Certificate of Official Character

In New York State your commission is in your county of residence. Thus, it is your county clerk who may certify your official character as a notary public. Why would you need a certificate of Official Character? Well, some document recipients may require certification and authentication. It allows a document to be read into evidence. In today’s “let’s Sue” society, the ability to have a document read into evidence can be vital. We have more information on this in our Notary test preparation course.

So, assume you live in Monroe County and in addition to Monroe County you anticipate doing notarial acts in Ontario County. Consequently, You may file your autograph signature and certificate of official character in Ontario County (Or any number of counties, for that matter). Hence, you are registering your commission in another county. We have an article that relates to this. Feel free to read our blog post, Where to Have a Document Notarized.

Another blog article we have, although not necessarily related is, Should a Notary Public Advertise. If you have a certificate of official character in another county, you may want to advertise in that county. That does not imply that with or without a certificate of official character that you cannot notarize in another county. Indeed you can. Rather, we are assuming that you are do considerable business in more than one county. Thus, advertising may prove an additional benefit to your business.

Fees

You can purchase an Office Character Card. You do this from the county clerk in the county where you have been qualified. However, there is a $5.00 fee for issuing a a certificate.

There is a fee of $10.00 to register your commission

Other Facts

The county clerk’s signature can be printed, faxed, stamped, photographed, or engraved on an authentication. So, if you are qualified in Monroe County, and someone in Ontario County needed to verify your signature (Notary Authentication), they would have to travel to the county clerk in Erie County. But, you can make it much easier for your clients by filing a Certificate of Official Character.  The key here is: “printed, faxed, etc.

Your certificate expires with your notary commission, which means you would need a new one every 4 years.

Once you receive your Certificate of Official Character, you can submit it to the county clerk (In the case above, county of Ontario). in Ontario County, or any other county. More information on certifying official character is in the N.Y. Notary Public License law, visit New York State, Department of State and search Notary License Law.