MS Notary Notary Journal and Record Keeping 3 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: A Mississippi notary identifies a signer using a passport. What should the journal entry record about identification?
- The method of identification, such as the type of ID presented (Correct answer)
- Nothing, since ID was verified in person
- A full photocopy of the passport
- The passport number and expiration date only
Correct answer: The method of identification, such as the type of ID presented
The journal must describe how the individual was identified, such as by personal knowledge or the type of identification credential presented.
Question 2: A Mississippi notary charges $5 for an acknowledgment. How does this relate to the journal?
- The fee charged, if any, should be recorded in the journal entry (Correct answer)
- Fees are never recorded in journals
- Fees are only recorded if over $25
- Fees are reported to the IRS instead of the journal
Correct answer: The fee charged, if any, should be recorded in the journal entry
The fee charged for the notarial act, if any, is recorded as part of the journal entry.
Question 3: A Mississippi notary resigns her commission. What must she do with her journal?
- Retain it for the required period or transmit it as provided by law or Secretary of State rule (Correct answer)
- Destroy it immediately upon resignation
- Give it to her most recent employer
- Mail it to the county chancery clerk for public posting
Correct answer: Retain it for the required period or transmit it as provided by law or Secretary of State rule
On resignation or expiration, the notary must retain the journal for the retention period or transmit it to a designated repository as the law and rules provide.
Question 4: A notary's employer claims it owns the journal because acts were performed during work hours. Under Mississippi practice, who controls the journal?
- The notary, because the journal is the notary's own record (Correct answer)
- The employer, because it paid for the commission
- The Secretary of State during the commission term
- Whoever paid for the physical journal book
Correct answer: The notary, because the journal is the notary's own record
The journal is the notary's record of official acts and remains under the notary's control, not the employer's, even if the employer paid commissioning costs.
Question 5: Which scenario shows a proper reason to review a journal entry after the fact?
- Providing evidence of what occurred when a notarized document is challenged in court (Correct answer)
- Editing an old entry to fix the notary's fee income records
- Removing entries for clients who request privacy
- Adding entries for acts the notary forgot to record last year, backdated
Correct answer: Providing evidence of what occurred when a notarized document is challenged in court
A properly kept journal serves as evidence of the circumstances of a notarial act if the document is later disputed.
Question 6: A Mississippi notary performs a remote online notarization. What is true about recording it?
- The act must be recorded in the journal like other notarial acts, along with any required audio-visual recording retention (Correct answer)
- Online acts are exempt from journaling
- Only the technology vendor keeps records
- A separate paper journal is prohibited for online acts
Correct answer: The act must be recorded in the journal like other notarial acts, along with any required audio-visual recording retention
Remote notarizations must be entered in the journal, and the audio-visual recording must also be retained as required by law.
Question 7: When should a Mississippi notary create the journal entry for a notarial act?
- Contemporaneously with the performance of the notarial act (Correct answer)
- Within 30 days of the act
- At the end of each calendar month
- Whenever the signer requests one
Correct answer: Contemporaneously with the performance of the notarial act
Journal entries must be made contemporaneously with, meaning at the same time as, the performance of the notarial act.
MS Notary Notary Journal and Record Keeping 3
A Mississippi notary identifies a signer using a passport.
What should the journal entry record about identification?