AZ Notary Notary Journal Record Keeping 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Under Arizona law, how long must a notary public retain their notarial journal after the last entry is made?
- 3 years
- 5 years
- 7 years (Correct answer)
- 10 years
Correct answer: 7 years
Arizona law (A.R.S. §41-327) requires notaries to retain their journal for 7 years after the date of the last notarial act recorded in it.
Under A.R.S. §41-327, an Arizona notary public must retain the notarial journal for 7 years after the date of the last notarial act recorded. This retention period ensures that journal entries are available to verify notarial acts if a legal dispute arises years later. The 7-year rule aligns with Arizona's general statute of limitations for contract-related claims, giving aggrieved parties adequate time to seek evidence.
Question 2: Which of the following pieces of information is REQUIRED to be entered in an Arizona notary journal for every notarial act?
- The fee charged for the notarial act
- The date and time of the notarial act (Correct answer)
- The signer's Social Security number
- The notary's commission expiration date
Correct answer: The date and time of the notarial act
A.R.S. §41-327 requires the date and time of each notarial act to be recorded in the journal along with other mandatory fields.
For every notarial act, Arizona requires the notary's journal to include the date and time of the notarial act, the type of notarial act, a description of the document or proceeding, the signature and printed name of each principal, the type of ID used to identify the principal, and any fee charged. The Social Security number of a signer is never required and would raise serious privacy concerns. The notary's own commission expiration date, while important to track separately, is not a per-entry journal requirement.
Question 3: What type of notarial act must an Arizona notary record in the journal even if the signer is personally known to the notary?
- Oaths and affirmations only
- Copy certifications only
- All notarial acts, without exception (Correct answer)
- Only acts involving real property documents
Correct answer: All notarial acts, without exception
Arizona law requires all notarial acts to be recorded in the journal regardless of whether the notary personally knows the signer.
A.R.S. §41-327 mandates that every notarial act be entered in the journal. The notary's personal knowledge of the signer is relevant to the identification method column of the journal entry (it would be recorded as 'personal knowledge'), but it does not exempt the act from being journalized. This universal recording requirement protects both notaries and the public by creating a complete audit trail of all notarial acts performed.
Question 4: An Arizona notary's journal is considered a public record under state law. What does this mean for public access to journal entries?
- Anyone may inspect it freely without restriction
- Access is limited to law enforcement with a court order
- The notary may deny access only if disclosure would endanger a person (Correct answer)
- Journal entries may never be disclosed under any circumstances
Correct answer: The notary may deny access only if disclosure would endanger a person
While the journal is a public record, A.R.S. §41-327 allows the notary to deny access if the notary reasonably believes disclosure would endanger the requester or another person.
Under A.R.S. §41-327, an Arizona notary journal is a public record and must be made available for inspection or copying upon request. However, the notary may deny access if the notary has reasonable cause to believe that inspection or copying would endanger the health or safety of the requester or another person. Outside of this narrow exception, the notary cannot withhold access based on personal preference or the requestor's identity. This transparency supports accountability in the notarization process.
Question 5: If an Arizona notary loses their notarial journal, what must they do?
- Purchase a new journal and continue notarizing without reporting the loss
- Notify the Arizona Secretary of State within 10 days of discovering the loss (Correct answer)
- Immediately resign their notary commission
- File a police report only if the journal contained real estate documents
Correct answer: Notify the Arizona Secretary of State within 10 days of discovering the loss
A.R.S. §41-327 requires a notary to notify the Arizona Secretary of State within 10 days after discovering that the journal is lost or stolen.
Under Arizona law, if a notarial journal is lost, stolen, destroyed, or otherwise compromised, the notary must notify the Arizona Secretary of State's office within 10 days of discovering the loss. This requirement protects against fraudulent use of journal entries by unauthorized parties. Failure to report the loss is itself a violation of notary law. The notary does not automatically lose their commission for losing the journal, but they must comply with the reporting requirement and keep better safeguards going forward.
Question 6: When an Arizona notary performs a notarial act for a principal who signed by mark (rather than a full signature), what additional step is required for the journal entry?
- Two witnesses must also sign the journal entry (Correct answer)
- The notary must photograph the principal's mark
- A fingerprint of the principal must be affixed in the journal
- The county recorder must countersign the journal entry
Correct answer: Two witnesses must also sign the journal entry
When a principal signs by mark, Arizona requires two witnesses to the signing, and their signatures should also be noted in the journal to document the circumstances.
Under Arizona notary rules, if a principal is unable to sign and instead signs by making a mark, two disinterested witnesses must be present to witness the principal's mark. These witness signatures are documented in the notarial act and the corresponding journal entry to authenticate that the mark was made voluntarily by the principal. This extra safeguard prevents fraud when a principal cannot produce a traditional signature. The witnesses attest that the principal understood what they were signing and made the mark intentionally.
AZ Notary Notary Journal Record Keeping 2
Under Arizona law, how long must a notary public retain their notarial journal after the last entry is made?