AR Notary Record-Keeping and Documentation 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Under Arkansas law, is a traditional notary public required to keep a journal of notarial acts for paper documents?
- No, it is recommended but not legally required (Correct answer)
- Yes, a bound paper journal is mandatory
- Yes, but only for acknowledgments
- Only if the notary works for a bank
Correct answer: No, it is recommended but not legally required
Arkansas does not mandate a journal for traditional paper notarizations, though keeping one is strongly recommended as a best practice.
Question 2: An Arkansas electronic notary public must keep a record of electronic notarial acts. What is a required feature of this record?
- It must be printed monthly and mailed to the Secretary of State
- It must be maintained in a secure electronic format (Correct answer)
- It must be stored only on paper
- It must be published online for public viewing
Correct answer: It must be maintained in a secure electronic format
Electronic notaries in Arkansas must maintain a secure electronic record (journal) of their electronic notarial acts.
Question 3: A signer asks an Arkansas notary for a copy of a journal entry involving the signer's own document. What is the best practice?
- Refuse, because journal entries are always confidential
- Provide a copy of only that specific entry, protecting other entries (Correct answer)
- Hand over the entire journal for review
- Charge the signer a $100 records fee
Correct answer: Provide a copy of only that specific entry, protecting other entries
Best practice is to share only the entry relevant to the requester while shielding other signers' information.
Question 4: Which of the following should NOT be recorded in a notary journal entry?
- The date and type of notarial act
- The signer's name and identification method
- The signer's full Social Security number (Correct answer)
- The type of document notarized
Correct answer: The signer's full Social Security number
Sensitive data like full Social Security numbers should never be recorded in a journal because it creates identity-theft risk.
Question 5: Why does keeping a journal benefit an Arkansas notary if a notarization is later challenged in court?
- It transfers all liability to the signer
- It serves as evidence the notary followed proper procedures (Correct answer)
- It automatically dismisses any lawsuit
- It replaces the need for a notary bond
Correct answer: It serves as evidence the notary followed proper procedures
A contemporaneous journal entry provides evidence that the notary performed the act correctly, supporting the notary's defense.
Question 6: An Arkansas notary's journal is stolen from their car. What is the most appropriate first step?
- Do nothing since journals are optional
- Buy a new journal and recreate old entries from memory
- Report the theft to law enforcement and notify the Secretary of State's office (Correct answer)
- Notarize documents without any records going forward
Correct answer: Report the theft to law enforcement and notify the Secretary of State's office
A lost or stolen journal should be reported to authorities and the commissioning office to document the loss and protect against misuse.
Question 7: How should an Arkansas notary make corrections to an erroneous journal entry?
- Use correction fluid to cover the mistake
- Tear out the page and rewrite it
- Draw a single line through the error, write the correction, and initial it (Correct answer)
- Erase the entry completely with an eraser
Correct answer: Draw a single line through the error, write the correction, and initial it
Lining through the error, adding the correction, and initialing preserves the integrity and audit trail of the record.
AR Notary Record-Keeping and Documentation 2
Under Arkansas law, is a traditional notary public required to keep a journal of notarial acts for paper documents?