Ethical Considerations and Responsibilities Flashcards
7 cards from real GA NOTARY practice questions. Tap to flip, then mark Knew It or Still Learning — missed cards come back until you master them.
Read the first 7 Ethical Considerations and Responsibilities flashcards as text
A signer asks the Georgia notary to explain whether the contract they are signing is legally enforceable. What must the notary do?
Answer: Refuse to give legal advice, as doing so constitutes unauthorized practice of law
Georgia notaries who are not licensed attorneys are prohibited from providing legal advice, including opinions on document enforceability.
Which scenario represents an acceptable reason for a Georgia notary to refuse a notarial act?
Answer: The notary reasonably believes the document will be used for fraud
A notary has both the right and duty to refuse any act they reasonably believe will facilitate fraud or illegal activity.
A notary's employer instructs the notary to notarize documents without verifying signers' identities to speed up processing. What should the notary do?
Answer: Refuse, because identity verification is a non-delegable legal duty of the notary
The duty to verify signer identity rests solely with the notary and cannot be waived or delegated at an employer's direction.
What is the ethical obligation of a Georgia notary when a signer presents an expired government-issued ID?
Answer: Reject it and require a current, valid form of identification
Acceptable identification must be current and unexpired; an expired ID does not meet Georgia's notarial identification standards.
A notary is asked to notarize a blank or incomplete document. What is the correct ethical response?
Answer: Refuse until the document is complete
Notarizing incomplete documents creates risk of fraud since blank spaces could be filled in after the notarial act.
A Georgia notary is pressured by a closing attorney to back-date a notarization to meet a contract deadline. What must the notary do?
Answer: Refuse, because backdating is a criminal falsification of public records
Backdating a notarization is fraud and a criminal offense regardless of who applies pressure or what reason is given.
What ethical rule applies when a Georgia notary is asked to notarize their own signature on a document?
Answer: It is never permissible; a notary cannot notarize their own signature
Self-notarization is void because a notary cannot serve as both the signer and the disinterested certifying officer.