NV Notary Prohibited Acts and Ethics 3 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: A document presented for notarization has an empty blank for the loan amount. A Nevada notary should:
- Refuse to notarize until the blank is completed or lined through (Correct answer)
- Notarize and let the parties fill it in later
- Fill in the blank with an estimate
- Notarize but add a disclaimer to the certificate
Correct answer: Refuse to notarize until the blank is completed or lined through
Nevada notaries may not notarize documents containing blank spaces that could be fraudulently completed later.
Question 2: Which of these is a permissible act for a Nevada notary, in contrast to prohibited conduct?
- Notarizing for a stranger who personally appears, presents valid ID, and pays the statutory fee (Correct answer)
- Certifying a copy of a birth certificate
- Notarizing their own signature
- Pre-stamping blank certificates for a busy title office
Correct answer: Notarizing for a stranger who personally appears, presents valid ID, and pays the statutory fee
A routine notarization with personal appearance, proper ID, and lawful fees is exactly what a notary may do.
Question 3: A Nevada notary suspects a signer is being pressured by a family member to sign a power of attorney. The ethical course is to:
- Refuse to notarize if the signer does not appear to be acting willingly (Correct answer)
- Notarize anyway since duress is a court matter
- Notarize but write 'under protest' in the certificate
- Ask the family member to vouch for the signer
Correct answer: Refuse to notarize if the signer does not appear to be acting willingly
A notary must be satisfied the signer is acting willingly and should refuse when coercion is apparent.
Question 4: Using the title 'notario publico' in advertising is prohibited for Nevada notaries primarily because:
- It misleads Spanish speakers into believing the notary has attorney-like legal authority (Correct answer)
- It is a trademark owned by the state of Nevada
- Foreign-language titles are always banned
- It implies a federal commission
Correct answer: It misleads Spanish speakers into believing the notary has attorney-like legal authority
In many Latin American countries a 'notario publico' is a licensed legal professional, so the term deceives immigrants about the notary's authority.
Question 5: A Nevada notary lends their stamp to a trusted colleague who is also a notary but left hers at home. This is:
- Prohibited, because a notary must never allow anyone else to use their stamp (Correct answer)
- Allowed between commissioned notaries
- Allowed with written permission
- Allowed if the journal notes the loan
Correct answer: Prohibited, because a notary must never allow anyone else to use their stamp
The notary stamp may be used only by the notary to whom it was issued, with no exceptions.
Question 6: A signer presents a document in a language the Nevada notary cannot read, but the notarial certificate is in English. The notary may:
- Proceed if the notary can communicate directly with the signer and the certificate is in a language the notary reads (Correct answer)
- Never notarize foreign-language documents
- Notarize only after obtaining a certified translation
- Have a bystander translate the entire document
Correct answer: Proceed if the notary can communicate directly with the signer and the certificate is in a language the notary reads
A notary certifies the signature, not the content, but must be able to communicate directly with the signer and read the certificate.
Question 7: A Nevada notary discovers the ID presented is expired by two years. The notary should:
- Refuse the notarization because the identification does not meet Nevada's requirements (Correct answer)
- Accept it since the photo still resembles the signer
- Accept it with a credible witness signing as backup on the same ID
- Accept it if the signer also shows a utility bill
Correct answer: Refuse the notarization because the identification does not meet Nevada's requirements
Nevada requires identification that is current or meets specific statutory recency rules, and a long-expired ID does not qualify.
NV Notary Prohibited Acts and Ethics 3
A document presented for notarization has an empty blank for the loan amount.
A Nevada notary should: