GA Notary Record Keeping and Documentation 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Under Georgia law, is a notary public required to maintain a notary journal for in-person notarizations?
- Yes, a journal is mandatory for every notarial act performed
- No, a journal is not legally required but is strongly recommended as best practice (Correct answer)
- Yes, but only for real estate closings and loan signings
- Yes, once a notary has completed 50 or more notarizations
Correct answer: No, a journal is not legally required but is strongly recommended as best practice
Georgia law does not mandate that notaries keep a journal for traditional in-person notarizations, though maintaining one is widely recommended for liability protection.
Question 2: If a Georgia notary voluntarily keeps a journal, which information should typically be recorded for each notarial act?
- Only the signer's phone number and home address
- The date, type of notarial act, document description, and signer's name (Correct answer)
- Only the notary commission number and document title
- The signer's Social Security number and date of birth
Correct answer: The date, type of notarial act, document description, and signer's name
A complete journal entry generally includes the date, type of notarial act, description of the document, and the signer's name to serve as a reliable record.
Question 3: A court issues a valid subpoena for a Georgia notary's journal. What is the appropriate response?
- Refuse, since journal records are protected by notary-client privilege
- Provide only the entries the notary personally deems relevant
- Comply with the subpoena and produce the requested records (Correct answer)
- Notify each signer listed in the journal before releasing any records
Correct answer: Comply with the subpoena and produce the requested records
A valid court subpoena legally compels the notary to produce journal records; refusing to comply can result in contempt of court.
Question 4: A Georgia notary allows their commission to expire without renewing. What is the recommended course of action for their journal?
- Mail the journal to the Secretary of State immediately
- Shred the journal to protect signer privacy
- Transfer the journal to a coworker who holds an active commission
- Retain the journal securely for several years in case a past notarization is ever disputed (Correct answer)
Correct answer: Retain the journal securely for several years in case a past notarization is ever disputed
Even after a commission expires, the notary should preserve their journal in a secure location so records remain available if a past notarization is ever questioned.
Question 5: What is typically the first piece of information recorded in a notary journal entry?
- The date the notarial act was performed (Correct answer)
- The fee charged to the signer
- The title of the document being notarized
- The notary's commission number
Correct answer: The date the notarial act was performed
The date is typically the first element of a journal entry, establishing exactly when the notarial act occurred.
Question 6: How should a Georgia notary correct an error discovered in a journal entry?
- Erase the error completely and write the correct information over it
- Tear out the page and rewrite the entire entry cleanly
- Draw a single line through the error, write the correction, and initial the change (Correct answer)
- Apply correction fluid over the mistake and write the correct information on top
Correct answer: Draw a single line through the error, write the correction, and initial the change
Journal corrections should be made by lining through the error so the original remains visible, adding the correction, and initialing the change to maintain an honest record.
Question 7: What is the key distinction between a notary journal and a notarial certificate?
- Both are filed with the county clerk after each notarization
- The certificate is the notary's personal log; the journal is attached to the document
- The journal is required only for jurats; the certificate is required only for acknowledgments
- The journal is the notary's personal record; the certificate is the official evidence of notarization affixed to the document (Correct answer)
Correct answer: The journal is the notary's personal record; the certificate is the official evidence of notarization affixed to the document
The journal is the notary's own log of all notarial acts performed, while the notarial certificate is the official evidence of the notarization affixed to or embedded in the document.
GA Notary Record Keeping and Documentation 2
Under Georgia law, is a notary public required to maintain a notary journal for in-person notarizations?