American Society of Notaries has served the needs of our nation’s notaries public since 1965. We offer 1-, 2-, 3- and 4-year memberships, with benefits such as toll-free technical advice, twice monthly email Hot Tips, American Notary newsletter, Notary Locator with zip code look up, and more... Our members also get our best discounts on quality notary education courses (FL, MO, OR, PA, TX specific courses, and our “All-States” notary education course) as well as on our full line of notary supplies, including notary stamps, notary seals, embossing seal extras, state-specific notary handbooks, and our All-States Notary Recordbook (also called a Notary Journal).
NEW MARCH 2009 - ASN Notary Signing Agent Training Course!
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→ What is a Notary
→ Notary Public Law
→ The Notary’s Stamp, Embossing Seal and Recordbook
→ The Vital Importance of Notary Education
→ Other Essential Notary Supplies
→ Basic Notarial Duties
→ Prohibited Acts
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| What is a Notary?
A notary public is a public officer or a state officer (in most states), appointed and commissioned to perform certain functions or notarial acts. A notary acts as an impartial witness in the execution of documents, helping to deter fraud and promote the integrity of document transactions. Specifically, notaries take acknowledgments, or administer oaths/affirmations, for the execution of documents. They also perform other duties as allowed by their specific state laws. Click Here for more information about basic notarial duties.
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Notary Public Law
Notaries perform their duties in strict accordance with the specific laws, administrative rules, or procedures of their home state. While certain basic notarial duties and principles are common to all notaries, there are important differences in notary law from state to state. All notaries should therefore carefully read their applicable state laws and information provided by their state notary public administrator’s office.
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The Notary’s Stamp, Embossing Seal and Recordbook
Nearly all notaries are required by their state laws to use an official seal of office when performing notarial acts. Seal requirements are set forth in state notary laws. The notary’s seal impression provides important commission information about the notary, such as name, commission number, commission expiration date, and state of commission. The most common seal style is the notary commission ink stamp. The embossing seal is also widely used. In addition, notaries in most states are required to record each notarial act in a recordbook or journal of notarial acts. It is a best practice for all notaries to use a recordbook or journal even if it is not required by law.
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The Vital Importance of Notary Education
Performing the duties of a notary public can be a much more complex undertaking than many notary applicants imagine. To properly prepare themselves, all notary public applicants should take either an online notary training course, or one in a live classroom setting. Notary education is actually required in a number of states, with more and more states promting it or requiring it for their own notaries. Even veteran notaries should occasionally brush up their skills with a quality notary education course.
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Other Essential Notary Supplies
The well-equipped notary uses a variety of essential notary supplies in addition to the ink stamp, embossing seal and recordbook/notary journal. State-specific notary handbooks provide valuable reference information and state notary law. Loose notarial certificates are extremely useful when the notary must amend or replace the notarial certificate provided on a document. Many notaries use reference books like a dictionary of legal terms or I.D. Checking Guide. Gold foil seals, used with an embossing seal, lend elegance to any document. See ASN’s full line of notary supplies!
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Basic Notarial Duties
A notary’s full list of authorized duties will vary depending on his/her commissioning state, certain basic notarial duties are common to most all notaries. While ALL states allow their notaries to perform oaths/affirmations and acknowledgments, whether or not a notary may perform any other duty varies by state, depending on each state’s unique notary laws. Notaries are expected to know and honor what their state laws allow them to do. (Click here for state-specific notarial duties.)
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Prohibited Acts
All notaries must carefully and dutifully follow their state guidelines when executing notarial acts. Not only do state statutes define what notaries may legally do, they also define acts that notaries are prohibited from committing.
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