If you want to become a notary public, know this. There are dangerous questions that can be presented to a notary. As a notary public, you are a public official. Consequently, you have to conform to the State laws that govern your commission. As such, a simple question can prove a dangerous question asked by a notary.
So, we need to be very careful to exercise our duties so as not to put ourselves in jeopardy. The consequences could be catastrophic, including misdemeanor charges, lawsuits, and even loss of our commission. What could appear to be an innocent question could prove dangerous.
Requests to look out for
Can you explain this paragraph in the document? Remember, unless you are a lawyer, any explanation is essentially giving legal advice. If you are not a lawyer, you are practicing law and thereby giving unauthorized legal advice.
A signer asks what type of notarization they need. This is outside our purview. It is up to the client, or the document, to tell us the type of notarization that is needed. We could be liable should any future damages occur.
The signer asks you to fill in a blank space in the document, which must signed willingly. Well, it is up to the signer to fill in the blank space. Therefore, we cannot do anything other than complete the notary service. As a matter of fact, if the document has a blank space, we should not complete the service.
A signer forgot his or her identification, and they ask you to overlook it.
Your boss asks you a favor to notarize a document without the signer being present.
Fulfilling these requests could subject us to criminal or civil liability. Or both. As such, we must be aware of complying with any request that could put us at risk. Thoroughly knowing the notary law for your state will help when dangerous questions are presented to a notary. In New York, you can read the notary law by visiting the Department of State.
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