Can a Notary Public refuse to notarize certain types of documents?

wizjp

As a notary all your seal means is that you have verified the parties have signed the document.

Period.

You are not a lawyer. It's not your job to give legal advice or make legal decisions.

That being said, you're a free agent. If you don't want to seal it; don't.

No law says you have to seal anything you aren't comfortable with.

Heather

Yes, you do not have to notarize anything that you don't want to. My step mom is a notary and she rejects people all the time.

meemaw1968

I am a Notary and yes you can refuse to notarize any document

Teekno

I suppose they could, but there would be no reason to.

The only thing that a Notary does is to confirm that the person signing is indeed that person, and that the time and date noted is the correct time and date.

A notary doesn't have to understand what the document is. They aren't responsible for the content of the document; only for identifying the parties signing it.

laughter_every_day

If you are in the position of making your own decisions, you can do business with whomever you wish. If you have an employer, then your duties will be assigned by the employer. A notary, however, merely validates a signature and, sometimes, has the person swear that the statements are true. A notary is not called upon to pass on the validity of the document, just on the identity of the person signing it. If someone presents you with an affidavit indicating that they were kidnapped by alien beings and taken to a planet far, far away, and you affix your stamp to it, all you are doing is verifying the signature, not the statements.

insanelover110

I just graduated school to become a paralegal, and this was one of the things we had to do. You don't have to notarize anything you don't want to. All a notary does is just witnesses signatures. A notary does nothing else. You're not even saying the document is true. You're just there to say that the people that signed the document are the people that were supposed to sign.

Also, you are able to tell people they can see an attorney to get something notarized, but you hold no legal liability on the document itself.

elysialaw

You don't have to Notarize anything you don't want to. Actually, that's not true...you can't refuse to Notarize something because of someone's race, religion, etc.

That being said, all you are doing is verifying that the person signing is who they say they are...you aren't giving legal advice or preparing mortgage or divorce documents.

The situation you are speaking of likely had to do with fraudulent documents or fake identities and the Notary failed to exercise due diligence in confirming the validity of same.

ItsMe

No, you do not have to notarize anything you are not comfortable notarizing. I work in a Bank, and there are certain documents we are not allowed to notarize...wills being one. We had a situation where a will was notarized and the person died soon after. The will was being contested. It was said the person who died was not competent to make the decision to change their will. Because it was called in to court, the Notary being a Bank employee needed representation, so the Bank had to provide the employee with an Attorney. This is very costly. Therefore, we are not allowed to notarize certain documents. Another document you NEVER notarize would be something you can not read. If you do not speak Spanish, do not notarize a document written in Spanish. While you are notarizing the signature and not what is included in the document, you just never want to be put in that situation.

So, if you are not comfortable with the document, do not put your seal and signature to it.

You can also go to the Clerk of Courts where you would obtain your notary and ask for the booklet they give to every new notary. This will outline what can and can not be done as a notary.

Also, as to someone else stating you are not to read the document. While you do not sit there and read the entire document, it is your business to know what you are notarizing. Always keep the mindset of if you are going to be called in to court over the document being put in front of you for your seal and signature, you want to make sure you know something. Yes, it is definitely your duty and responsibility to identify the person in front of you (I will even write down the ID on the form), but it is also your responsibility to ensure you are understanding what it is your are notarizing.

Hope this helps!

Me

Michelle C

The first poster is correct. You are not required to notarize anything. You can be a notary and never use it. You can be a notary and use it for your office only. It's totally up to you.

Tina T

Yes, you can. I have a friend who doesn't notarize anything that could land her in court as a witness for something since she doesn't have the time or money to be away from her business to spend the day in court with someone she barely knows. I agree to some extent, but it part of the responsibility you take on in becoming a notary.

rehobothbeachgui

As far as I know, you are under no obligation to notarize anything you don't wish.

As a notary, your risk is limited. You needn't understand the nature of the document only that all signers of the document are whom they represent themselves to be and are signing in good faith. You have no liability as to the content of the document.

There was a scandal some years ago in Maryland where a notary was affixing her seal to unsigned documents which were then filled out later.

She was sent to jail and sued.

John M

All a Notary Public is doing when they notarize a document is checking the identification of the signer and attesting that they witnessed the person sign the document.

It is not the responsibility of the Notary to understand the document, other than the section where they affix their seal, and the appropriate process to authenticate the signature they are witnessing.

So I would not worry about the type of document, so much as the various forms of authentication that you might be expected to provide. If some documents demand a higher level of skill in determining if someone signing is who they say they are, then you might want to defer signing them. But generally, if the person has not already signed, which is a common problem, and they have a valid form of ID, all you are doing is letting the recipient of that document know you saw that person sign.

dark eyes

When you notorize a signature, you're just witnessing that it is, in fact, that person who is signing a document. You're not a legal advisor, nor is that part of what a notary does.

So, if you do not know the person that's requesting your signature as a notary, then you should have them show a current form of photo identification.

rickinnocal

If a bank notary cost her bank a lot of money it was because she didn't actually verify the identity of the person who signed something before she sealed it.

ALL a notaries seal does is certify that the Notary verified the identity of the person who signed.

There is a potential problem with you 'rejecting certain types of document' - that problem is that, as a notary, you're not supposed to pay any attention to what the document is that you you are sealing. Strictly speaking, you shouldn't even read it.

All you are doing is saying "This signature is John Smiths" - what the paper might be that John signs doesn't matter to you.

Richard

Terry A.

As a notary, you are only certifying the identity of the person whose signature you notarlized (that they are who they say they are). You do not have any responsibility for the content of the document itself.

RU Quazee

Wise choice, I'd say. If you're uncomfortable with the documents or have some suspicions about the 'signer' I would say go with your intuition and bow out of the transaction. Just have a convincing argument for fending them off 'in their best interest' to get the thing signed off 'correctly'.

You can find info on what your state specifies as to the activities of notaries they establish and use that as your guidelines.

Mrs. Herrera

As a notary you are only notarizing that the person that signed the document is indeed that person.
You don't need to know what the document is, and you don't even need to read it.
You are only verifying the signature.

Broken Veteran

Yes, as a Notary you are affirming that to which you attach your seal, to be a true and legal copy, or document, or signature.
You are accepting responsibility for it's genuineness by affixing your seal.

When in doubt, show them out...

If you don't know. Do not notarize.

MochaJoe

All a Notary does is to verify the person that is signing a document is the person that they say they are,and not the legitimacy of the document.

timmishere

yes

joannaG

i recently went to a loccal bank to have a paper notorized and was told the notery there would only notorize doucments for customers as a curtesy. I thought PUBLIC notery meant all public not the chosen few.., i am confused

Enter Your Message or Comment

User Name:
User Email:
Post a comment: