AR Notary Legal and Ethical Responsibilities 3 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: A customer offers an Arkansas notary $20 to backdate a notarization to the previous week. What is the proper response?
- Refuse, because a certificate must state the actual date the notarization was performed (Correct answer)
- Accept, since the extra payment covers the risk
- Backdate it but keep a private note of the real date
- Backdate it only if the signer signs an indemnity letter
Correct answer: Refuse, because a certificate must state the actual date the notarization was performed
Backdating a notarial certificate is a false certification and constitutes official misconduct regardless of payment.
Question 2: During an acknowledgment, the signer appears heavily sedated and cannot answer basic questions about the document. What should the Arkansas notary do?
- Refuse to notarize because the signer does not appear competent or aware (Correct answer)
- Proceed because judging competence is a court's job
- Proceed if a family member confirms the signer's intent
- Notarize but write 'signer sedated' in the certificate
Correct answer: Refuse to notarize because the signer does not appear competent or aware
A notary should decline when the signer appears unable to understand the transaction, since willingness and awareness are essential.
Question 3: A non-attorney Arkansas notary advertises notary services in Spanish using the term 'Notario Público.' Why is this a legal problem?
- It may mislead the public into believing the notary can provide legal services, since 'notario' implies attorney-like authority in many countries (Correct answer)
- Spanish advertising is banned for notaries in Arkansas
- Only the Secretary of State may advertise notary services
- Foreign-language ads require a $50 state permit
Correct answer: It may mislead the public into believing the notary can provide legal services, since 'notario' implies attorney-like authority in many countries
In many Latin American countries a 'notario' is a licensed legal professional, so the term deceives immigrant customers about the notary's authority.
Question 4: An Arkansas notary's employer demands that the notary notarize documents for absent customers to speed up loan closings. What should the notary do?
- Refuse, because the notary is personally responsible for lawful performance regardless of employer pressure (Correct answer)
- Comply, because the employer paid for the commission
- Comply, but ask the employer to sign a waiver
- Notarize only the documents for long-time customers
Correct answer: Refuse, because the notary is personally responsible for lawful performance regardless of employer pressure
A commission belongs to the notary personally, and employer instructions never excuse unlawful notarizations.
Question 5: Which situation does NOT disqualify an Arkansas notary from performing a notarization?
- The signer is the notary's longtime friend, and the notary has no interest in the document (Correct answer)
- The notary is a named party to the document
- The notary will receive a commission from the transaction being notarized
- The notary is signing the document as the borrower
Correct answer: The signer is the notary's longtime friend, and the notary has no interest in the document
Mere friendship does not disqualify a notary; disqualification arises from being a party to or financially benefiting from the document.
Question 6: A notary discovers that a certificate she completed yesterday listed the wrong county in the venue. What is the ethical way to fix it?
- Correct it only with the document in hand, drawing a line through the error, entering the right county, and initialing and dating the change (Correct answer)
- Mail the signer a note authorizing them to fix it
- Tell the signer to white out the error
- Issue a brand-new certificate over the phone without seeing the document
Correct answer: Correct it only with the document in hand, drawing a line through the error, entering the right county, and initialing and dating the change
A notary may correct only his or her own certificate, and only while the document is before the notary, using a visible, initialed correction.
Question 7: In Arkansas, what happens to a notary's official seal and records when the notary's commission is revoked for misconduct?
- The notary must stop performing notarial acts and may no longer use the seal (Correct answer)
- The notary may keep notarizing for 30 days to wind down
- The seal transfers to the notary's employer
- The notary may keep using the seal for personal documents
Correct answer: The notary must stop performing notarial acts and may no longer use the seal
Revocation terminates all notarial authority immediately, so any further use of the seal is unlawful.
AR Notary Legal and Ethical Responsibilities 3
A customer offers an Arkansas notary $20 to backdate a notarization to the previous week.
What is the proper response?