Public Notaries are public officers who are appointed
by the Secretary of State, in the state they practice, to act as an
impartial third party to witness and record the signing of certain
documents (mainly "important" documents). Public notaries provide and
important service in authenticating a wide variety of these important
documents.
Certain important documents require notarization for several
reasons. First, a notary will make sure the transaction taking place is
valid, and that none of the parties involved is disadvantaged in any way
possible. Notaries will verify that the parties signing the documents
are who they claim to be; in order to do this the notary will check photo
identification. The notary will also take a fingerprint from the
individuals signing the documents. They will also insure that the
parties signing are not under duress (not being forced).
Documents that may need to be notarized consist of a large variety.Â
The more common types of documents that will be notarized, that you may
be familiar with would include: trust deeds for property, last will &
testaments, quit claim deeds to property, lending documents, power of
attorney, and international business documents; as you can see the
documents vary from business documents to family documents and
others.
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Just like many other public officials, a public notary must obtain a
surety bond before being appointed the position of notary public. The
surety bond ensures that if the notary through neglect or purposeful
deception were to cause damages, there would be funds available to "make
good" or recoup the losses incurred.
A surety bond protects the general public when using a notary. A
notary may also want to be protected, and for that insurance companies
are able to provide coverage to appointed notaries. The insurance
provided through and insurance company would be known as errors &
emission insurance (E&O).
In the United States public notaries are limited to witnessing the
signing of documents and administering certain oaths, however, in other
countries notaries can have a wide reaching array of legal abilities;
because of this they are required to complete more extensive
training.
The National Notary Association is the leading authority on the
American Notary Public office, and is also recognized nationally &
internationally as the leading educator and leader of best ethical
practices. The National Notary Association represents nearly 5 million
notaries, representing them in the United States and other countries.Â
The organization promotes best practices, helps to ensure ethical
practices are being used, publishes material to help enact effective
legislation and help people to understand the duties of a notary.
Notaries can be found working in just about every city in the United
States. The types of businesses you are most likely to find notaries
servicing would be: banks, real estate, mortgage loan, financial
planning, insurance, accountants, etc, and many more. If you are in the
need of a notary they can be found pretty easily through the internet, or
yellow pages. Â Many notaries operate out of an office; however, there
are also mobile notaries that can travel to where you are. Mobile
notaries typically charge slightly higher prices because of the
convenience they provide to their customers.
For more information about becoming a notary, or for more reasons to become a public notary, visit
my website.