Should a Notary Keep a Journal?

As of January 25th of 2023, New York State requires all notaries to keep a Journal. We will outline these requirements in a new article very soon. For now, let’s look at why we need to keep a journal. You will have to keep your journal for a period of ten years.

A record of your notarial acts in a journal provides a written account of the acts performed. This may prove very beneficial somewhere down the road after a specific notarial service is forgotten.

For example: Assume that two years after you certified a signature some type of legal question arises. Let’s say that you have to address the specifics of that notarization. Because you placed your seal on hundreds of documents since the one in question, it would be impossible to recall the specifics of the act. But, a journal helps you to do just that. If you want to know what information should be logged into a journal. Please read our blog item  on this topic. It describes what a Notary Should Record in a Journal.

A few reasons why a notary should keep a journal:

• • • • • • • • It provides a factual proof which verifies the notarial act was properly executed.
              • If a court action were to occur in the future, your journal is prima facie evidence to the facts within it.
              • There’s an old adage that says, “If it wasn’t written it did not happen.” As a notary you have an obligation to know what acts you performed, and when. So, your written journal provides a suitable record of what happened.
              • A journal protects the notary if he or she is sued for negligence.
              • It is simply good business to keep accurate records.

There are proper techniques for recording information in your journal.  For instance, you want to include specific information related to your notarial act. An important point to make here is that a notary must use ink when writing in a journal. Thus, if an error is made, he or she should draw a single line through the error and then make the correction. You can find journals online. Notary.net has a nice selection of journals

You should collect specific information from the signer and record it in your journal. We’ll discuss what information to include in your journal in our next blog.

If you are interested in becoming a notary in New York, you may want to evaluate our notary training course. It covers journals and every other aspect that prepares you to pass the New York State Notary Exam.  You can also learn more by visiting the New York Department of State. Also, you can read our Notary Public FAQs page, which may answer other questions you may have.