NOTARIZING ON THE JOB

June 01,2023

By Dena Spinks / Co-Founder and CEO of Notary Know How LLC

Many Notary Publics start their notary career as an on the job / employee notary. That is how I first became a Notary. The company that I worked 23 years for needed a Notary so I got commissioned. When I got commissioned, I knew nothing about being a Notary Public. My county Probate Office didn’t tell me how to get educated or that I even needed to. My employer, while willing to pay for me to get education on being a Notary if I asked, didn’t suggest I take any classes or that I should get any books. Many employers don’t know that there is A LOT to now about being a Notary and I myself just didn’t know that there was so much to know. I am thankful that I was only notarizing documents my employer signed during those first few years and usually the same type of document. I did a lot of researching to make sure I was doing it right back then. I was so grateful to attend my first Notary Conference held by the Alabama Secretary of States office in my 2nd year as a Notary Public. I learned SO MUCH! Now I am looking forward to the first Notary Conference to be held by Notary Know How.

You may have initially become a notary to complete work-related tasks at the request of your employer. Even if you provide notary services solely for your employer, you are obliged to follow state laws and regulations, as well as professional standards of practice that would be expected of independent notaries. State notary laws may prescribe specific rules for notary-employees and the notarizations they perform while at work.

It’s important for notary-employees to avoid being coerced to perform improper notarizations for their employers. Notaries who are familiar with state notary laws, best practices, and the duties and obligations of their notary commission are less likely to be taken advantage of by their employer. http://rb.gy/qhp0g

Here are some important things you need to know about being an Employee Notary:

· Your Stamp, Seal and Notary Journal belong to you, NOT your employer

· You must keep your Stamp, Seal and Journal locked away at all times when not in use

· Do not let anyone touch your Notary Supplies ever

· It is NOT okay for you to keep copies of everything that you notarize or copies of ID’s. Many new notaries think they should do this to protect themselves. The best way to protect yourself is to know your state statutes and record EVERYTHING in your Notary Journal

· You will still be liable for something even if your employer told you to do it. So saying ‘My Boss told me to do it’ will not protect you in a court of law and you may face legal charges

· You should not draft a document and then be the person to explain said document and notarize it too, this can be considered a conflict of interest. While your state statues may allow it, it is NOT considered a Best Notary Practice. You are not impartial if you draft and notarize the document too.

· If you leave your job, your boss may not keep your Notary Seal, Stamp or Journal, even if your employer paid for them. Your Notary supplies belong to you, the commissioned notary.

· While many states allow an employer to dictate when a notary-employee may perform notarizations on the job, notaries are free to perform a notarization for any member of the public at any time. Your employer is not liable for any notary acts you perform on your own time outside of work. http://rb.gy/qhp0g

· The first rule of notarization is that the signer MUST personally appear before the notary at the time of the notary transaction. In many cases, employee notaries are presented with documents that have been signed by customers who are not physically present before them… the employee notary is expected to simply sign and seal the notarial certificate on the signed document. Sometimes the document presented by the employer for “notarization” is not even signed. In most all cases, the pressure to sign/seal a notarial certificate without the signer present comes from a supervisor; in the worst cases, the employee notary feels his/her job is threatened unless the improper deed is done. http://rb.gy/w6lyb

The best way to protect yourself as a Notary is to know your states statutes and keep a record of ALL transactions in your Notary Journal. Alabama State Law does not require me to keep a Notary Journal but I do because I know it is a Best Notary Practice.