Welcome Back to the Notary Notes Newsletter!
It has been some time since our office published the Notary Notes newsletter, but we are back by popular demand! The newsletter will continue to include helpful tips, answers to some of the most common questions received by our office, and other valuable information, but it has been revamped to increase the frequency of communication between our office and all of you! Beginning with this issue, the newsletter will be published each quarter rather than on an annual basis. Watch your email for new issues in January, April, July, and October of each year.
We hope you enjoy the new version of the Notary Notes newsletter and find the information to be helpful for performing your vital duties as a notary public for the state of North Dakota!
With the increase in the popularity of electronic and remote notarization, our office has received many questions as to how these types of notarial acts are performed and the requirements surrounding them. As a result, we have added new content to the Notary & Apostille section of our website to provide helpful information to notaries and the general public regarding these types of notarizations. Make sure to check it out!
One of the most common mistakes made by a notary is not including the date the notarial act was performed. By law, each notarial act must include the date of the notarial act. For a verification on oath or affirmation or for witnessing a signature, the date must be the date the individual signs the document in your presence. For an acknowledgment, the date must be the date the individual appears before you to acknowledge their signature, which may not always be the date the individual signed the document.
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As a notary, you are required to update your address with our office within 60 days of the address change. Make sure to update the address for your notary record with our office either through the FirstStop Portal or by email at sosnotary@nd.gov. |
Each notarial act is required to be accompanied by a notarial certificate, which must be completed at the time of the notarial act. Certain information needs to be included in the certificate regardless of the type of notarial act being performed. The required information includes:
- State and county where the notarial act is performed;
- Date of the notarial act;
- Signature of the notary public;
- Certificate text (example: “This record was acknowledged before me”); and
- Impression of the notary public’s stamping device.
Before performing a notarial act, ensure that you know which type of notarial act is to be performed. For example, an acknowledgment or verification on oath or affirmation. Either the document or the signer should indicate the type of notarial act. While you can provide information to the signer on the types of notarial acts, you should not make that determination for the signer.
More information on the types of notarial acts and examples of each certificate is available under the Additional Guidance section of the Performing Notarial Acts page of our website.
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