California Notary Public ExamNotary Public Duties and AuthorityMedium
A signer presents a document to a Notary Public for a jurat. The Notary observes that the document has several blank spaces. The signer states that they will fill in the blanks later, after the notarization. What is the Notary's duty?
- AProceed with the jurat, but make a note in the journal about the blank spaces.
- BPerform the jurat, but advise the signer to fill in the blanks immediately after.
- CRefuse to perform the jurat until all blank spaces are filled in.
- DComplete the blank spaces based on information provided verbally by the signer.
Show answer & explanationAnswer & explanation
Correct answer: C. Refuse to perform the jurat until all blank spaces are filled in.
A Notary Public must not notarize an incomplete document. Notarizing a document with blank spaces could facilitate fraud or unauthorized alterations after the notarization, which is against the Notary's duty to protect the public.
Why the other options are wrong
- A. A journal note does not mitigate the risk of notarizing an incomplete document; the notarization should be refused.
- B. Advising them to fill in later still leaves the document vulnerable at the time of notarization; the blanks must be filled before the act.
- D. Filling in blanks for the signer, especially without explicit instructions and observation of the signer doing it, could constitute unauthorized practice of law or alteration.
Notarizing Incomplete Documents
A Notary Public must refuse to notarize any document that contains blank spaces, as this could lead to fraud or unauthorized modifications after the notarial act.
- Document must be complete at the time of notarization.
- Blanks must be filled in or struck through.
- Protects against fraud and unauthorized alterations.
- Applies to all notarial acts.
Memory trick: Blanks mean 'Stop!', until filled or crossed.