DC Notary DC Notary Fees, Liability, and Ethical Obligations 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Which of the following best describes a DC notary's duty of impartiality?
- The notary must always favor the party requesting the notarization
- The notary must not have a financial or personal interest in the transaction being notarized (Correct answer)
- The notary must treat all documents as equally valid
- The notary must perform acts for all parties at the same time
Correct answer: The notary must not have a financial or personal interest in the transaction being notarized
A DC notary must be impartial, meaning they should not have a personal or financial interest in the transaction being notarized.
Question 2: If a DC notary notarizes a document in which they have a direct financial interest, this is:
- Acceptable if disclosed to the signer
- A prohibited conflict of interest (Correct answer)
- Permitted for amounts under $500
- Only an issue for real estate transactions
Correct answer: A prohibited conflict of interest
Notarizing a document in which the notary has a direct financial interest is a prohibited conflict of interest under DC law.
Question 3: Can a DC notary notarize a document they themselves authored?
- Yes, if the signer agrees
- Only for non-legal documents
- No, authoring the document creates a conflict of interest (Correct answer)
- Yes, as long as they record it in their journal
Correct answer: No, authoring the document creates a conflict of interest
Notarizing a document the notary themselves authored creates a conflict of interest and is prohibited.
Question 4: A DC notary's surety bond primarily protects:
- The notary from personal lawsuits
- The public from financial harm caused by the notary's misconduct (Correct answer)
- The DC government from notary errors
- The notary's employer from liability
Correct answer: The public from financial harm caused by the notary's misconduct
The surety bond required of DC notaries is designed to protect the public from financial harm resulting from the notary's misconduct or errors.
Question 5: What should a DC notary do if they realize they have made an error in a notarial certificate after the fact?
- Alter the certificate quietly to correct it
- Contact the affected parties and arrange for the document to be re-notarized correctly (Correct answer)
- Shred the document and start over
- Report the error only if it causes a lawsuit
Correct answer: Contact the affected parties and arrange for the document to be re-notarized correctly
If an error is discovered after notarization, the notary should contact the parties and, if necessary, arrange for a corrected notarization.
Question 6: Under DC law, a notary who resigns their commission must:
- Destroy all notary records immediately
- Surrender their seal and comply with DC regulations regarding journal disposition (Correct answer)
- Transfer their records to another notary
- Continue to perform notarial acts until the commission expires
Correct answer: Surrender their seal and comply with DC regulations regarding journal disposition
A resigning DC notary must surrender their seal and comply with DC regulations regarding journal disposition.
DC Notary DC Notary Fees, Liability, and Ethical Obligations 2
Which of the following best describes a DC notary's duty of impartiality?