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Dear notaries:
As many of you know, we have been working on strengthening our education programs and compliance processes.
More than half of the notarized oaths we receive from notaries applying for commissions are incomplete, or improperly notarized. The most common problems are that the oath has not been administered verbally, or that the certificate is incomplete: for example, irrelevant pronouns have not been crossed out, or there is no indication whether the applicant swore or affirmed. Commission names also often do not meet statutory requirements.
These details matter just as much on application oaths as they do on any other document, and if this is not correct on the notarized oath, that notarization is not complete, and therefore not valid.
When you are notarizing an oath so that someone can apply for a notarial commission, be sure that you do the following :
- Administer the oath verbally as required by 194.215 (11), and make sure the certificate is complete. ORS 194.280(5) states that the notarial officer has complied with requirements and made determinations specified in ORS 194.230. By not specifying if the signer swore or affirmed when you provided the oath for the notarial act, there is doubt that the oath was actually administered. It is important to be clear and not leave reason for doubt when you are notarizing a document, in case that document is questioned later.
- Check to make sure the commission name is the applicant’s full legal name as required by ORS 160-100-0020—first, middle or middle names spelled out (no initials), and last.
- Check to make sure that their signature matches their ID as required by ORS 160-100-0030 (remember, the commission signature does not have to be the full legal name, it just has to be verified by ID).
- Make sure to indicate whether the applicant swore or affirmed.
- Make sure you have corrected the pronoun to reflect the pronoun used by the applicant.
In 30 days, we will begin rejecting incorrectly notarized oaths and issuing advice letters to notaries who have completed oath notarizations incorrectly. These will count against your record just as incorrect notarizations of other types of documents does.
Please reach out if you have any questions or concerns.
Contact: NotarySeminar.SOS@sos.oregon.gov
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