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Notarizing a document in Russian

Most of the requests that I get to notarize foreign language documents are for German documents, since German is the language that I know.

This morning I got a call from a Russian man, asking if I would notarize his signature for a Russian document.

Of course.

When I got there he showed me the document. I had him sign it, and then I notarized his signature.

What did the document say?

I have absolutely no idea.

A notary public does not concern themselves with the contents of the document. We notarize signatures, not documents. And Colorado notary law does not prohibit Colorado notaries from notarizing documents in a foreign language.

However, there are some measures that I took. The first thing I did was take a photo of the document with my digital camera. Whenever I notarize a document in a foreign language, usually for copy certifications, I keep a copy of the document for my records.

Russian language

Also, I attached a loose certificate. So although the document is in Russian, the notary certificate is in English. And that is really all that is required.

I don't know the notary laws of all states, so the prudent thing for any notary to do is to make sure that their state notary laws allow them to notarize a document in a foreign language.

Posted by Leon Austin, Colorado Springs Mobile Notary on 07/29/2007 01:54 PM

Comments (9)

foreign language

Originally posted at: Colorado Springs Notary - Leon Austin: Notarizing a document in Russian

9 Comments on Notarizing a document in Russian

JUL

2007

Very interesting. I never thought about language issues and notarizing before.

I could give you an idea what it says if you want to send me a copy :) The word above means "Notice"

Rosario, yes it is interesting. One of the things that I want to do as a notary is accept as many challenging and interesting assignments as possible. It's the best way to learn and gain experience.

Edite, thank you. I asked him what that word meant, and he did tell me. But I have a responsibility as a notary to not reveal any more of the document than that. Thanks for the offer anyway.

Leon, interesting... I thought that you needed to understand what it is that you are notarizing. I actually needed to have 2 documents notarized recently - one in German and one in Russian (intersting coincience that you're doing both). I was told that we needed to get the docs translated first and then notarized. Oh well...

Irina, it is ideal if the notary understands the language of the document. But it isn't absolutely necessary. That is why I added a loose certificate to this Russian document. All I'm doing is acknowledging that he is who he says he is, that I saw proper identification, and that I witnessed him signing it.

Leon, thanks... it's good to know that a loose certificate like that is available. I'll keep that in mind for the future. :-)

It's my understanding that this is a sorely misunderstood concept in the notary industry. Thank you for clarifying the issue. I think notaries put too much on their shoulders sometimes when it comes to the types of documents they are/aren't willing to notarize. Thanks, I posted it on MNS as well.

Brad - MyNotarySource.com

SEP

2007

I get a ton of requests for Spanish or French Documents- I wouldn't feel comfortable getting a copy of the document at hand- it isn't our business. I tend to shy away from these as the requests are for Visa, etc. Not anything I want to put my name too, especially if I have not any idea what I am notarizing the signature on. Though, I know we are impartial to the paper- we notarize the person signing the document- what responsibility do we hold if it is something illegal?

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