MS Notary Notary Journal and Record Keeping 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Under Mississippi's Revised Uniform Law on Notarial Acts, how many active journals may a notary public maintain at one time?
- Only one journal at a time (Correct answer)
- One per county of operation
- Up to three journals
- As many as the notary chooses
Correct answer: Only one journal at a time
Mississippi law permits a notary to maintain only one active journal at a time, which may be tangible or electronic.
Question 2: A Mississippi notary completes their final notarial act and lets their commission expire. How long must the journal be retained after the last entry?
- 10 years (Correct answer)
- 3 years
- 5 years
- Permanently
Correct answer: 10 years
Mississippi requires the journal to be retained for 10 years after the date of the last notarial act recorded in it.
Question 3: A Mississippi notary discovers her journal was stolen from her car. What must she do?
- Promptly notify the Secretary of State upon discovering the loss (Correct answer)
- Simply start a new journal without reporting
- Notify only her local sheriff's office
- Wait 30 days to see if it is returned before reporting
Correct answer: Promptly notify the Secretary of State upon discovering the loss
A Mississippi notary must promptly notify the Secretary of State if the journal is lost or stolen.
Question 4: Which of the following is a required element of each Mississippi journal entry?
- The date and time of the notarial act (Correct answer)
- The signer's Social Security number
- A photocopy of the notarized document
- The signer's date of birth
Correct answer: The date and time of the notarial act
Each journal entry must include the date and time of the notarial act, along with details like the type of act and signer identification method.
Question 5: In what order must entries be made in a Mississippi notary journal?
- Chronological order (Correct answer)
- Alphabetical order by signer name
- Grouped by type of notarial act
- Any order the notary prefers
Correct answer: Chronological order
Mississippi requires journal entries to be recorded in chronological order.
Question 6: A Mississippi notary keeps an electronic journal. What key feature must the electronic journal have?
- It must be in a permanent, tamper-evident format (Correct answer)
- It must be stored on a state-owned server
- It must be printed weekly
- It must be password-shared with the employer
Correct answer: It must be in a permanent, tamper-evident format
An electronic journal in Mississippi must be maintained in a permanent, tamper-evident electronic format.
Question 7: Which detail about the individual for whom a notarial act is performed must appear in the journal entry?
- The individual's name and address (Correct answer)
- The individual's driver's license number
- The individual's employer
- The individual's telephone number
Correct answer: The individual's name and address
The journal entry must include the full name and address of each individual for whom the notarial act is performed.
MS Notary Notary Journal and Record Keeping 2
Under Mississippi's Revised Uniform Law on Notarial Acts, how many active journals may a notary public maintain at one time?