Notaries can indeed refuse service. However, a notary should NOT refuse service to perform a lawful notarial act. What if the document violates your personal beliefs? Still, you should not refuse service. Look, you are not endorsing the contents of the document. You are verifying the identity of the signer. Thus, you are simply a third party witness. So, let’s assume you are against same-sex marriages. You are presented with a document where the content relates to this issue. You should not refuse service. The contents of the document are not within your purview. It might be a good time to read our article about Dangerous Questions Presented to a Notary in New York. Again, you are only a third-party witness who verifies the identity of the signer. There are only a handful of instances where notaries can refuse service because of the document’s contents. If a client needs to authenticate a foreign birth certificate, for example, you may need to refer them to an Apostille.
You may wish to check-out some of our other articles from our blog posts. We discuss several topics relating to notarial service.
When to Refuse Service
There are numerous situations where a notary should refuse service. For instance
The signer does not understand the contents of the document, or appears confused.
You cannot properly identify the signer
The signer is not physically present
You believer that the signer is not signing of their own free will. Perhaps they are coerced.
The document contains black spaces
The signer is your family member
The document does not contain a notarial certificate, and the signer cannot instruct the Notary which type of notarial certificate is required
The client wants a certified copy of a public record
As a notary you must remember that you are a public official. As such, your personal feelings cannot come into play. So, you must fulfil your obligation as a public official unless any of the items outlined above become a factor. That National Notary Association has a more in-depth article on this subject.
If you want to become a Notary Public in New York, you can enroll in our NY Notary Exam training.
Yes. To answer the question, “Does a New York notary have liability?”
A notary can be held liable for misconduct. If a notary performs or fails to do so properly, he or she is exposed to liability. The notary may be responsible if such a person is negligent. Although their duties may seem in simple terms, notaries must perform their duties carefully, or they may be held accountable. Their primary role is to authenticate the identity of signatories and witness the signing of documents and administer oaths. Despite Their seemingly straightforward duties, they come with serious potential liability for notaries if the tasks are not performed correctly. The meaning of notary liability is important for notaries. They must perform their duties with due diligence and mitigate risks.
Nature of Notary Liability
Notary liability is the term describing the legal responsibilities of a notary public. A notary is responsible for any mistakes, omissions, or misconduct occurring in the performance of their duties. When a notary commits an error or acts in bad faith, they can be sued and held responsible through civil charges or other legal consequences. The nature of this liability varies in the jurisdictions and circumstances; due circumstances of the case.
For example, you notarized a document without the signer present. Or, you don’t check the identity of the signer. You could also make yourself exposed because you did not perform proper notarial acts. Another point that puts you in the cross-hairs is: You know that a document contains a false statement. However, you nonetheless you go ahead and notarize the instrument anyway. Realize that it is officially misconduct. It could be a matter of criminal or civil liability. You may want to read our article on Notary Discipline.
So, what if a notary makes a minor mistake? You may be responsible for any damages your mistake brings. If you notarize a high volume of documents, getting Errors and Omissions Insurance is prudent. We will address this insurance in an upcoming blog.
Errors and Omissions:
If a notary makes errors or is failing to perform tasks according to the law, this is also an indirect approach to liability. They can be found liable. If a notary fails to validate the signer properly or makes a mistake with the notarization, it can lead to legal problems and a significant financial burden on the parties involved.
Authenticate Documents Properly: Notaries should properly make ensure that all relevant documents are properly executed and comply with any legal requirements. If a notary does not correctly authenticate or verify a document, arguments or even some legal challenges may arise.
Improper Administration of Oaths: When administering oaths, notaries must follow strict procedures. Any deviation from these procedures results in the oath considered as invalid. This impacts legal proceedings or document validity.
Fraud and Misconduct: A notary public is required to act with ethics and refrain from acts of fraud or dishonesty. Engaging in fraudulent acts, like forging documents or intentionally permitting an individual to sign a document can have very serious results. Do not engage in any form of fraud or misconduct. Engaging in fraud, including fabricating documents can have huge repercussions. Your employer will be liable for the notarial acts you perform. The best advice is always to follow the law. All of these situations — and more — are discussed in our New York Course for Preparing for the Notary Examination.
In addition, your employer risks liability for any notarial acts you perform. One possible problem arises when your employer wants to take advantage of your notary status. He or she asks you to authenticate a signature outside the parameters of the law. It may seem a simple favor at the time, but it can come back to haunt you. It is extremely important that both you and your employer understand that improper notarization is not allowed. The best advice is always follow the law. All of these situations, and more, are detailed in our New York notary Test Preparation Course.
Consequences of Notary Liability
The consequences of notary liability can be severe, including:
Legal Action: Any person suffering an injury has the right to take actions and sue the notary to recover any damages emanating from the errors or negligence done. Taking a suit comes along with certain debts within compensatory damages and costs that can be crippling.
Administrative Penalties: Notaries may face disciplinary action from regulatory bodies or licensing agencies. Penalties can include suspension or revocation of the notary commission, fines, and other administrative sanctions.
Loss of Reputation:
There is a risk of enforcement action taken against the notaries for sure violations of the law by all government bodies in agencies, ministries, licensing bodies, commissions or boards. Punishment includes; notary commission being revoked or fined and other administrative disciplinary actions. If the situation demands it, you can also be incarcerated.
Again, a New York Notary has liability. But if you do your job, you will probably not commit misconduct. The law from the New York State Department of State., in short states, ”the best way to avoid exposure to liability is to obey the law.”
So, the best advise we can give you is to conduct your self in a professional manner and follow the law. If you do that, and develop a Best Practices approach, you will minimize any exposure to being liable. At Notary New York, we help prepare you to pass the New York Notary Exam. Our program provides in-depth instruction with sample test questions.
