NM Notary Proper Identification and Procedures 3 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: A signer presents a tribal identification card issued by a federally recognized Indian tribe. May a New Mexico notary accept it?
- Yes, if it is issued by a government and contains the required identifying features (Correct answer)
- No, only state driver's licenses are acceptable
- Only if accompanied by a passport
- Only for documents relating to tribal land
Correct answer: Yes, if it is issued by a government and contains the required identifying features
Government-issued IDs, including tribal identification cards with a photograph or signature, satisfy New Mexico's identification requirements.
Question 2: What is the key procedural difference between a jurat (verification on oath) and an acknowledgment?
- A jurat requires the signer to sign in the notary's presence and swear the contents are true (Correct answer)
- A jurat does not require personal appearance
- An acknowledgment requires an oath about the document's truthfulness
- A jurat can be performed over the phone
Correct answer: A jurat requires the signer to sign in the notary's presence and swear the contents are true
For a jurat the signer must sign before the notary and take an oath or affirmation that the statements are true, while an acknowledgment only confirms a signature.
Question 3: A regular customer the notary has served twice at a bank asks to be identified by personal knowledge. Is this sufficient?
- No, brief business transactions generally do not create reasonable certainty of identity (Correct answer)
- Yes, any prior contact establishes personal knowledge
- Yes, if the customer has an account at the bank
- No, personal knowledge is never allowed in New Mexico
Correct answer: No, brief business transactions generally do not create reasonable certainty of identity
Personal knowledge demands dealings over time sufficient for reasonable certainty, which a couple of brief transactions typically do not provide.
Question 4: A credible witness is used to identify a signer. Which requirement applies to the witness?
- The witness must be personally known to the notary or present acceptable identification (Correct answer)
- The witness must be a licensed attorney
- The witness must be related to the signer
- The witness must sign the document as a co-signer
Correct answer: The witness must be personally known to the notary or present acceptable identification
The credible witness must either be personally known to the notary or verified through acceptable identification before swearing to the signer's identity.
Question 5: During a signing, the notary notices the signer cannot answer basic questions about the document and seems disoriented. What should the notary do?
- Refuse to perform the notarization because the signer may lack competence (Correct answer)
- Proceed if a family member explains the document
- Proceed but note the confusion in the certificate
- Ask the signer to initial each page instead of signing
Correct answer: Refuse to perform the notarization because the signer may lack competence
A notary must be satisfied the signer understands the transaction and acts willingly, and should refuse if competence is in doubt.
Question 6: A signer's name on the document reads 'Jonathan A. Smith' but his ID reads 'John Smith.' What is the safest proper procedure?
- Require identification that reasonably matches the name on the document before notarizing (Correct answer)
- Notarize anyway since the names are similar
- Change the document name to match the ID yourself
- Have the signer initial the discrepancy and proceed
Correct answer: Require identification that reasonably matches the name on the document before notarizing
The notary must have satisfactory evidence that the person signing is the person named, so an unresolved name mismatch should stop the notarization.
Question 7: Who must be physically or, for remote notarization, electronically present before the notary at the time of the notarial act?
- The individual whose signature is being notarized (Correct answer)
- Only the person delivering the document
- The drafter of the document
- Any adult representative of the signer
Correct answer: The individual whose signature is being notarized
Personal appearance of the signer before the notary at the time of the act is mandatory for every notarization.
NM Notary Proper Identification and Procedures 3
A signer presents a tribal identification card issued by a federally recognized Indian tribe.
May a New Mexico notary accept it?