CT Notary Record-Keeping and Documentation 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Under Connecticut law, is a notary public required to keep a journal of notarial acts?
- No, but keeping one is strongly recommended as a best practice (Correct answer)
- Yes, a bound paper journal is mandatory
- Yes, but only for real estate closings
- Only notaries who charge fees must keep a journal
Correct answer: No, but keeping one is strongly recommended as a best practice
Connecticut does not mandate a journal, but the Secretary of the State recommends one as evidence of proper procedure.
Question 2: A Connecticut notary who voluntarily keeps a journal should record which of the following for each notarization?
- Only the signer's phone number
- The date, type of act, document description, and signer identification method (Correct answer)
- The full text of the document notarized
- The signer's Social Security number
Correct answer: The date, type of act, document description, and signer identification method
A useful journal entry documents the date, act type, document, and how the signer was identified, without copying sensitive data.
Question 3: Why is a journal entry valuable to a Connecticut notary if a notarization is later challenged in court?
- It automatically dismisses any lawsuit
- It transfers liability to the signer
- It replaces the need for a notarial certificate
- It provides contemporaneous evidence that the notary followed proper procedures (Correct answer)
Correct answer: It provides contemporaneous evidence that the notary followed proper procedures
A contemporaneous record helps the notary demonstrate that identification and proper procedure occurred at the time of the act.
Question 4: Which element must appear on every notarial certificate completed by a Connecticut notary?
- The signer's home address
- The notary's signature and the date the commission expires (Correct answer)
- The county where the signer was born
- The fee charged for the act
Correct answer: The notary's signature and the date the commission expires
Connecticut notaries must sign the certificate and include their commission expiration date on it.
Question 5: A Connecticut notary completes an acknowledgment but forgets to date the certificate. What is the correct remedy?
- The notary corrects the certificate with the actual date of the notarization, initialing the change (Correct answer)
- Leave it blank and let the recipient fill it in
- Write in tomorrow's date to be safe
- Ask the signer to date the certificate themselves
Correct answer: The notary corrects the certificate with the actual date of the notarization, initialing the change
Only the notary may correct the certificate, and it must reflect the true date the act was performed.
Question 6: Where should a Connecticut notary indicate the venue on a notarial certificate?
- It is optional and may be omitted
- At the top, stating the state and locality where the notarization took place (Correct answer)
- At the bottom, stating where the document will be filed
- Anywhere, stating where the signer lives
Correct answer: At the top, stating the state and locality where the notarization took place
The venue, typically 'State of Connecticut, County of ___,' records where the notarial act physically occurred.
Question 7: A signer asks a Connecticut notary to backdate a certificate to match the date a document was drafted. The notary should:
- Backdate it if the signer signs a waiver
- Backdate it since drafting date controls
- Refuse, because the certificate must show the actual date of the notarial act (Correct answer)
- Leave the date blank as a compromise
Correct answer: Refuse, because the certificate must show the actual date of the notarial act
Backdating a certificate is falsification and grounds for commission revocation and liability.
CT Notary Record-Keeping and Documentation 2
Under Connecticut law, is a notary public required to keep a journal of notarial acts?