts which constitute the practice of law, the performance thereof being restricted to licensed attorneys at law.
- prepare, draft, select, or give advice concerning legal documents.
- translate the term "Notary Public" into Spanish (Notario Publico).
- overcharge for his/her services.
- notarize a document without the signer being in his/her presence.
- notarize his/her own signature.
- issue identification cards.
- sign a document under any other name than the one under which he/she was commissioned.
- fail to attach his/her seal to any document he/she notarizes.
- certify copies of documents
recordible in the public records.
NOTARIAL DEFINITIONS
Acknowledgements: A formal declaration before an authorized
official, by the person who executed the instrument, that it is his/her free act and deed. The certificate of the officer on such
instrument that it has been so acknowledged.
Affidavit: A written or printed declaration or statement of facts, made voluntarily, confirmed by the oath or affirmation of the party making it, and taken before a Notary Public or other officer having the authority to administer such oath. It is made either with or without notice to adverse parties thereto.
Affirmation: The act of affirming the truth of a document, not an oath. "I solemnly affirm and declare the foregoing to be a true statement...." Note that an affidavit may appear in two forms: a sworn affidavit with oath, or an affirmed affidavit with affirmation. Each has the same legal import.
Jurat: The clause written at the foot of an affidavit or document stating when, where and before whom such affidavit was sworn or affirmed. The expiration date of the Notary Public's commission is commonly included.
Oath: An external pledge or affirmation, made in verification of statements made or to be made, coupled with an appeal to a sacred or venerated object, in evidence of the seriousness and reverent state of mind of the party; an invocation to a supreme being to witness the words of the party and to visit them with punishment if they be false.
