A Notary faces a Name Irregularity

It is not at all rare when a notary faces a name irregularity. You could experience a situation where the name on the document is different from the name of the client. That is, the person who is signing it. You may be asking, how can this happen? Well, consider a recently married female. She has yet to change her various IDs to show her newly adopted name.

That’s one example. Another could be that the I.D. reflects the name as “Ray Doe,” but the document refers to the individual as “Raymond Doe.”

Another situation could be that the person’s I.D. could show a Middle Name. The middle name might not reference the person’s middle name. Or, the name is misspelled on the proposed instrument.

Let’s examine a more complicated situation. Let’s say that the document references the signer as Sr., but upon examining the I.D. you see that it shows the signer as Jr. Care needs to be taken here. It is conceivable that a son may be trying to use his dad’s name for a false purpose. Or, it could be nothing other than a simple typo.

Your Challenge

When a notary faces a name irregularity, it needs to be handled. Each incident compels you to base your decision in accord with the facts that are available to you. The best course is to break things down to their fundamentals. It starts with remembering what our job charges us to do. That is, to sensibly and reasonably distinguish that the person is exactly who they claim to be. So, by breaking things down to their fundamentals, we mean that you use sound judgement.

The situations just outlined are only a couple examples to be alert for.

I’ll say it again. It is your responsibility as the notary to be satisfied the person is who they state they are. It’s conceivable that a name was misspelled on the instrument. Anytime you encounter a discrepancy, you need to let common sense prevail. Does the photo image align with the actual person sitting in front of you? If you are comfortable, then continue with the notarial service.

But, what if the client is behaving in an abnormal manner? Or, what if you have a level of doubt related to the identification? You have every right to request another form of identification. If you still have misgivings, you can clearly refuse to finalize the instrument. This is why it is important to have the client make a personal appearance before you.

But if you decide to continue, it’s best to complete the certification, using the name that is shown on the document, as opposed to using the name as it appears on the individual’s I.D. You certainly want to enter the specifics of this experience in your notary journal. That way, if a problem occurs in the future, you will have documented the certification.

Recommendations

There is a wonderful book that you should have at your desk. It is, “Notary Best Practices” by Professor Michael Closen. I recommend that every notary have it on hand.

Our mission is to teach people how to become a notary public in New York State. Those interested in preparing for the notary exam can take our course. Visit our enroll page if you would like to prepare for the New York Notary Exam.