Have you ever watched the HGTV show “Holmes on Homes” where a renovation expert rescues homeowners who have fallen victim to shoddy work done by unqualified contractors? The general storyline starts with a homeowner who hired a carpenter, plumber, or other tradesperson to take on a needed home repair. In most episodes the homeowner hired someone they felt was competent to do the job, but the end result was less than satisfactory. Often the homeowner has suffered a significant financial loss and is left with a home that is in worse shape than when the project started. They simply assumed the carpenter, the plumber, or the roofer could handle the job from start to finish because they claimed to be a professional of the trade.
This same concept applies to notary services. The public assumes that when a document is presented for notarization, the notary will know exactly what to do and how to do it, and ultimately the document will accomplish the purpose for which it was intended. The reality is that sometimes the customer’s request is more complicated or unusual than either the customer or the notary realize, and the notarization is not completed correctly. When the error is discovered and the document is refused, the customer is faced with a problem that can be as minor as a short delay or as major as a significant personal or financial loss.
When you identify yourself as a notary public, the world presumes you are qualified to perform any authorized notarial service correctly and competently. But, just as a hammer and a saw doesn’t make someone a master carpenter, a stamp and journal doesn’t make you a master notary. The reality is that notarial expertise requires both ongoing education and experience. Notarizing is much more than checking an ID and signing and stamping a document. If you are simply filling in blank spaces without truly understanding what you are attesting, you are committing notarial malpractice. If you are just signing your name and affixing your stamp without completing a full notarial certificate describing the details of the notarial act you have performed, you are also violating §1-5-625(1)(d), MCA. Whether your deficiency is due to a lack of knowledge, skill, or attention to detail, the end result is not much different than the disasters featured on those TV shows. It is every notary’s responsibility to recognize their own level of expertise and understand what they are capable of undertaking before attempting to fulfill a customer’s request.
COMMON NOTARY ERRORS
Below are the most common notary errors:
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An incorrect or missing venue. The venue is the state and county where the notarization was performed. Most venue errors fall into two categories – failure to include this information or failure to correct inaccurate venue information on a pre-printed certificate. Every notarization must include this information, and it’s the notary’s responsibility to add it if the pre-printed certificate does not have it.
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Failing to complete a full notarial certificate. Many documents requiring notarization do not have notarial language pre-printed on the document, so the notary simply affixes his/her signature and stamp. This is a violation of 1-5-625(1)(d), MCA, and can result in disciplinary action, including suspension or revocation of a notary’s commission.
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Missing Signature. Many documents are “notarized” without the principal having signed the document. Notaries sometimes get so focused on completing the journal entry and the notarial certificate that they forget the most important part of the process.
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Failure to indicate the name(s) and/or the capacity of the signer(s). Montana law requires that the notarial certificate include the name(s) of the person(s) whose signature(s) was/were notarized and the capacity in which they were acting when signing for another entity. Many pre-printed certificates don’t have space for that information, but a Montana notary is still required to enter it on every certificate.
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Failure to require personal appearance and proper identification. These are not just errors; they are fundamental failures that can result in significant damages to the parties involved in the transaction and severe penalties to the notary.
The Montana Notary Public Handbook provides more detail about completing notarial certificates. Statutorily correct loose certificates and printable certificate labels can be downloaded from our notary website. Completing every notarial certificate correctly is a fundamental, and critical, part of the notary’s job.
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