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Notary Notes

What Can't I Do as a Notary?

by PAN
  • Notarizing your own signature/taking your own oath or affirmation – You may not notarize your own signature or administer an oath or affirmation to yourself. This is a common error for notaries who circulate petitions, swear to their accuracy and then notarize the affidavit.
  • Notarizing by proxy – You may not give your notarial authority to another individual to notarize documents in your absence. Your notarial commission is not transferable; therefore, you may not delegate someone else to sign your name, use your rubber stamp seal or make entries in your notarial register.
  • Giving legal advice – You may not give legal advice unless you are an attorney licensed by the state to practice law. This includes telling the customer what to say in the affidavit, or describing, interpreting or explaining to the customer the content or legal implications of a document, and in some cases, choosing which form to use.
  • Advertising as a Notario Publico – The literal translation of “notary public” into Spanish (as notario or notario publico) or any foreign language that implies you are an attorney should include a disclaimer that you are not an attorney and cannot give legal advice.
  • Acting as a bill collector – A notary is not a collection agent. Placing a notarial seal on a final past due notice is meaningless. While you may work for a collection agency, your notarial commission does not give you special authority to collect bills.
  • Mediating disputes – You may not mediate personal disputes. For example, you may not serve complaints against noisy or disruptive neighbors. A customer requesting such a service should be referred to the magisterial district judge.
  • Performing marriages – You may not issue marriage licenses or officiate at marriage ceremonies. States that allow notaries to perform marriages are Florida, Maine, Nevada, South Carolina and two jurisdictions in Louisiana.
  • Notarizing rubber stamped signatures – You may not take the acknowledgment of a rubber stamped signature. All signatures must be recognizable to you as original, handwritten signatures.
  • Notarizing blank documents and documents lacking notarial wording – You may not place your seal of office and official signature on any document that contains no notarial wording. You may not pre-notarize a document for your customer to fill in later. You should not notarize a document containing blank spaces. If blank spaces remain after the document is completed, ask your customer to draw lines through them before you notarize the document. Blank spaces could be filled in fraudulently at another time.
  • Certifying copies of official documents – State and federal laws prohibit notaries from certifying copies of birth and death certificates and naturalization certificates.
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limitation of powers
General
PAN

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