PA Notary Official Seal & Security 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: A Pennsylvania notary's stamping device is stolen from their locked office over a weekend. They leave for a week-long vacation on Monday morning without entering the office and only discover the theft upon their return a full week later. According to Pennsylvania law, by when must the notary report the theft to the Department of State?
- Within 15 days of the date the theft likely occurred.
- Immediately upon discovering the theft, by the next business day.
- Within 30 days of returning from vacation.
- Within 15 days of discovering the theft. (Correct answer)
Correct answer: Within 15 days of discovering the theft.
Pennsylvania RULONA requires a notary to notify the Department of State within 15 days of *discovering* that their stamping device is lost or stolen. The clock starts from the moment of discovery, not the date the item was actually taken.
Question 2: A client presents a document intended for use in a foreign country and insists that it requires an embossed seal for authenticity. The Pennsylvania notary knows their official rubber stamp is legally sufficient. Which of the following actions is appropriate?
- Use only the embosser, as requested by the client for the foreign jurisdiction.
- Refuse the notarization because the client is dictating the notarial procedure.
- Apply the official rubber stamp and then use the embosser in addition to the stamp. (Correct answer)
- Apply the official rubber stamp and inform the client that using an embosser is illegal.
Correct answer: Apply the official rubber stamp and then use the embosser in addition to the stamp.
In Pennsylvania, the official rubber stamp is mandatory for tangible notarizations. However, a notary is permitted to use an embosser as an additional, optional tool. For documents going to foreign jurisdictions that may expect an embossed seal, it is appropriate to use both the required stamp and the optional embosser.
Question 3: A notary resigns from their position with a law firm. The firm's manager, who paid for the notary's commission and supplies, demands the notary surrender their official stamp and journal. What is the notary's legal obligation?
- Surrender the stamp and journal because the employer paid for them.
- Provide the employer with certified copies of the journal entries made for the firm's business.
- Refuse to surrender the equipment, as it is the exclusive property of the notary. (Correct answer)
- Surrender the equipment but file a report with the Department of State within 15 days.
Correct answer: Refuse to surrender the equipment, as it is the exclusive property of the notary.
Under Pennsylvania law, the official stamping device and the notary journal are the exclusive property of the notary public to whom they are issued, regardless of who paid for them. A notary must never surrender their equipment to an employer upon termination of employment.
Question 4: Three months after resigning her commission to move out of state, a former Pennsylvania notary discovers her notary journal in a box. What is the legally required action she must take?
- Securely destroy the journal to protect the private information of past clients.
- Deliver the journal to the Department of State in Harrisburg.
- Keep the journal in a secure location for a period of at least ten years.
- Deliver the journal to the office of the recorder of deeds in the county where she last maintained an office. (Correct answer)
Correct answer: Deliver the journal to the office of the recorder of deeds in the county where she last maintained an office.
A notary must deliver their journal to the office of the recorder of deeds in the county where they last maintained an office within 30 days of resigning their commission. This ensures the journal is properly archived and accessible for legal purposes.
Question 5: When performing an electronic notarization on an electronic record, which of the following is true regarding the notary's official stamp?
- The use of an official stamp is mandatory and must be a scanned image of the physical rubber stamp.
- The official stamp is optional if other required information, like the notary's name and commission expiration, is included in the notarial certificate. (Correct answer)
- An electronic stamp must always be applied, but it can only be in a specific format provided by the Department of State.
- The notary's digital certificate serves as the official stamp, and no other image or text is needed.
Correct answer: The official stamp is optional if other required information, like the notary's name and commission expiration, is included in the notarial certificate.
For electronic notarizations in Pennsylvania, the official stamp may be attached to or logically associated with the certificate. However, its use is considered optional if the information that would be in the stamp (notary's name, title, county, commission expiration, etc.) is already included as part of the notarial certificate itself.
Question 6: A notary uses an embossing seal, in addition to their official rubber stamp, on a document. To ensure the embossed impression is photographically reproducible, they use an "impression inker." The inker smudges, obscuring part of the notary's name within the embossed image. What should the notary do?
- Cross out the smudged impression and initial the correction.
- Make another clear impression with the embosser and inker elsewhere on the document near the original. (Correct answer)
- Proceed with the notarization, as the official rubber stamp is the only legally required element.
- Refuse to complete the notarization and require the client to use a new, clean document.
Correct answer: Make another clear impression with the embosser and inker elsewhere on the document near the original.
While the embosser is optional, if a notary chooses to use one and the impression is not legible (especially after attempting to make it reproducible), the best practice is to make another, clear impression in a different place on the document, without overlapping other text or seals.
PA Notary Official Seal & Security 2
A Pennsylvania notary's stamping device is stolen from their locked office over a weekend.
They leave for a week-long vacation on Monday morning without entering the office and only discover the theft upon their return a full week later.
According to Pennsylvania law, by when must the notary report the theft to the Department of State?