FREE DC NOTARY Prohibited Acts and Conflicts Questions and Answers

Question 1

A DC notary public is also a licensed real estate agent.
They are handling the sale of a property for a client and stand to earn a significant commission.
Which of the following is true regarding notarizing the closing documents for this transaction?

Accepted Answer

The notary is prohibited from notarizing the documents because they have a direct beneficial interest in the transaction.

Answer

The notary can notarize the documents as long as they disclose their role as the real estate agent to all parties.

Answer

The notary can notarize the documents but must waive their notarial fee to avoid a conflict of interest.

Answer

The notary is permitted to notarize the documents because their commission is for real estate services, not notarial services.

Question 2

A client asks a DC notary to draft a simple Power of Attorney document, assuring the notary it's a standard form and they just need the blanks filled in. According to DC law, how should the notary respond?

Accepted Answer

Politely inform the client that they can notarize the signature on the completed document but cannot draft or give advice on it.

Answer

Agree to fill in the blanks as it is not considered giving legal advice.

Answer

Refer the client to an online legal service to find a template, then agree to notarize it.

Answer

Draft the document but include a disclaimer stating they are not an attorney.

Question 3

Which of the following relationships creates an absolute prohibition for a DC notary to perform a notarial act for a signer?

Accepted Answer

The signer is the notary's spouse and a party to the document.

Answer

The signer is the notary's cousin.

Answer

The signer is the notary's co-worker.

Answer

The signer is a long-time friend of the notary.

Question 4

A DC notary is asked to notarize a document that has several blank spaces within the text where information is clearly supposed to be inserted later. The signer assures the notary they will fill in the blanks after the notarization. What is the correct course of action for the notary?

Accepted Answer

Refuse to notarize the document until all blank spaces are filled in by the signer.

Answer

Notarize the document but make a note in the journal that there were blank spaces.

Answer

Proceed with the notarization since the notary is only concerned with the signature, not the content.

Answer

Have the signer draw a line through all blank spaces before notarizing.

Question 5

A notary public in the District of Columbia who is not an attorney is advertising their services in Spanish. Which of the following actions is required by DC law?

Accepted Answer

The advertisement must include a statement that the notary is not an attorney and cannot give legal advice.

Answer

The notary must be a certified translator.

Answer

The advertisement must state the maximum fees allowed for notarial acts.

Answer

The notary is prohibited from using the term "notario publico" under any circumstances.

Question 6

Under what circumstances is a DC notary explicitly forbidden from notarizing their own signature?

Accepted Answer

Under all circumstances.

Answer

Only when they are a named party in the document.

Answer

Only when they stand to gain a financial benefit.

Answer

Only when the document is being recorded in public records.

A DC notary public is also a licensed real estate agent.They are handling the sale of a property for a client and stand to earn a significant commission.Which of the following is true regarding notarizing the closing documents for this transaction?

A DC notary public is also a licensed real estate agent.
They are handling the sale of a property for a client and stand to earn a significant commission.
Which of the following is true regarding notarizing the closing documents for this transaction?