Notary Public Risk Management & Assessment 5 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: What risk is created when a notary fails to secure their official seal and journal, and they are later stolen?
- The notary must purchase replacement equipment at personal expense only
- The stolen seal and journal could be used to create fraudulent notarizations in the notary's name (Correct answer)
- The notary's commission is permanently revoked upon theft
- No risk exists if the notary immediately reports the theft to police
Correct answer: The stolen seal and journal could be used to create fraudulent notarizations in the notary's name
A stolen seal and journal allow bad actors to forge notarizations, and the legitimate notary may face liability questions until the theft is officially documented and reported.
Question 2: A notary receives a call from someone claiming to be a bank officer asking the notary to confirm whether they notarized a specific document. What is the safest response?
- Provide full confirmation over the phone since banks are regulated institutions
- Decline to provide information over the phone and direct the inquiry through proper legal channels such as a subpoena (Correct answer)
- Provide the caller's name and document details after verifying the caller's name
- Refer the caller to the state notary regulating agency
Correct answer: Decline to provide information over the phone and direct the inquiry through proper legal channels such as a subpoena
Disclosing notarial journal information without a legal mandate is risky; the notary should require a formal legal process such as a subpoena before disclosing records.
Question 3: When performing a mobile notarization at a hospital for a patient, what additional risk factor must the notary assess beyond standard identity verification?
- Whether the hospital permits outside vendors on the premises
- Whether the patient has the mental and physical capacity to understand and voluntarily sign the document (Correct answer)
- Whether the notary fee is covered by the patient's insurance
- Whether the document requires a witness in addition to notarization
Correct answer: Whether the patient has the mental and physical capacity to understand and voluntarily sign the document
Patients in medical settings may be under medication, in pain, or otherwise impaired, making capacity assessment a critical additional duty for the notary.
Question 4: A notary is asked to notarize a document that contains blank spaces within the body of the text. What is the proper risk management response?
- Notarize the document as presented since blanks are common in legal forms
- Refuse to notarize until all blanks are filled in or clearly crossed out (Correct answer)
- Fill in the blanks with 'N/A' on the signer's behalf before notarizing
- Notarize and note the presence of blanks in the acknowledgment certificate
Correct answer: Refuse to notarize until all blanks are filled in or clearly crossed out
Blank spaces in a document can be filled in fraudulently after notarization, so a notary should refuse to proceed until all blanks are completed or intentionally struck through.
Question 5: Which action by a signing agent during a loan closing represents the highest risk of unauthorized practice of law (UPL)?
- Explaining which page the borrower needs to sign
- Advising the borrower on whether the loan terms are favorable or helping them interpret legal obligations (Correct answer)
- Confirming the loan amount shown on the settlement statement
- Directing the borrower to initial corrections noted by the lender
Correct answer: Advising the borrower on whether the loan terms are favorable or helping them interpret legal obligations
Advising borrowers on the legal meaning or favorability of loan terms constitutes legal advice, which non-attorney notaries are not licensed to provide.
Question 6: A notary is presented with a document bearing obvious signs of alteration, such as whiteout over original text with new text typed over it. What is the correct risk management action?
- Notarize the document and note the alterations in the acknowledgment
- Refuse to notarize the altered document and advise the signer to obtain a clean version (Correct answer)
- Require the signer to initial each alteration and then proceed
- Contact the document's recipient to confirm the alterations are authorized
Correct answer: Refuse to notarize the altered document and advise the signer to obtain a clean version
A document with visible alterations or evidence of tampering should not be notarized; the signer should obtain a clean, unaltered document.
Question 7: How does a notary's failure to keep a sequential journal create risk in a fraud investigation?
- Investigators cannot determine the notary's fee schedule
- Gaps or out-of-order entries make it impossible to establish a reliable chronology and may suggest entries were fabricated (Correct answer)
- Sequential numbering is only required for jurats, not acknowledgments
- The investigation is automatically handed to federal authorities if records are incomplete
Correct answer: Gaps or out-of-order entries make it impossible to establish a reliable chronology and may suggest entries were fabricated
Sequential journal entries create an auditable chain of events; non-sequential or gapped records undermine the journal's credibility as evidence of proper conduct.
Notary Public Risk Management & Assessment 5
What risk is created when a notary fails to secure their official seal and journal, and they are later stolen?