Notary Public Duties
A notary public is a public servant appointed by the government to be of service to the public. In California, you must be 18 years old to become a notary public. A Notary Public is a public official who has the power in law to witness the signing of a written statement or certify the authenticity of documents and make them official. Usually, a Notary Public has in force a practising certificate as a solicitor/advocate/lawyer, depending on the legal system in that country. A Notary Public is a professional, who functions as a public servant appointed by state government to witness the signing of important financial, legal or medical documents, and to administer oaths. The Notary is responsible for verifying the identity of the signing parties, and helps ensure that documents are properly executed.
A Notary Public is a honest, moral and responsible member of our society. They are appointed by the office of the Secretary of State to witness by an official seal and written acknowledgement, or jurat, the signing of documents, as well as admister an oath. A notary public is a state-appointed government official with the authority to witness the signing of legal documents and administer oaths. A notary helps to prevent fraud by validating the identity of a signatory and confirms that a document is appropriately executed.
A notary public is authorized by the state/country in which the person resides to administer oaths (swearing to truth of a statement), and certify documents. The signature and seal or stamp of a notary public is necessary to confirm the oath of truth of the person executing the document. A notary public is responsible for a number of important functions.
Documents
Documents are notarized to prevent fraud and protect the parties to ensure that the signing party signature is authenticated. A notary public acts as an impartial witness to identify the signers to screen out impostors while making sure documents are willingly signed and that the signing party has the mental capacity to sign such. Documents within many industries such as Real Estate, Financial, Legal and Healthcare are requiring more and more notarization to help deter fraudulent activity. Today with the increasing amount of identity theft and corporate corruption, these industries use notarization as a checks and balancing tool.
Notaries public shall be appointed for 4 years and shall use and exercise the office of notary public within the boundaries of this state. An applicant must be able to read, write, and understand the English language. Notary services are extremely important and it is necessary that a notary fully understand all of the accompanying responsibilities. Notarization does not prove that information or statements on a document are true or accurate. The signer is responsible for the content of the documents.
Notaries deter fraud when they perform their duties with diligence and obey the laws governing their duties. An impartial witness (the Notary) ensures that the signers of documents are who they say they are and not impostors. In the United States, a non-attorney notary may not offer legal advice or prepare documents (with the exception of Louisiana[citation needed]) and cannot recommend how a person should sign a document or even what type of notarization is necessary. Notaries help protect the public from fraud and whose notary actions during the notary process guarantee that certain minimum required standards have been met. Beginning in 2005, notaries must also complete six hours of training before receiving their commission and for renewing notaries, must complete three hours of training. Those wishing to become” title=”http://www.notarypublicinfo.org/howtobecomeanotarypublic.html\”>become” target=”_blank”>www.notarypublicinfo.org/howtobecomeanotarypublic.html”>become notary public need to attend notary school
Notaries should not refuse to serve anyone because of race, religion, nationality, lifestyle, or because the person is not a client or customer. Discrimination on any basis is not a suitable policy for a public official.
