California Notary Public ExamNotary Public Duties and AuthorityHard
A Notary Public is employed by a tech company. The company CEO asks the Notary to notarize a document that the CEO has already signed. The CEO mentions that the document is highly confidential and requests that the Notary *not* record the notarization in their official journal, citing company policy for sensitive documents. What is the Notary's appropriate action?
- APerform the notarization, but only record minimal information in the journal to respect confidentiality.
- BExplain that California law allows exceptions for confidential documents and proceed without a journal entry.
- CComply with the CEO's request to maintain confidentiality and notarize without a journal entry.
- DRefuse to perform the notarization because a journal entry is mandatory for every notarial act.
Show answer & explanationAnswer & explanation
Correct answer: D. Refuse to perform the notarization because a journal entry is mandatory for every notarial act.
In California, a Notary Public is legally required to maintain a journal of all official acts. There are no exceptions for confidential documents or company policy. Failure to make a complete journal entry for every notarization is a violation of state law.
Why the other options are wrong
- A. Recording minimal information is still a violation if it doesn't meet all statutory requirements for journal entries.
- B. California law does not provide exceptions for journal entries based on document confidentiality.
- C. This is a serious violation of California Notary law, as journal entries are mandatory.
Mandatory Journal Entry
In California, a Notary Public must maintain an official journal and make a complete entry for every notarial act performed, without exception for document confidentiality or company policy.
- Journal required for ALL notarial acts.
- No exceptions for confidentiality.
- No exceptions for company policy.
- Failure to record is a violation of law.
Memory trick: Every notarization's tale, in the journal, without fail.