California Notary Exam Prep

• The study notes below will assist in preparation for the California Notary Exam.
• These questions will help prepare you to pass the California Notary Exam.

Requirements to Become a Notary

• One must be a legal resident of California to become a Notary Public.

Notary Public Jurisdiction

• The jurisdiction of a Notary Public is the entire state of California.

Perjury

• A possible penalty for committing perjury is 2, 3, or 4 years in prison, or any of the above.

Oath of Office

• One has 30 days to take their oath of office after the commencement date.

Certificate of Authorization

• The State of California must respond within one month if you request a new Certificate of Authorization.

Agency for New Certificate

• The Secretary of State is the agency of the State that will give the new certificate.

Use of "Notario Publico"

• Using the words notario publico is prohibited.

Notarizing Fraudulent Documents

• If a notary willingly and knowingly notarizes a real estate document that they know to be fraudulent, they are guilty of a felony.

Death Certificates

• Death Certificates are not notarized.

Subscribing Witness

• A subscribing witness can bring you a Homestead Declaration.

False Statements

• The penalty for stating a known false fact as true is now $10,000.

Credible Witnesses

• Two credible witnesses are not allowed if the person requiring notary is known.

Official Notary Status

• You officially become a notary when your oath and bond are filed.

Notary Stamp Shape

• The notary stamp may be rectangular.

Notary Stamp Size

• The size of the stamp could be 1 inch in width by 2 1/2 inches in length.

Conflicts of Interest

• If you are a Trustor or Trustee concerning a document, you must not notarize it.

Overcharging for Non-Immigration Form

• The fine for overcharging for a non-immigration form is up to $750.

Lost Stamp or Journal

• The fine for failing to notify the State that your stamp or journal was lost is up to $750.

Failure to Provide Journal

• Willful failure to provide a peace officer with a journal when requested is punishable by a civil penalty of up to $2,500.

Failing to Post Signs

• The fine for failing to post signs in English and in the other language that you use that you are not an attorney and cannot give legal advice is up to $1,500 fine and at least one year suspension of commission and on second time - revocation of commission for life.

Regulation Timeframes

• When a regulation states 30 days it means calendar days.

Commission Expiration

• If your commission is dated 9/1/05 and your oath is filed on 9/25/05, your commission will expire on 8/31/09.

Circulator's Affidavit Fee

• The fee for notarizing a circulator's affidavit is $0.

Certifying Power of Attorney

• A notary can certify a copy of a power of attorney according to the Probate Code.

Journal Turnover

• One may turn over their journal to a Peace Officer with probable cause.

Signature by Mark

• During the signature by mark process, one person writes the name of the X signer.

Contacting After Moving

• The Secretary of State must be contacted if you move.

Moving Notification Timeframe

• If you move, you must contact the proper authority within 30 days.

Journal Turnover Notification

• If you give up your journal to a proper authority, you must notify the Secretary of State within 10 days.

Commission Validity

• A commission is valid for 4 years.

4-Year Notary Bond Worth

• A 4-year notary bond is worth $15,000.

Statute of Limitations

• The statute of limitations for making a statement known to be false is four years.

Acceptable Identification

• Acceptable identifications must be current or issued within the past 5 years.

Passport Requirements

• A Notary's signature does not need to be on a passport.

Signature on Notary Certificates

• Notary certificates are signed by the Notary.

Identification Requirements

• An ID needs the holder's picture, signature, and physical description.

Taking an Oath

• While taking an oath, raising the right hand is not required.

Notary Requirements

• Notaries must keep their stamp and journal under their direct control.

Resigning a Commission

• When you resign a commission, you deliver all your papers to the County Clerk where your current oath is on file.

Filing Oath and Bond on Time

• If you fail to file the oath and bond on time, your commission is void.

Reappointment Exam

• A notary seeking reappointment must retake the notary exam every 4 years.

Failure to Notify Fine

• The fine for willful failure to notify the Secretary of State of an address or name change is $15,000.

Service Withholding

• Notaries can withhold services when they believe someone does not understand what they are signing.

Duty to Draft Documents

• It is not the notary's duty to draft power of attorney, mortgages and deeds when requested

Notary Actions

• A notary may notarize a document in a foreign language.

Thumbprint Documents

• Signers of Trust Deed for real estate and power of attorney documents must leave a right thumbprint.

Notary Obligations

• A notary is obligated to determine whether a signer has authority to sign as a corporate officer.

Affirmation Definition

• An affirmation is the legal equivalent of an oath but has no referral to a Supreme Being.

Non-Attorney Notary Fees

• A non-attorney notary (qualified & bonded as an immigration consultant) may charge up to $10 for completing a person's immigration application, oaths and affirmation, per signature on a Jurat, and all of the above.

Prohibited Notarizations

• A notary may not notarize when they are the attorney who drafted the papers.

First-Time Applicant Requirements

• For a first-time applicant to get a commission they must pass an exam, be fingerprinted, and be at least 18 years of age.

Certificate of Authorization Source

• A certificate of authorization may be gotten from the Secretary of State.

Satisfactory Evidence of Identity

• Satisfactory evidence of identity means relying on either ID cards and Credible identifying witnesses.

California Notary Actions

• A California Notary may take depositions and affidavits.

Oath Definition

• An oath is a solemn spoken pledge and an affirmation.

Certified Copy Reproduction

• A certified copy certifies that the reproduction is accurate.

Improper Influence

• Influencing a notary to perform improperly is a felony.

Prohibited Notary Actions

• Notaries shall not perform notary actions if they are named as a principal in a financial transaction.

Documents Signed in Presence of Notary

• A Jurat is required to be signed in the presence of the notary.

Acknowledgment Certification

• An acknowledgment certifies that under penalty of perjury that the signer's identity was satisfactorily proven to notary, the signer admits that they signed the document, and the signer appeared before the notary.

Out-of-State Property

• If a man inherits a property in Alabama with his sister, he cannot notarize his sister's signature.

Seal Acquisition

• Notaries obtain their seals from approved vendors or manufacturers.

Subscribing Witness Action

• When a subscribing witness brings a document the action is called proof of execution.

Principal Absence

• If a principal cannot appear, the document may be brought to the notary by one subscribing witness .

Subscribing Witness Oath

• A subscribing witness is placed under oath and asked if they signed as a witness, if the signer acknowledge their signing, and if the signer ask you to get the document notarized.

Embossed Seal

• An embossed seal impression is acceptable but not required.

Notary Actions

• Acknowledgment, Jurat, Copy Certification, Oath, Deposition, Proof of Execution, Jurat, Oath of Office, and Acknowledgment are all notary actions.

Credible Witnesses

• Credible witnesses must not have a financial interest in the document.

Resigning from Employer

• If you resign a position with your employer, notify the Secretary of State of any business address change

Military Notary

• A Military Notary charges no fees.

Uncommissioned Representation

• A person who is not commissioned and holds herself out as a notary is guilty of a misdemeanor.

Employer Actions

• An employer of a Notary can copy Journal entries of business generated documents in front of the notary.

Transaction Response Time

• A notary must respond to a request for a transaction within days.

Notary or Security Bond Protection

• The notary or security bond protects the public.

Documents Without Seal

• The only documents that do not require a seal are subdivision maps.

Venue Location

• The county named in the Venue is where the signer personally appeared.

No Right Thumb

• If a person has no right thumb and a thumbprint is needed the left thumb is used.

Incomplete Document

• If asked to notarize an incomplete document, a notary should refuse.

Notary Seal Requirements

• The Notary seal must have a serrated or milled edge border.

Most Completed Form

• The most frequently completed form is the acknowledgment.

Prohibited Advertising

• Linda Martinez, a law student starting as an immigration consultant, should not advertise that she is a notary public.

Items in Journal

• The date, time, type of document, and fees must always be put in the journal.

Seal Elements

• The state seal and notary's name are are elements of a seal.

Advertising Restrictions

• Fees cannot be in Spanish.

Credible Witness Purpose

• The main purpose of a credible identifying witness is to identify a signer.

Witnesses for Signature by Mark

• Two witnesses for a signature by mark are necessary to view the making or the acknowledging of the mark.

Journal Information

• Type of Document, Notary fee all must be included in journal.

Written Request

• A written request for a photocopy of a journal entry must contain type of notarization, month and year of notarization and names of parties

Thumbprint Exception

• A right thumbprint is not required in the Notary journal for a deed of reconveyance.

Employer-Employee Agreement

• If a private employer and an employee enter into an agreement, notary actions can be limited to business transactions

Expired Identification

• An expired California Driver's License was issued 52 months before presentation to you and it is acceptable as identification.

Prohibited Certifications

• Notaries may not certify a copy of a journal entry requested by a member of the public.

Address Change

• When a Notary changes a business address to a new county within California, the Notary must notify the Secretary of State of the address change.

Proof of Execution

• A proof of execution may be performed on a deed of reconveyance.

Failure to Deliver Papers

• A notary who does not deliver papers to a county clerk after they allow a commission to expire is guilty of a misdemeanor.

Certificate Wording

• On a certificate reads: Subscribed & Sworn to before me on August 5, 2007 by whose name goes on the blank is Signer.

Notary Disqualification

• You are not automatically disqualified from doing a notarization when you are a real estate agent.

Contractual Agreements

• By contract an employee and employer can limit services solely to their business

Improper Advertising

• By using the term notario publico in an advertisement, the Notary's commission could be suspended for a period of not less than one year and revoked on the second offense.

Prohibited Fees

• A Notary may not charge a fee for notarization on a circulator's affidavit.

Commission Usage

• A Notary may use their commission to notarize for veterans.

Unauthorized Practice of Law

• A Notary who engages in the unauthorized practice of law may face all of the above.

Commission Suspension

• When can your notary commission be suspended and/or revoked not paying child support

Employed Notary Fees

• When a notary is employed by a city, county or state agency, fees collected for non-agency related notarization are remitted by the Notary Public to the employing agency.

Family Notarizations

• It is allowable for a notary to notarize for a family member when acting as a employee.

Out of State Documentation

• A notary can notarize documents to be filed in another State but can't certify signer holds a particular capacity

Oath for a Witness

• An oath to a witness can use phrase “under penalty of perjury"

Employer Journal Request

• If your employer, John Smith, asks to see your journal, which you use in business, to see who is giving him the most business, you should let him see only the items pertaining to his business

Death of Notary Public

• In the case of the death of a notary public, the personal representative of the deceased shall promptly notify the Secretary of State and send their papers and records to the county where their oath is recorded.

Free Verifications

• No fees may be charged for verifying nomination document or circulator's affidavit

Signature by Mark

• In a signature by mark notarization, the signer must make his or her mark in the Notary's journal

Notarizing Documents

• A Notary Public can notarize a signature on a document that is in a foreign language.

Journal Inclusions

• The character of every document must be included in a Journal.

Credible Witness Knowledge

• If a credible witness personally knows the signer and the notary, only one witness needed

Agency Deadlines

• When the last day for filing an instrument or other document with a state agency falls upon a Saturday or holiday, such act may be performed upon the next business day

Journal Omissions

• Notaries need not record in their journals the signer's address

Incorrect Venue Actions

• When the venue of the Notary's certificate has been filled in beforehand with an incorrect state and county, the Notary must line through the inapplicable words, writing in the correct state and county

Improper Coercion

• Any person who coerces a notary to perform improperly is guilty of a misdemeanor.

Educational Requirements

• Effective July 1, 2005 all appointed persons must complete six hours of study

Acknowledgement Purpose

• The main purpose of an acknowledgment is to authenticates signatures, and require personal appearance.

Identification for Acknowledgment

• When notarizing a document containing an acknowledgment, the Notary may accept a document that has already been signed

Change of Address

• To communicate with the Secretary of State about a change in address, a Notary must communicate the change when it is a business address, a Notary must communicate the change when it is a residence address, and by certified mail within 30 days.

Oath and Acknowledgment

• An oath is never used in an acknowledgment

Jurat Main Purpose

• One main purpose of a Jurat is to: make sure the signer signs in front of the Notary

Identification

• To establish proper ID the Notary must accept one proper ID – current or issued in the last five years

Exceptions to Appearances

• Exceptions to personal appearance by the principal are There are none

Required Passport Item

• A foreign passport must have a stamp from U.S. Immigration Agency

Oath Filing Time

• To meet the 30 calendar day filing limit of the oath with the county you must get them postmarked by 30 days

Judgements

• A judgment is lodged against a Notary for $22,000 and the bonding company pays $15,000 to the client. The notary is liable for $7,000

Key Acknowledgement Wording

• The key wording of an acknowledgement is: Personally appeared

Identifying a Witness

• A subscribing witness can be identified by: Their current U.S. Passport.

###True Qualifications

• The true statement below about qualifications is, you must be: 18 years of age

Never Acceptable

• It is never acceptable to affix a notary seal and signature to a document without the notarial wording.

Communication Issues

• If a notary is unable to communicate with a customer the notary should refer them to someone who speaks their language.

Advertising Regulations

• In foreign language advertising regulations there are strict rules but the one exception is a business card in the foreign language.

Employee Expenses

• When a public agency pays an employee's expenses, the fees shall be remitted to the agency.

Payment Errors

• When a check has not been honored for payment, the Secretary of State shall give a written notice. If no correction is done a second notice of cancellation shall be effective when 30 days

Passing Rates

• Any of the above has extremely high Notary passing rates? Duane Gomer Seminars