Many consumers have the wrong perceptions of the Notary's duties.  It is commonly thought, that a Notary Public is to notarize any document presented to them, with no questions asked and that is the way it is.  There are some Notary Publics who will do just that and there are some who fail to record all notary acts in a journal.  Well think again, because those Notaries are breaking the law.    

In PA, all Notaries are required to record all notary acts in a journal, however, no signature is required of the consumer.  In other states, a journal is required to be kept by the Notary Public and a consumer must sign it and in some cases (depending on the type of document) may have to render a thumb print, also.

Examples of Documents which may cause Dilemmas for Notaries

Blank or incomplete documents

Photographs

Wills

Immigration Papers

Documents with Name Discrepancies

Notaries can not notarized blank or incomplete documents.  A Notary may ask the signer to complete the document by and filling in blanks.  A Notary can also request the signer to write N/A in the blank or draw a line through the blank space.  In some cases, it may be acceptable to leave a space blank on a notarized document.  See Diagram:

Photocopies and faxed documents can be notarized if the signature is original; it must be signed in the presence of the notary and may not be copied.  A Notary should not notarize carbon copies because the ink can be rubbed off and a signer may replace it with unauthorized writing. 

Some consumers do not realize that Wills are sensitive documents and may be invalidated by notarization.   Consumers who draft their on wills tend to depend on the Notary to know how to proceed.  Please be advised, that Notaries have no authority to offer that type of advice.   A Notary can be sued for helping prepare a will by dissatisfied heirs.

**Wills can be notarized if the instructions are clear and a notarial certificate is provided.   It is highly recommended that a signer has an attorney draft the will and follows the instructions provided by their attorney.    

Notaries can notarize immigration papers; there are no laws that prohibit this service.  A notary is usually requested to notarize an Affidavit of Support and other nonstandard documents required.

On occasion, Notaries are requested to notarize a document that requires a consumer to sign with a name that differs from their name on their current identification documents.  In some cases, a consumer can present additional identification that agrees with the name as it appears on the document.  If that is not applicable, then a consumer may sign both names, linking the two with the phrase "also known as", "AKA".

 I.e. Pamela Knight AKA Pamela Wilson-Knight

** A Notary under no circumstances may not advise a consumer to do this.