California
Notary Public
Serving Coronado, California
Things To Know
Frequently Asked Questions
Key Terms
|
Notary Fee's
$10 Per Each Signature
(additional may apply outside normal business hours)
Travel Charges
Add $35 to per signature fees
You may bring your documents to my office in Coronado, or we will meet
you at your home, office, hospital, bank, etc.
|
Notarization creates public record and deters fraud. It provides
evidence in a court of law, that the particular individual appeared and
requested notarization. It alerts seriousness of the document and
discourages forged signatures, criminal impostors and back dating of
documents.
|
Important
things you need to know when you call a Notary Public
All signers must be present to sign the document.
Do Not sign the document
or documents ahead of time.
The Notary must be there
to witness the signing of the document.
All signers must have
proper photo identification to present to the Notary.
A current drivers license or passport is acceptable if current.
A Social Security card is not
acceptable. Other forms of identification may be acceptable
in accordance with state law.
The Notary is not a
lawyer, and by law cannot answer any questions you might have about your
document. If you are uncertain about anything, please be sure to contact
your lawyer, or whoever provided you with the form before you see the
Notary.
I am not allowed to fill out forms and it is
the responsibility of the client to have the documents properly
filled out. For your protection as well as mine I will not
notarize documents which are blank or where critical information
is missing.
|
|
Frequently Asked
Questions |
|
|
Can a Notary
certify a copy of a birth or death certificate?
A
California Notary
cannot certify a copy of a birth or death certificate. Refer the
person instead to the state Bureau of Vital Statistics or county
clerk's office in the county where the birth occurred. For foreign
birth certificates, refer the person to the consulate of the country
of origin. Depending on state law, the Notary
may be allowed to certify copies of other documents that are in the
possession of the constituent (i.e., a diploma).
|
Can a Notary
certify a copy of a passport or a driver’s license?
A
Notary may certify the copy if law permits Notary-certified
copies. An alternative in states such as California,
not authorizing Notary-certified
copies, is to perform a "copy certification by document custodian,"
whereby the holder of the original document certifies the copy in a
written statement, and the Notary
executes a jurat underneath the signed statement.
|
Can an undated document notarized?
If there is a space for a date it should be filled in
with the correct date or lined through by the document signer. If
the document simply doesn't have a date, it is acceptable to
notarize it and record in your journal that the document has no date
|
Can I notarize a document in which I am named?
No. A Notary
cannot notarize if he or she has a direct financial or beneficial
interest in a transaction. Being named in a document means that the Notary
has an interest and cannot act as an impartial party
|
Can a fax or a photocopy be notarized?
A photocopy or fax may be notarized, but only if it bears
an original signature. That is, the copy must have been signed with
pen and ink. A photocopied or faxed signature may never be
notarized.
|
Can a will be notarized?
A
California Notary
should not proceed in notarizing a will unless clear instructions
and notarial wording are provided, and only upon specific
instructions by an attorney.
|
Can a Notary
notarize a document with blank spaces?
This is prohibited by law in several states. Most states
don't address this matter in statute.
|
Does a document have to be signed in the Notary's
presence?
No and yes. In most states, documents requiring
acknowledgments do not need to be signed in the Notary's
presence. However, the signer must appear before the Notary
at the time of notarization to acknowledge that he or she freely
signed for the purposes stated in the document.
|
May a Notary
complete certificate wording in blue ink or does he have to use
black?
The Notary
should use a dark colored ink such as blue or black. Rarely, some
receiving agencies may require the certificate to be filled out in a
particular color; if so, the Notary
may comply.
|
Can a Notary
list two signers on one notarial certificate?
If two signers appear before the Notary
at the same time, the names may appear on the same certificate.
Because it is two separate notarizations two entries must be made in
the journal.
|
Can a Notary
notarize for a stranger with no identification?
When a document signer is not personally known to the Notary
and is not able to present reliable identification documents, that
signer can be identified on the oath or affirmation of a credible
identifying witness. In most states, the word of a credible
identifying witness is satisfactory evidence of identity and
equivalent to personal knowledge.
|
How does a
Notary correct a name that has been misspelled on the
document and on the notarial certificate?
Only the document signer has authority to make any
changes on the document; likewise, only a Notary
can correct the certificate. When you are correcting a notarial
certificate simply line through the mistake with ink, write the
correction above or beside, initial and date the correction.
|
Terms Defined
|
Acknowledgment
The acknowledgment
form is set forth in Section 1189 of the Civil Code. In the
acknowledgment, the notary public certifies:
-
That the signer personally
appeared before the notary public on the date indicated
in the county indicated.
-
To the identity of the signer.
-
That the signer acknowledged executing
the document.
|
Jurat
The second
form most frequently completed by a notary public is the jurat. The
jurat is identified by the wording "Subscribed and sworn to"
immediately above the place where the notary public signs his/her name.
In the jurat, the notary public certifies:
-
That the signer personally appeared
before the notary public on the date
indicated and in the county indicated.
-
That the signer signed the
document in the presence of the notary public.
-
That the notary public administered the oath.
|
Powers of
Attorney
A notary public can certify copies of powers of
attorney. A certified copy of a power of attorney that has been
certified by a notary public has the same force and effect as the
original power of attorney. (Probate Code Section 4307)
|
