Dealing with the “Company” Notary
Professionals, the ones reading my humble words, know how to, and are willing to, put forth the effort to notarize each document correctly, legally and completely. This is often (in my experience) not the case when dealing with the Company notary. This person usually has many other priorities and notarizes “for the company” as demanded. Note that I wrote “demanded” not “requested.” The company usually pays the costs for the notary and often feels that they “own” the stamp, seal; and soul of the person who bears the Commission.
Improper actions are rife in this environment. Typically, the Company notary is given a stack of signed documents and told “these need your stamp.” Face to face, oath and ID check are thrown under the bus. To keep the salary checks coming in (a bit of pressure here!) they do as they are told. This environment breeds an interesting side effect. That being: a lackadaisical approach to all aspects of the notary function. They are not dumb, they have been “beaten down” to such an extent that they just don’t care anymore. Robotically they complete what is in their “in box”; caring not a hoot about any aspect of what transpires.
Today, this had a direct affect upon me. I was called to do Apostille Processing to a document that had been already notarized by the Company notary. UP goes my antenna. I am always wary of receiving someone else’s notarization to present to the NY County Clerk’s office. They scrutinize very carefully the notarization prior to adding the Authentication; a prerequisite for the issuance of an Apostille in New York State.
Meeting my client in the lobby of a major office building, I inspect the notarization. It was missing both the Venue and statement by the notary. Not at all unusual; I return the document to my client to bring it up so the notary can add the missing items. No one other than the original notary is allowed to make additions or changes to the notary section. My client brings it to the notary and the requisite fields are added. I also receive affirmation to the question “Did the notary sign exactly as their signature is on file with the County Clerk.”
You are probably ahead of me on what will follow. You are right – the notarization was “bounced” because the signature was not “similar” to the signature on record. Grrrrr. Another trip back to the client, who then offered to have the same notary redo the document with the request to sign correctly. No, I said; if you want this done correctly I will have to meet with the affiant and do the notarization myself. She agreed and up we went to do it the right way.
I charged her a fee for the trip to the Courthouse (when the signature was rejected); and again for my second trip to get my signature approved. She was not at all upset as I had tried to “make it work” the first time by having the Company notary fix the missing items. However, I did caution her that I was unable to verify that the signature would be accepted. It’s part of my standard routine to ask if the signature on a notarized document matches the signature on file when bringing previously notarized items to the County Clerk.
The moral of the story is: There is often extra money to be made by accepting the notarization of others for further processing. A better alternative, both for your schedule and the clients purse is to, whenever possible, do the notarization yourself. Even if it “looks good” – you are the professional; let your client have the advantage of your skill and dedication. Compared to the usual Company notary – there really is no comparison.
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