Signers' privacy: the notary journal

This is what my notary journal looks like when it's open:

'Hey, I can't see anything!'

That's precisely the point. When I'm doing a real estate closing, or notarizing a document for the general public, I have access to sensitive information. The signers are trusting me, as a notary public, to not divulge any of the information that is in my notary journal. It's my duty to protect the privacy of those people.

It's a very simple piece of black plastic. I clip it to the page with a binder clip. It covers the entire page. I move the privacy protector down for each person who appears before me so that they cannot see any of the information of the person who previously appeared:

What kind of information do I keep in my notary journal?

Each journal entry is divided across 2 pages. This is the left side of the journal:

• The first thing I do is record the date and time of the notarization.
• In the next column is a place for the type of notarization (i.e. jurat, acknowledgement, etc.).
• The information in the next column indicates the address where the notarization was performed.  Many times I will do a closing at the person's place of work, or at a restaurant. That address goes in this column.
• Document Kind or Type/Date: The majority of my work is loan closings, so that column will reflect each type of loan document (i.e. Occupancy Affidavit, Deed of Trust, etc.) Each document will get a separate line.
• Name and address of signer. This is the address that is on the identification. It might be different than the address where the notarization was performed.

This is the right side of the notary journal:

• The first column indicates how the signer was identified: driver's license number (or passport #, military ID, etc.). I'll include the issue date and the expiration date, as well as the date of birth of the signer.
• Additional Information: Occasionally the signer will be signing with a Power of Attorney. I will write that in this column. This is also a place for comments about any irregularities, etc.
• Notary Fee:  Occasionally I will charge nothing for notary services (i.e. adoption notarizations, special interests), in which case I will write 'pro bono'.
• The next 2 columns are self-explanatory.

My thinking is that, Signer B does not need to know who Signer A was, or what they had notarized (unless they happen to be husband and wife at a real estate closing).

When my journal is not in use, I keep it in a zip lock pouch, stored inside my briefcase, which is always in my possession. 

I never leave it in my car, even though my car is locked.

It's just a simple piece of plastic that covers the page of my notary journal, and a simple thing to do to protect the privacy of the signer.