What is a Notary Public

A Notary Public is a public servant appointed by the state to witness and validate the signing of documents. Documents are notarized primarily to mitigate fraud. A Notary Public does not validate the truthfulness of the document; they are concerned only with the signature. The Notary Public is there as a witness to identify the signer and to make sure they understand what they are signing. Because a Notary Public is a public servant, they can not turn down a signing unless they recognize that a fraud is taking place.

There are a number of documents that can be used to authenticate the identity of the signer. A Notary Public may use: a driver's license, state identification card, passport or military ID as means to identify the signer. Once the document is signed and the Notary Public confirms the identity of the signer, the Notary will then stamp the document with their Notary Seal and require that the signer also signs their book.

There are two types of notaries: jurat and an acknowledgement. Jurats are used for all important documents including escrow documents. A jurat is a sworn oath taken by the signer acknowledging their signature and guaranteeing that the document is true to the best of their knowledge. Acknowledgements are used for simple notaries. They validate the signer and acknowledge that they know what they are signing; there is no sworn oath taken and they do not have to confirm or deny the truthfulness of the document.

Being a Notary Public (Compton) should be taken very seriously. Notarizing documents without confirming the identity of the signer, notarizing documents while aware of a fraud or making careless mistakes while notarizing a document places the Notary Public at risk. Notary offenses range from simply having your license revoked to felony charges. Any suspicious activity that the Notary Public is aware of should be reported to the authorities immediately.

I currently work as a Compton Notary Public full time and have done so for the past 7 years and although fraud attempts are minimal, I have received a few calls that I have questioned a few call here and there. Fortunately for me, I have never been at a signing where I questioned the signer. However, I know many Notaries who have been summoned to court because their work was being questioned.