Prohibited Acts and Ethics Flashcards

A signer appears via live video call from another state and asks a traditionally commissioned Nevada notary (without electronic/RON authorization) to notarize. The notary should:

Answer: Refuse, because remote notarization requires a separate authorization and physical presence is otherwise mandatory

Without proper remote-notarization authorization, Nevada requires the signer's physical presence before the notary.

A Nevada notary's friend asks them to notarize a signature on a document the friend signed last week at home, promising 'it's really my signature.' For an acknowledgment, the notary may:

Answer: Proceed only if the friend personally appears now and acknowledges the signature with proper ID

Acknowledgments permit prior signing, but the signer must still personally appear and be identified at the time of notarization.

Which fee practice violates Nevada notary law?

Answer: Charging an undisclosed 'convenience surcharge' above the statutory maximum per signature

Any charge exceeding the statutory maximum for the notarial act itself is unlawful, even if labeled a surcharge.

A Nevada notary is subpoenaed regarding a notarization and is tempted to alter a journal entry that looks incomplete. Doing so would be:

Answer: Falsification of an official record, exposing the notary to criminal liability

Altering journal entries after the fact is falsifying records and can lead to criminal charges.

An escrow officer asks a Nevada notary to notarize signatures on a stack of documents for signers who 'already came in this morning.' The notary should:

Answer: Refuse each document for which the signer is not personally present before them

Each notarization requires that specific signer's personal appearance before the notary at the time of the act.

A blind signer asks a Nevada notary to notarize a contract. The ethically correct approach is to:

Answer: Proceed if the signer is identified, willing, and aware, reading the document aloud is permissible but explaining its legal effect is not

Disability alone does not bar notarization; the notary may read the document verbatim but may not interpret or give legal advice.

After resigning their commission, a former Nevada notary keeps performing notarizations 'to finish pending client work.' This conduct is:

Answer: Unlawful, because performing notarial acts without an active commission is prohibited and punishable

Only a person holding a current, active commission may perform notarial acts in Nevada.