Questions on RULONA
PAN has answered a wide variety of your questions on RULONA, including those on the journal, education and notary wording. Here are some examples of the questions PAN has fielded since October 26, 2017 when the law became effective.
Q: How do we know which notaries this new law applies to?
A: There are 87,000+ Pennsylvania notaries. The Department of State is requiring all notaries in the Commonwealth to abide by the new law.
Q: Why does no much more information need to be recorded in the new journal?
A: While it is more work to fill in the extra entries in the journal for each notarization you complete, the journal is your best defense against an accusation of misconduct or fraud. By filling out the journal entries completely and in chronological order, if a question ever arose about a notarization you completed, your journal will prove that you fulfilled your notarial duties to the best of your abilities.
Q: Don't the tutorials listed in the Member Portal count toward the three hours of required notary education?
A: PAN created the tutorials as a way to help our members learn about the new notary public law (RULONA). The Department of State determines what is covered in the three hours of mandated notary education. The Department requires a specific set of topics to be included in the workbooks, PowerPoint presentations and other resources used in the live seminars and online course. Once an education vendor's course and materials are state-approved, a certificate of approval is conveyed to the vendor. Only state-approved education fulfills the three-hour education mandate. PAN's tutorials are offered only as a service and resource for our members.
Q: Can't I just say I'm witnessing everyone's signatures instead of saying this is an acknowledgment or a verification on oath or affirmation, because I am actually witnessing it?
A: You cannot decide what notary act your customer needs. The customer must tell you what notary act they want..
Q: Can I still use my old register? The law says I can until my current commission expires.
A: You, you may continue to use your old register until your current commission expires. However, effective October 26, 2017, you are required to include the additional entries in your register, per the new notary public law (RULONA). PAN has a tutorial in the Member Portal of our Web site at www.notary.org on how to convert your register to include these new entries. Once you start your next commission, it is recommended that you obtain a journal.
Q: When a notary certificate says on oath or affirmation, if the document iself does not contain an affirmation, is the notary supposed to ask the customer to swear or affirm?
A: Yes.
Q: Now that the prior seals are being referred to as stamps, if we have the word "seal" after a signature line in a document, should we delete those going forward?
A: No. There is no need to delete the word "seal" after a signature line in a document. Your notary stamp is your official seal as a notary public.
Q: I am switching to a RULONA-compliant journal for my own ease of use. What do I do with my current register (especially since it isn't full)?
A: Put your old register away in a safe place, even though it is not full, until you resign your commission or retire as a notary. Then, turn your registers and journals into yur county's Recorder of Deeds office.
Q: When a customer is using a power of attorney to sign a document for someone else, which name and address do I enter in the notarial journal?
A: RULONA Section 391(c)(3) requires the notary to record "the full name and address of each individual for whom the notarial act is performed." In this example, the notarial act is being performed for the agent, who is the person appearing before the notary to be identified. The agent's name and address (city and state only, per Department proposed regulations) goes in the column for that information. A notation, such as Agent for Mr. John Doe POA, can be made in the Remarks column.
Q: If I am asked to notarize an acknowledgment by attorney-at-law, does the attorney need to provide satisfactory evidence of the signer's identity?
A: The notarial certificate (or notary wording) for an acknowledgment by attorney-at-law requires the attorney to state that the attorney was personally present when the signer(s) signed the record and that the signer(s) signed the record for the purposes contained in the record. There is no requirement for the attorney to provide satisfactory evidence of the identity of the signer(s).
Q: What is the best practice for making a correction to a notarial journal entry?
A: Never use Wite-Out, Liquid Paper, correction tape, or any similar product to cover information in the journal. If you need to make a correction, draw a single, thin line through the incorrect information and write in the correct information. If you have recorded any personally identifiable information, such as Social Security numbers, full account numbers, etc., which is prohibited in the journal, you may redact a portion of the information to maike it unusable. For example, you may cover or blacken a portion of a Social Security number so that only the last four digits are visable on the page.
Q: Am I required to enter the full address of the signer or is it acceptable to only record city and state for privacy purposes?
A: You are not required to enter a street address. Department proposed regulations states that the address in the journal need only include the signer's city and state.
Q: Am I required to have the signer sign my journal?
A: No. However, you are not prohibited from making the request. Department proposed regulations state that the notary journal "may contain the signature of the individual for whom the notarial act is performed ..." You may use the Remarks column for this purpose.
Q: If I take an acknowledgment for two or mroe people, do I have to squeeze all their information into one of the numbered lines in the notarial journal? It seems more logical that I should use a numbered line for each signer regardless of the number of times I place my official stamp.
A: The lines in the journal are preprinted consecrutively to comport with Department proposed regualtions. "Each line ... must be consecutively numbered from the beginning to the end of the page ... A line or entry number must be preprinted." If you must use the next consecutively numbered line in the journal to accommodate more information, make sure you cross out or otherwise annotate the line number to indicate that the information on that line is not a separate notarial act but belongs to the line above it. Remember, each notarial act, each time you place your official stamp and signature, NOT each signer, gets a numbered entry in the journal. One notarial act, no matter how many signers, requires one numbered entry.
Q: How do we know which notaries this new law applies to?
A: There are 87,000+ Pennsylvania notaries. The Department of State is requiring all notaries in the Commonwealth to abide by the new law.
Q: Why does no much more information need to be recorded in the new journal?
A: While it is more work to fill in the extra entries in the journal for each notarization you complete, the journal is your best defense against an accusation of misconduct or fraud. By filling out the journal entries completely and in chronological order, if a question ever arose about a notarization you completed, your journal will prove that you fulfilled your notarial duties to the best of your abilities.
Q: Don't the tutorials listed in the Member Portal count toward the three hours of required notary education?
A: PAN created the tutorials as a way to help our members learn about the new notary public law (RULONA). The Department of State determines what is covered in the three hours of mandated notary education. The Department requires a specific set of topics to be included in the workbooks, PowerPoint presentations and other resources used in the live seminars and online course. Once an education vendor's course and materials are state-approved, a certificate of approval is conveyed to the vendor. Only state-approved education fulfills the three-hour education mandate. PAN's tutorials are offered only as a service and resource for our members.
Q: Can't I just say I'm witnessing everyone's signatures instead of saying this is an acknowledgment or a verification on oath or affirmation, because I am actually witnessing it?
A: You cannot decide what notary act your customer needs. The customer must tell you what notary act they want..
Q: Can I still use my old register? The law says I can until my current commission expires.
A: You, you may continue to use your old register until your current commission expires. However, effective October 26, 2017, you are required to include the additional entries in your register, per the new notary public law (RULONA). PAN has a tutorial in the Member Portal of our Web site at www.notary.org on how to convert your register to include these new entries. Once you start your next commission, it is recommended that you obtain a journal.
Q: When a notary certificate says on oath or affirmation, if the document iself does not contain an affirmation, is the notary supposed to ask the customer to swear or affirm?
A: Yes.
Q: Now that the prior seals are being referred to as stamps, if we have the word "seal" after a signature line in a document, should we delete those going forward?
A: No. There is no need to delete the word "seal" after a signature line in a document. Your notary stamp is your official seal as a notary public.
Q: I am switching to a RULONA-compliant journal for my own ease of use. What do I do with my current register (especially since it isn't full)?
A: Put your old register away in a safe place, even though it is not full, until you resign your commission or retire as a notary. Then, turn your registers and journals into yur county's Recorder of Deeds office.
Q: When a customer is using a power of attorney to sign a document for someone else, which name and address do I enter in the notarial journal?
A: RULONA Section 391(c)(3) requires the notary to record "the full name and address of each individual for whom the notarial act is performed." In this example, the notarial act is being performed for the agent, who is the person appearing before the notary to be identified. The agent's name and address (city and state only, per Department proposed regulations) goes in the column for that information. A notation, such as Agent for Mr. John Doe POA, can be made in the Remarks column.
Q: If I am asked to notarize an acknowledgment by attorney-at-law, does the attorney need to provide satisfactory evidence of the signer's identity?
A: The notarial certificate (or notary wording) for an acknowledgment by attorney-at-law requires the attorney to state that the attorney was personally present when the signer(s) signed the record and that the signer(s) signed the record for the purposes contained in the record. There is no requirement for the attorney to provide satisfactory evidence of the identity of the signer(s).
Q: What is the best practice for making a correction to a notarial journal entry?
A: Never use Wite-Out, Liquid Paper, correction tape, or any similar product to cover information in the journal. If you need to make a correction, draw a single, thin line through the incorrect information and write in the correct information. If you have recorded any personally identifiable information, such as Social Security numbers, full account numbers, etc., which is prohibited in the journal, you may redact a portion of the information to maike it unusable. For example, you may cover or blacken a portion of a Social Security number so that only the last four digits are visable on the page.
Q: Am I required to enter the full address of the signer or is it acceptable to only record city and state for privacy purposes?
A: You are not required to enter a street address. Department proposed regulations states that the address in the journal need only include the signer's city and state.
Q: Am I required to have the signer sign my journal?
A: No. However, you are not prohibited from making the request. Department proposed regulations state that the notary journal "may contain the signature of the individual for whom the notarial act is performed ..." You may use the Remarks column for this purpose.
Q: If I take an acknowledgment for two or mroe people, do I have to squeeze all their information into one of the numbered lines in the notarial journal? It seems more logical that I should use a numbered line for each signer regardless of the number of times I place my official stamp.
A: The lines in the journal are preprinted consecrutively to comport with Department proposed regualtions. "Each line ... must be consecutively numbered from the beginning to the end of the page ... A line or entry number must be preprinted." If you must use the next consecutively numbered line in the journal to accommodate more information, make sure you cross out or otherwise annotate the line number to indicate that the information on that line is not a separate notarial act but belongs to the line above it. Remember, each notarial act, each time you place your official stamp and signature, NOT each signer, gets a numbered entry in the journal. One notarial act, no matter how many signers, requires one numbered entry.
